RvW

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Genesis 1:1-31
The Sanctity of Human Life

Intorduction

In most western Christian churches, either the 3rd or 4th Sundays in
January is designated as Sanctity of Human Life Day. This day was
designed to commemorate the event which took place on January 22,
1973. This event was the case of Roe vs Wade.

Roe vs Wade was a case that centrally held that a mother may abort her
pregnancy for a reason, up until the point at which the fetus becomes
viable. What this means is that a living thing is able to live outside
a mother's womb albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually
placed at about 28 weeks, but may occur as early as 24 weeks. The
court also held that abortion after viabilty must be available when
needed to protect a mother's health.

The Roe vs Wade decision prompted national debate that contiunes even
to this day. Debated subjects include: whether and to what extent
abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion,
what methods the court should use in constitutional adjudication, and
what role should be of religious and moral views in the political
sphere.

Roe vs Wade reshaped national politics, dividing much of the nation
into pro-roe (pro-choice) and anti-roe (pro-life) camps (I'm a pro-
life guy myself), inspiring grassroots activism on both sides. I have
designated this sermon to be both a history and science lesson, but I
will only point out biblical references, I am not taking any sides.
Sit back and enjoy, and may God enlighten you as you seek the truth.

Part one: When does life begin?
According to the Bible, life begins at birth-when the baby draws it
first breath. The Bible defines life as breath in several significant
passages, including the story of Adam's creation in Genesis 2:7.

Desparate for a biblical basis for their belief, some antiabortionists
cite obscure passages, usually metaphors and poetic phrasing, such
as, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin, did my mother
concieve me (Psalm 51:5)". This may constitute as a sexist statement
which does nothing other than invoke original sin, thus saying nothing
about abortion.

Imagine yourself standing in a coastal redwood grove in California and
seeing trees stretching hundreds of feet into the air and wonder why
they are so tall. Now imagine observing the exquisite plumage of the
male peacock. One may be puzzled that such a display could exist on a
creature that has to be wary of predators and wonder if this can be an
accident.

For as long as humans existed, man has asked questions like these. Yet
for most of human history, even the most informed individual had no
way to make sense of the variations that nature is presented.

The creator gave unique forms to living things for reasons we can't
even begin to understand, but the commandsments of Moses, Jesus, and
Paul ignored every chance to condemn abortion. If abortion an
important concern, then why didn't the Bible say so?


Part two: Thou shalt not kill!
Many anti-abortionists quote the 6th commandment "thou shalt not kill"
from Exodus 20:13, thus showing evidence that the Bible is anti-
abortion. They fail to investigate the Bible's definition of life or
its deafening silence on abortion. More or less, the Mosaic Law in
Exodus 21:22-25 directly following the 10 commandments make it clear
that an embryo or fetus is not a human being.

Take this science lesson for example; a real life couple (I'll call
them Jake Penningon and Jane Kent), combined their names when they got
married, thus becoming Jake and Jane Pennington-Kent. Now suppose they
had a daughter named Tina. She gets married to a young man named
George Reeson-Dodd, she would then become Tina Pennington-Kent-Reeson-
Dodd.

Eggs and sperms are not commonly thought of as cells, but that is just
the way they are. Eggs and sperms are special cells, in which they
divide somatic cells, thus making more eggs and sperms. They would
much rather fuse together to make a zygote which then grows into a
whole organism. This bears great significance to the to the Pennington-
Kent story, whereas the egg and sperm take part in human reproduction.

Now ask yourself how all this ties into Biblical teaching. Read
Genesis 5:1-11:32 and note how reproduction worked back in those days.
God has a purpose for all men, and that is to be fruitful and
multiply, fullfilling the commamdment of Christ in Matthew 28:19-20.

An honest reader may admit that the Bible often contradicts itself.
Human beings, including children, are routinely massacred in the
Bible. Far from protecting the Sanctity of Human Life, the Bible often
promotes capital punishment for conduct which no civilized person or
nation would be regarded as a criminal. Mass killings were routinely
ordered, committed, or approved by the God of the Bible (see Numbers
25:4-9). As one may clearly see, the Bible may or may not be pro-life.


Part three: Does God kill babies?
As Psalm 137:9 points out, the Bible may or may not be pro-child. So
why then did God set a bear upon 42 children just for teasing a
prophet (see 2 Kings 2:23-24)? Far from demonstrating a "pro-life"
attitude, the Bible decimates innocent babies and preganant women in
various passages, starting with the flood and the destruction of Sodom
and Gomorrah. Let's not forget the New Testament threats of
annihilation.

Now consider these rather small samplings of biblical commandments or
threats to kill children: Numbers 31:17, Deuteronomy 2:34, Deuteronomy
28:53, 1 Samuel 15:3, 2 kings 8:12, 2 kings 15:16, Isaiah 13:16-18,
Lamentations 2:20, Ezekiel 9:6, Hosea 9:14, and Hosea 13:16. Then
there is the dire warnings of Jesus as stated in Luke 23:29.

The techings and contradictions of the Bible show anti-abortionists do
not have a scriptural basis for their claim that their diety is "pro-
life". Statistics show that spontatneous abortions occur more often
than medical abortions. Gynecology textbooks conclude a 15%
miscarriage rate as opposed to a 90% rate of spontaniuos abortion in
early pregnancy. This could make a diety in charge of nature, the
greatest abortionist in history.


Part four: Are Bible teachings kind to women?
As one may conclude, the Bible is neither anti-abortion nor pro-life.
Some might say that the Bible provides the basis for the real
motivation behind the anti-abortion religious crusade, which suggests
an hatred toward women. It has been highly noted that the Bible may or
may not be anti-woman; blaming them for sin, demanding subservience,
mandating a slave/master relationship to men, and demonstrating
contempt and lack of compassion (see Genesis 3:16). You may wonder why
any self-respecting woman today would submit herself willingly to such
tyranny.

The anti-abortion position does not demonstrate love for humanity, nor
compassion for true human beings. Statistics show that approximately
50% of abortions worldwide are illegal, and that over 200,000 women
die (1,000s being hurt or maimed) each year due to illegal or self-
induced abortion. Unwanted pregnancies and complications from multiple
pregnancies are by far a leading cause of death for women. Now ask
yourself, why would anti-abortionists want women to join these ghastly
mortality statistics? The bottom line is this, we must all work
together to protect and cherish the right to life of the already-born.


Conclusion
The Bible clearly tells us that God has created all things, and that
we are to put him above all things. We don't always understand why
things came to be, but we read the Bible and faithfully believe what
it teaches and know that we exist because of God.

We are unique creatures, and we were given many different traits for a
reason. The one trait that comes to mind is the concept of free-will.
We should always strive to use everything we have to serve God, but it
is your choice how you wish to live your life. I just ask that you
please take the time to recognize the consequences that may arise as a
result of your decisions. I the end, we are all held accountable and
that is that!

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