Beating Heart- Christian Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy: Abortion
Part 1: What We Believe About Abortion.
Recently on PEI, the discussion around abortion has been getting more and more tense with each day that passes.
Many on this very conservative island are against the idea of having abortion services becoming a normative part of the PEI health care system. Others are obviously elated at the possibility of not having to travel off island to have these procedures done, while feeling as though the province is progressing by offering this service to Islanders.
It goes without saying that two opposing camps have plunged their flags into their stance’s side. Both are extremely passionate about their worldview and will do any manner of slandering to show the world the stupidity of their opponent.
What concerns me however is the anti abortion rhetoric coming from the Christian community. I’m not concerned by the fact that my community is anti abortion…I personally think the Christian community should be. What does concerns me is that many Christians cannot answer the “why?” they are against this practice theologically.
Overhearing the conversations around this issue within the confines of my faith family, the arguments I have heard are a regurgitation of traditional truisms against abortion (Abortion is murder, God created that baby, Life starts at conception) rather than an argumentative thought process that is steeped in theological accuracy and depth.
Also, I am appalled at the slandering that the Christian community has taken part of, towards those who are pro choice and pro having abortion services provided here on PEI. While we may not agree, we are called by Christ in the scriptures to interact with those who are not part of our community very differently than some in our faith family have been surrounding this issue
What I want to accomplish within this short series of posts, is to discuss the areas of Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxy in regards to abortion and why these must be answered if we are to accomplish anything for the Gospel in this arena of our society.
Christian Orthodoxy and Abortion: Why Theology Matters.
What you believe about a particular issue will determine your actions towards it. This is why determining what we believe about abortion as a Christian community is so important. I am convinced many people within my community are against abortion because they have personalized the issue. “What if that fetus was you, your sister, your child?” Many of us look at the people we love, people who have been created by God in His image and cannot fathom the idea of not having them, all due to the choice of an individual.
I understand this, however the foundation of this argument is not based in scripture, but rather emotionalism.
Theologically, Christian orthodoxy does not allow for the acceptance of abortion because:
1) The Bible strongly emphasizes the beginning of life as being conception.
Throughout the scriptures, the idea of conception goes hand in hand with the actual birth of a child.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” -Genesis 4:1
Beginning in the book of Genesis, we are introduced to the idea that the Biblical writers saw life beginning at conception. The etymology of the word “harah” (to conceived/become pregnant) in the Hebrew, refers to the idea of swelling, thus indicating the pre birth state of a woman.
For the Biblical writer to have acknowledged the parallel of conception to the birth of a child would indicate to the reader that for Jewish society, the conception of a child indicates the beginning of the life process that leads to birth. All in all throughout the entirety of scripture, this line of thought occurs approximately 32 times. In each instance, conception and birth are either mentioned side by side or they are conceptually closely tied within the contextualization of a particular text.
Thus, since this is the approach of scripture, as Christians we must hold theologically that life does not begin at birth, but rather conception. Once an egg is fertilized within a women, a new living human explodes onto the scene and begins the growth journey towards birth and the next stages of life outside of the womb.
To continue with this idea of life at conception, let me steer you to a familiar text for many of us, John 3:3.
“Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Here, Jesus compares the new spiritual life of an individual (born again) with the actual event of being physically born.
Unfortunately, evangelicals have misunderstood this idea of “born again.” For many, this is merely the moment that one decides to accept Christ as their saviour. When Jesus speaks about the second birth here, I would suggest that as he talks to Nicodemus, he is not thinking of it in the same manner that we are.
Again, for the Jews the idea of birth cannot be separated from conception. When Jesus says that one must be born again, for the Jew behind the moment of birth, there is a starting point (conception) with a growth process that leads to the birth event. While Jesus does not expand on this thought, the apostle Paul does:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” -Ephesians 1:3-5-
It was before the foundation of the world that God had called us to himself. This is essentially the spiritual conception of our “born again” experience. Thus, when Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, He is in no way suggesting that the spiritual birth of an Individual is the beginning of their journey with God, but rather that it is the initial spiritual awakening of the individual. From the moment of awakening, a person is then thrust into a new phase of spiritual life.
Christ readily parallels the spiritual life process to that of the natural one. For the Christian then, it is vital that we understand the idea of birth found within the Biblical framework as life beginning at conception and finding its “awakening” at the moment of birth.
2) The Bible emphasizes that it is only in humanity that God’s Spirit can dwell.
This may seem like an odd point to bring up in relation to the issue of abortion, but I tell you truly it is not.
In the beginning of Genesis, we are faced with a very unique situation within God’s creative process.
“then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” -Gen 2:7
In this instance, we are introduced to Adam. Thus far, he has been formed, but where the creation of man takes a different twist is that he is the only one of God’s creation that receives His breath or His Spirit. It not only activates him, but also fills him. From here on, we see that there is a very interesting relationship between man and the Spirit of God.
In Genesis 6 we are presented with the fact that because of sin now entering the world, the Spirit of God could no longer contend with men, thus no longer resided within humanity, but begins to act as an outside force.
throughout the Old Testament God decidedly places his Spirit upon specific people for specific functions (prophets, priests and kings). When we get to the book of Acts, after the ascension of Christ, God now places his Spirit back into His once inhabited home… regenerate (born again) humanity.
What is clear throughout the Biblical text is that the Holy Spirit only rests in or upon living humanity.
For many on the other side of the pro-life argument is the idea that the fetus within a woman’s womb is not yet alive when the abortion procedure takes place.
For the Christian however, theologically this is not the case.
In the book of Luke, we are presented with a circumstance that is opposed to this very worldview.
“For he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”-Luke 1:15
Within his narrative, Luke tells his readers of the angelic visitation which announces the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zechariah. The angel gives a list of specific regulations that both parents and the child must follow in regards to the setting a part of their son (The nazarite regulations of Num 6:1-27) for God’s purpose of ushering the messiah into His earthly ministry.
A particularly curious portion of this text is when the angel states that the baby will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he is in his mother’s womb.
If truly we believe theologically that God’s Spirit only rested upon and now within animated, alive human beings, then it can be argued that while in Elizabeth’s womb God considered the fetus that occupied that space to be a fully alive and thus an apropriate vesel for His Spirit to dwell in. And, since this is the case within the confines of scripture, for the Christian then; we must see that the being within the womb of a woman, as truly human and alive. Why else would God place His Spirit inside of a fetus?
While some may say that this is not a normative occurrence, I would have to agree. However, when one crosses from Old to New Testament and primarily in light of the atoning work of Christ on the cross, the dwelling of God’s presence has now moved from temples back to people (as intended in eden). Thus, while this experience might not be normative within the pages of scripture, it does however determine for us that if a fetus can potentially house the very presence it is truly alive and is sacred.
While these are the only two arguments that have been outlined here and there could be much more said about this controversial subject, I believe that these are the strongest points within the context of scriptures’ historical narrative.
For further vantage points on the theology against abortion please supplement your reading with other balanced works.
http://danielcouper.tumblr.com/post/15663873215/three
Awesome bro. love it.