Life

Our Heavenly Father is the author and sustainer of life; He has a plan for everyone who is conceived, but by the free will of another, that life can be taken.  And, through education and compassion, there
are efforts being made to preserve that life. Psalm 139 states:
13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

What does our soul know, or should our soul know "very well?"  I would submit that we should consider our own lives; think about the functions and the intricacies of the human body, reflect on our own uniqueness as creations of God, made by His intent to know Him intimately.  We can consider a loving God, who desires to show His "marvelous works" in and through our lives, including developing an attitude of compassion for unborn children and their families, so that we affirm His view of life as precious.

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There is a passage in the book of Jeremiah that can be highly relevant as we consider God's view of
life. We can read in the first chapter:
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."
6 Then said I: "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth."
7 But the Lord said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Today is the anniversary date for a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has reverberated throughout the last 46 years, a decision so misguided that there are efforts to overturn it, legislation to weaken it, and prayer and action to counter it.  The decision is Roe vs. Wade, resulting in the legalization of abortion in America and...the good news - giving birth to a vibrant, pro-life movement.

Just last Friday, thousands gathered in Washington for the annual March for Life, in which people who believe in the sanctity of life and protection for the unborn made the trek to the nation's capital to stand together in solidarity.

The month of the Roe vs. Wade anniversary has been declared to be Sanctity of Human Life Month, and this commemoration gives us a chance to take stock of the pro-life movement.  Scott Klusendorf of Life Training Institute, which teaches Christians how to better communicate the pro-life message, wrote a compelling evaluation at the Desiring God website.  While positive gains are being made in the political arena, there are many more who need to hear the pro-life message, including those in the Church, he says - and Klusendorf lamented the fact that his organization is still having difficulty getting in to speak in a number of Christian settings.  He writes:

Put simply, our problem is subject matter. We’re offering an abortion presentation many Christian schools and churches don’t want. Our challenge is to make them want it, to convince them it’s vital to the formation of a Christian worldview, and to persuade them that students will thank them for hosting it.

As he points out, abortion imagery that he includes receives quite a bit of pushback.

And, he also has found that the pro-life message faces the threat of being watered down, in the midst of other issues.  Klusendorf wrote about another speaker at the Evangelicals for Life conference at which he spoke two years ago, who "told pro-lifers to rewrite their job descriptions to include a comprehensive, whole-life ethic," someone who is "functionally pro-choice," who personally opposes abortion, would like to see it reduced, but believes it should still be legal due to "the high cost of outlawing it."  Klusendorf takes aim at this new fad of redefining pro-life to encompass a wide range of issues.  He writes:

True, as Christians we will care about many issues, but it doesn’t follow that the operational objectives of the pro-life movement must be broad as well. We do not establish “pro-life” credentials by diverting scarce resources from the unborn to take on issues that Christians with larger platforms and better funding are more than willing to address. That will kill the pro-life movement.

This year's Evangelicals for Life conference featured a number of speakers on a variety of issues.  Baptist Press quotes one speaker who placed abortion in a smorgasbord of issues: "We have to speak in a way consistent with the Gospel so that we're speaking a word of justice. God is just. God does not ignore what happens to the cries of the poor and the vulnerable and marginalized and the unborn and the elderly and the stranger."

Up until this year, Focus on the Family was a co-sponsor of this conference, which did feature some solid speakers and Bible teachers.  However, the emphasis on the sanctity of life was diluted by bringing in other issues, including one side of the immigration issue.  While I have not seen any public statements as to why Focus is no longer involved, I did come across a piece by Focus President Jim Daly and March for Life President Jeanne Mancini on the Washington Examiner website.  They write:

Lately, there has been an increased and intensified discussion about what it means to be authentically pro-life. We have both witnessed a concerted effort among some members of the faith community and others, including friends and colleagues whom we deeply respect, to broaden the scope of pro-life concerns to encompass everything from race and immigration to healthcare and the environment.

But, Mancini and Daly point out that "there is a priority and urgency to the protection of the unborn."

They go on to say:

The great physician and bioethicist Leon Kass differentiates between “human dignity” and the “the dignity of being human.” The first, “human dignity,” relates to life and death issues. The second, “the dignity of being human,” refers to living life to the full and the potential for human flourishing. They are obviously both important, but the second is not possible without protection of the first.

Let us resist the temptation to conflate all of these issues in the name of life. As blogger Trevin Wax noted last year, “By confusing ‘pro-life’ with a certain stance on immigration, or a certain view of gun control, or opposition to capital punishment, we lose momentum in maintaining unity around the central goal of protecting the unborn.”

Unfortunately, the "whole life" redefinition of "pro-life" is being used by some to condemn others as not being pro-life enough.  Take, for instance, a former EFL speaker who tweeted this out last year:

It has always behooved me how many White Evangelicals are uber committed to protecting the rights of the unborn and yet, don’t seem to have this same fervor when it comes to the rights of black & brown peoples outside of the womb.

Based on what?  So, in her opinion, some people are not pro-life enough. This is unacceptable identity politics and has no place in the Church, the body of Christ.  The introduction of other issues into a pro-life smorgasbord gives some the opportunity to demean others with whom they disagree and to try to reduce their pro-life credentials.

As Klusendorf says, we have to keep the main thing the main thing.  He writes:

By all means, preach a biblical view of human value. But students in local churches also need to know how to make an essential pro-life argument and convey it to non-Christians. The basic shape of that argument looks like this:

Premise #1: It is wrong to intentionally kill innocent human beings.

Premise #2: Abortion intentionally kills innocent human beings.

Conclusion: Therefore, abortion is morally wrong.

Marc Newman, who spoke at the First Choice Women's Medical Center banquet this year and came into the studio while in Montgomery, talked about the importance of communicating the pro-life message well.  He has worked with Klusendorf.  We can make it a goal to be able to effectively present a Christian worldview perspective on life.  And, we can be motivated to redouble our efforts to speak out for life; praying, acting, and voting.

We have to consider the consequences of broadening the "pro-life" definition.  Hopefully, we can agree on the basic definition of life as created by God in the womb, and maintaining the sanctity of life through natural death.  A person cannot enjoy human rights if he or she is not alive, as it's been pointed out.  The life issue is not one of many in a tapestry of human dignity issues - it should be a central focus in a class of its own.

But, there will be those who disagree.  And that's not to say that Christians should not be concerned about and working in a number of issues.  But, we do not need to be divided about what it means to be "pro-life."  We also have to be careful to not use the definition of "life" to bludgeon people with whom you disagree.  We should be thankful for our lives and protect the rights of those yet born to enjoy life as ordained by God.