The 26th anniversary date of the Roe v. Wade legislation will occur in just 5 days. Legislation is an appropriate term because there was nothing in the Constitution about the subject of abortion; so, behaving the way most false teachers do, abortion advocates took a phrase (right to privacy) and redefined it to mean something our founding fathers would never have imagined. The Constitution ordinarily protects human rights vigorously, but somehow the Supreme Court considered the life of the human being in the womb as unimportant. Their error in judgment has resulted in the vicious murder of over 40,000,000 children.
Murder is the appropriate term IF the child is living (and it is), if it is human (and it is), if it is innocent (and it is), and if God has not authorized it to be killed (and He has not done so). The Senate trial of the president will probably be garnering most of the headlines on the coming anniversary date, but publicity has been waning in recent years anyway. It has by now become an old subject; most people on both sides of the issue are tired of it. Apathy permeates American society. Some think that those who voted for impeachment, for example, will lose their next election. Some think those who voted against impeachment will lose. More than likely, however, most Congressmen will be re-elected no matter how they voted. Why? The majority of people don’t care.
Most people fail to see how matters such as abortion, the rule of law, or homosexual marriages relate to their daily lives. How can such issues compare to such weighty matters as: Who is going to win the Super Bowl? or What new movie is being released this weekend?
As Paul Simon wrote and sang over thirty years ago: “The dangling conversation and the superficial sighs are the borders of our lives.” We live in an even more dumbed-down society today than we did back then. Practically everything is geared toward superficiality. People do not generally debate issues: they repeat shallow and trite sayings, which may or may not make a valid point. Or they engage in a shouting contest: Whoever can repeat his side’s slogan louder and longer than his opponent wins.
Even in worship many people have no stomach for the meat of the word. “Come, preacher, tell us something short and pithy–cute, too, if possible.” Is this what the people were like who “were destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6)? One can almost envision a congregation in Hosea’s or Amos’ day chanting in the Pink Floyd-style of an ominous, menacing-sounding chant: “We don’t need no ed-ju-ky-shun.” Many are willing to put forth minimal effort (at best) .
Americans ought to be asking themselves, “What are the things that truly matter?” Unfortunately, most will not enjoy the answer. The thing that matters most is godliness. A strong national defense means nothing to a nation God has appointed for destruction. Economic prosperity cannot save a nation in spiritual and moral poverty (Amos 6). The ACLU, in its fanatical pursuit to remove prayer and the Bible from public schools (as well as from the public view in general, will not be able to save anyone from sin or the Judgment. We ought to concentrate on moral issues and on helping to draw people closer to God. What can we do?
Having observed the tactics of political liberals, several suggestions come to mind. The first one is repetition. All too often we may assume that once a position has been stated, that is all that needs to be said. Actually, we have had that problem in the Lord’s church, as well as in society. We have had debates on a number of topics over the years, which allowed the truth to be clearly seen. And that settled the matter. Or did it? A new generation comes along, and they are ignorant of the past battles that have been fought on such topics as the purpose of baptism, the work of the Holy Spirit today, and instrumental music. A dozen years have already passed since the Highers-Blakely Debate. And though it remains in print, how many people take the time to study the matter?
Many “preachers” are too busy falling all over themselves preparing their next positive, “feel-good” sermon for a Scripture-starved church to deal with such fundamental issues. If repetition (“grace only,” “As long as one is sincere,” et al.) will help convince people of various errors, just imagine what it could do for the truth. The fact that we have made the arguments against abortion one hundred times does not mean we should now quit. “But we know all that information,” someone might say. Yes, but other people need to know it, and we need to keep saying it. Has anyone noticed that Satan and his followers have become quiet because they have conquered the vast majority?
One would think that feminists would have tired by now of mouthing the words, “A woman ought to have a right to control her own body.” It does not matter to them that it is an old and very tired refrain (not to mention illogical); Gloria Steinem could say it on Oprah tomorrow, and the audience would break forth into applause, as though it were some new and profound truth never before thought of or uttered.
We ought to let people know that there are facts and arguments about abortion that have never been answered.
1. God calls a baby a “baby” whether it is in or out of the womb (Luke 1:41, 14 and 2:12, 16).
2. The information we have about the development of a child from conception onward demonstrates clearly that the child is alive and very well developed by the age of three months.
3. The “fetus” is an innocent, living, human being; taking its life is murder.
The pro-abortion feminists have not answered those three points in 26 years. Because of the support of the “unbiased” news media, they have relied upon repetition in place of logical argumentation.
Those who oppose Biblical morality never quit and find something else to occupy their time. They are first and foremost committed to the agenda. And if they do allow for a diversion, they spring back to life the moment they are needed. If nothing is going on publicly, then they are behind the scenes creating opportunities to repeat their message. Satan never quits. He and his followers seem to have an inexhaustible supply of energy. If we are going to succeed, we too will need to create opportunities to be heard.
And we cannot give up. We cannot assume that by convincing one person everyone now knows the truth. Approach the next person as if he or she knew nothing about the issue. Try to get people to care about the subject. Since so many people are apathetic, every person who genuinely cares about the issue becomes important. We never know how vocal and articulate someone might be. Someone we challenge on this issue may tomorrow prove to be a champion at leading others to the truth.
In order to be effective we must be knowledgable of the subject matter and oppose error (whether in the church or in society). Too often the opponents of righteousness get away with chanting the same old mantras (and the news media let them). It is up to us to challenge the errors in their positions and counter with a few “slogans” of our own.
1. Abortion has cheapened respect for life in general. (Has anyone thought that the high school girl who killed her newborn baby might have reasoned thus: “Well, if I had had an abortion, the child would be dead: killing him now is no different; the result is the same”?)
2. Abortion should not be a method of birth control; people must take responsibility for their own actions.
3. Why are feminists so eager to terminate the life of the baby? They know it would be adopted.
One other thing would help. Many decisions are made in Congress, the Senate, and on the Supreme Court. A few more pro-life votes, for example, would have overridden the president’s veto on the gruesome partial birth abortions. Vote pro-life. Do not vote for a pro-abortion candidate in either party. Remember (and this would make a good slogan): “Anyone who does not respect the life of an innocent, unborn child ultimately does not respect your life, either.” The United States of America has a great deal of bloodshed to answer for already. There may yet be time for repentance.