Is Planned Parenthood good or bad? That debate has been raging in America for decades. Recently another scandal has erupted with video showing that Planned Parenthood has been selling body parts from aborted fetuses.
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How outraged a person becomes over this scandal often depends on whether they regard the fetus as a human baby or as a clump of cells.
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If the fetus is not human, why is there a market for their body parts? If they are simply a cluster of tissue then a cluster of animal tissue would be just as valuable. If they are really human, then they are valuable for human research.
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Do the mothers who have the abortion know what is happening to the remains of their babies? Many who defend abortion suggest that the baby is part of the woman’s body so it is her choice. If that were true, then it would be wrong to sell these babies without her consent. Women’s rights advocates should be very concerned by this.
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Many expectant mothers have been excited to see the first ultrasound pictures of their baby. These pictures make it very clear that this is not just a clump of tissue. It has been suggested that a mother see an ultrasound before making the choice for an abortion. Others have suggested that such a step would place undue guilt on the mother. Would it have been wrong to personalize the Jewish prisoners and thus placed guilt on those conducting medical research in the Nazi concentration camps?
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The answers to these questions will likely generate anger from those on both sides of the debate. If these babies are really human, then that is understandable. Still the debate is not as simple as whether or not the baby is human- it is also a debate about when the baby becomes a human.
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It is not up to me to decide when the baby is human. Instead we should look at what God’s word says on the subject. Isaiah 44:24 says, “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, And spreading out the earth all alone” (NASB). No doubt God formed us in the womb, but beyond that, He knew us personally even before that. Read what He told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5 NASB)
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A baby in the womb is clearly a human. The whole Planned Parenthood and abortion debate should thus center around this one question: “When is it okay to kill an innocent human?” Some would answer, “when the mother’s life is at stake, or when many others can be saved by sacrificing this one life for research.” Those are often difficult debates if your goal is to preserve as many lives as possible, but if someone answers that it is okay to kill an innocent person simply because they are an inconvenience, then we should all be appalled.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Friday, July 10, 2015
God Decides What is Right
The United States of America is known as the most powerful nation on earth. It has been said that our military is able to fight two wars at the same time. Further, in spite of a recent recession, our nation is still one of the most stable countries economically. Still doomsayers are making a lot of money selling reports about the impending economic collapse of America. I do not know if they are right or wrong, but I do know that as powerful as our nation is, God is more powerful.
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As patriotic as I am, it is comforting to know that my ultimate security is not in my nation but in my God. That brings comfort in a couple of ways. First, if our nation were to fall apart, my God would still be just as powerful as He is now. Further, if our nation continues to gain power and influence and uses that power and influence for evil instead of good, it still will not be more powerful than God.
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Many of us were saddened over the recent Supreme court decision that essentially reversed the Defense of Marriage act. Some of the sadness centered around the idea that the definition of marriage has been changed. From a strictly legal standpoint, that may be true, but we as Christians need to look a the broader perspective. No manmade law can change God.
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I fear that too many Christians have reacted as if a simple court decision changed an all powerful God. No court- no nation- is that powerful. Regardless of how the state defines marriage, God’s word has not changed. This message is important to both those who are celebrating the Court’s decision and to those who are discouraged by it. God has not changed and no human law can change God’s standard of morality.
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Let us be reminded of God’s power: “O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?” (II Chronicles 20:6).
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The apostle Paul ministered during a time when another superpower controlled the world. The Roman Empire was not Christian and it did not get its morality from the Bible, yet he told the early Christians to pray for their leaders and to submit to their authority (see Romans 13 and I Timothy 2). Even though we are to pray for our government leaders and submit to their authority, there is another authority that is even more important- God’s authority. “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
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Our Christianity should not be used as an excuse to rebel against an ungodly government, but we must also realize that right and wrong are determined by God, not secular laws. For example, it has been legal to tell lies, commit adultery, and to get drunk long before our latest supreme court decision, yet we as Christians should never condone those activities even though they are legal. At the same time, it is not our job to stop every non-Christian from doing those sins. Instead it is our job to point out that sin is a reality in all our lives and that God will judge sin. In fact, all sin- including homosexual behavior- is so serious that it separates us from a holy God, yet God loved us so much that He sent His son to pay for our sins. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
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Not everyone will agree that homosexual behavior, getting drunk, or committing adultery are wrong, but as Christians we must remember that it is God who decides what is right or wrong, not society or any powerful government.
-
As patriotic as I am, it is comforting to know that my ultimate security is not in my nation but in my God. That brings comfort in a couple of ways. First, if our nation were to fall apart, my God would still be just as powerful as He is now. Further, if our nation continues to gain power and influence and uses that power and influence for evil instead of good, it still will not be more powerful than God.
-
Many of us were saddened over the recent Supreme court decision that essentially reversed the Defense of Marriage act. Some of the sadness centered around the idea that the definition of marriage has been changed. From a strictly legal standpoint, that may be true, but we as Christians need to look a the broader perspective. No manmade law can change God.
-
I fear that too many Christians have reacted as if a simple court decision changed an all powerful God. No court- no nation- is that powerful. Regardless of how the state defines marriage, God’s word has not changed. This message is important to both those who are celebrating the Court’s decision and to those who are discouraged by it. God has not changed and no human law can change God’s standard of morality.
-
Let us be reminded of God’s power: “O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?” (II Chronicles 20:6).
-
The apostle Paul ministered during a time when another superpower controlled the world. The Roman Empire was not Christian and it did not get its morality from the Bible, yet he told the early Christians to pray for their leaders and to submit to their authority (see Romans 13 and I Timothy 2). Even though we are to pray for our government leaders and submit to their authority, there is another authority that is even more important- God’s authority. “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
-
Our Christianity should not be used as an excuse to rebel against an ungodly government, but we must also realize that right and wrong are determined by God, not secular laws. For example, it has been legal to tell lies, commit adultery, and to get drunk long before our latest supreme court decision, yet we as Christians should never condone those activities even though they are legal. At the same time, it is not our job to stop every non-Christian from doing those sins. Instead it is our job to point out that sin is a reality in all our lives and that God will judge sin. In fact, all sin- including homosexual behavior- is so serious that it separates us from a holy God, yet God loved us so much that He sent His son to pay for our sins. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
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Not everyone will agree that homosexual behavior, getting drunk, or committing adultery are wrong, but as Christians we must remember that it is God who decides what is right or wrong, not society or any powerful government.
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