http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/40519-why-do-so-many-churchgoers-have-abortionsWhy Do So Many Churchgoers Have Abortions?10:30AM EDT 8/6/2013
Several months ago, one of my co-workers was speaking with a Christian university campus minister about the issue of abortion, and he dismissed the topic with a wave.
“Abortion isn’t prevalent at our school," he said. "Contraception is widely available, but our students also take sexual purity to heart.”
I was a bit suspicious of his answer, so I spoke with a recent graduate of the same university about her thoughts.
“I suspect one in three women on campus have had an abortion,” she said matter-of-factly.
“It may be higher. Christian kids don’t want to deal with the shame a pregnancy brings. So they abort instead of tell their parents.”
According to a study by the Guttmacher Institute, "Almost three-quarters of women obtaining abortions in 2008 reported a religious affiliation.
The largest proportion were Protestant (37 percent), and most of the rest said that they were Catholic (28 percent) or that they had no religious affiliation (27 percent). One in five abortion patients identified themselves as born-again, evangelical, charismatic or fundamentalist; 75 percent of these were Protestant.”
Though the study suggests that attending religious services regularly indicates a lower-than-average rate of abortion, the fact remains: Professing Christians abort their children in large numbers. We estimate one in three adults in America today is the parent of an aborted child, and that rate is likely the same both inside and outside the church.
More times than I can count, I’ve heard this remorseful comment from a post-abortive parent:
“I knew it was wrong to abort my child. I was brought up in the church and was pro-life. But I did it anyway.”Why do Christians, many of whom profess to honor the sanctity of life, still abort their children? Why do they promote a pro-life worldview publicly but, when facing an unplanned pregnancy themselves, lose their conviction and take the life of their child?
As many Christian apologists have stated, we act according to what we believe. Christians abort their children because they do not really believe God is the author of life, that every life is sacred and of infinite value, and that there is no such thing as an unplanned pregnancy to the sovereign God.
Instead, the perceived or real shame of an unplanned pregnancy, the financial impact of a child, the relationship strain or just the sheer “inconvenience” of a baby trump the Bible and God. We fear man more than we fear God.
Abortion is, at its core, a spiritual issue. Thus, the reason Christians abort their children is their lack of understanding and acceptance of the gospel of the kingdom.
Modern evangelicalism in America focuses on praying a prayer for salvation, “committing your life to Jesus” or accepting Him as Lord and Savior. We believe that sharing the good news that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead and desires a relationship with us completes our obligation to spread the gospel.And while these facts about Christ are completely true, central to the Christian message and necessary for our salvation, it is not the fullness of the gospel. It is the core but not the entirety.
Colossians 1:18-20 says, “And he [Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (NIV).KJB
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. In When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, they remark, “In this passage Jesus Christ is described as the Creator, Sustainer, and Reconciler of everything. Yes, Jesus died for our
souls sins, but He also died to reconcile—that is, to put into right relationship—all that He created. ... The curse is cosmic in scope, bringing decay, brokenness, and death to every speck of the universe. But as King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus is making all things new! This is the good news of the gospel.”
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