College Can Be a Faith Killer: How to Overcome It
May 30, 2009
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Guest: Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
As many as 50% or more of students who say they are born again Christians as they enter college will say they no longer consider themselves born again Christians as they leave college.
Truly, students aren’t going off to Universities of Instruction every fall but rather Universities of Destruction.
Why do so many “lose their faith” at both secular AND Christian colleges? What are the major obstacles students face? Are Christian colleges always a better choice than secular colleges? What makes the difference between thriving spiritually and becoming spiritually shipwrecked? What should parents be doing to prepare their sons and daughters?
We’ll answer all these questions and more this weekend Read more
Listener Phone Calls on Biblical Prophecy
May 30, 2009
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Guest: Dick Johnson, Bible teacher, OpenBibleHour.net
We’ve reached the final program of Prophecy Month on The Christian Worldview and that means it’s time to devote the entire hour to your phone calls.
Have a question or comment about what has been discussed in the previous three programs on biblical prophecy? Want to challenge something that has been said or do you think Scripture has been misinterpreted? Then give us a call between 8-9am CT this Saturday at 1-877-655-6755.
Tips to callers: 1.) Call early in the program to make sure we have time to get to your call, and 2.) Know what you want to say and get right to your point.
It should be quite a lively and interesting program this Saturday in Hour 1 of The Christian Worldview so be sure to tune in. If you missed any of the first three programs on biblical prophecy, click on the following links to listen: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Finding “Common Ground” on Abortion?
May 23, 2009
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The hot button issue of abortion has been in the news recently with our pro-abortion President Barack Obama being invited to give the commencement address at Notre Dame, a Catholic university with a historically anti-abortion stance.
In Hour 2 this Saturday of The Christian Worldview, we’ll discuss the changing conviction in America on abortion, what the Bible says about the unborn, how euphemistic language is used to support it, and whether and how Christians should address it in the public and private realm.
Email Questions on Biblical Prophecy
May 23, 2009
Podcast: Download (8.7MB)
LISTEN NOW: [audio:http://www.thechristianworldview.com/audio/TCW052309pod_hour1.mp3]
Guest: Dick Johnson, Bible teacher, Open Bible Hour
First of all, a reverent “thank you” this Memorial Day Weekend to our military members and their families, both active and veterans, who have bravely served and protected us. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
We will continue with part 3 in our Prophecy Month series this weekend on The Christian Worldview with an entire program devoted to listener emails. We have received many questions and respectful challenges on things like the “pre-wrath” view, preterism, children being “left behind”, the resurrection of Old Testament saints, dual covenant theology, and the state of Israel. Dick Johnson will respond to all of them and more this Saturday.
Next Saturday will be completely devoted to listener phone calls so you still have one more chance to voice your question, comment, or challenge.
America’s Unsettled Conscience on Abortion
May 22, 2009
Here is an amazing fact — over 35 years after the legalization of abortion this nation is still deeply divided over the issue. America has an unsettled conscience on abortion, and this most contentious of moral issues may be further from resolution than at any moment since the Roe v. Wade decision was handed down in 1973.
A new Gallup poll tells the story. The headline of the report from Gallup should encourage pro-life Americans: “More Americans ‘Pro-Life’ Than ‘Pro-Choice’ for First Time.” Indeed, 51% of those polled indicated that they are “pro-life” on the issue of abortion. Prior to this poll, the highest percentage identifying as pro-life was 46%, and that was in August 2001 and May 2002.
Only 42% of respondents identified themselves as “pro-choice.” And, even as the percentage of those identifying as pro-life grew, the number of Americans who believe that abortion should be legal under all circumstances fell to 23%. According to the data, 53% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal under some circumstances and 22% believe that abortion should be illegal under all circumstances. That means that fully 60% of Americans are opposed to removing all legal restriction to abortion — a stunningly large majority.
As the Gallup organization noted, this means that most Americans fall into some middle position on abortion. As other surveys and polls have made clear, a majority of Americans want some access to legal abortion, but want some forms of abortion and abortions under some circumstances to be illegal. They also want some abortions to be illegal but they do not want women arrested for seeking or securing an abortion. They are opposed to the claim that women should have access to abortion for any reason at all, but they are also unclear about what circumstances should make an abortion legal.
In other words, Americans are confused.
The Gallup organization confirmed its findings through additional polling and research. It is clear that many Americans are rethinking the abortion question, and it is also clear that many Americans hold confused, contradictory, or inconsistent positions on issues related to abortion.
All this points to an unsettled conscience on abortion, and this confusion is perhaps deeper now than at any point since 1973.
Responding to the new data, Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America told The Los Angeles Times: “I am pretty confident that Americans really don’t want Roe v. Wade overturned.” Keenan also pointed to recent elections in which pro-choice candidates achieved electoral success, starting with President Barack Obama.
In this context, Kennan’s statement looks quite defensive and pained. The best she can do is to offer her assurance that “Americans really don’t want Roe v. Wade overturned.” That is hardly a ringing defense of abortion as a basic right — an argument central to American feminism and to the pro-choice movement throughout recent decades.
On the other hand, Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, told the paper: “People are generally pro-life depending on how you ask the question.” This new poll from Gallup seems to confirm her confidence. At the same time, her qualification of “depending on how you ask the question” is huge. Kennan can rightly point to recent elections as evidence for her claim that Americans must not be as pro-life as they think themselves to be.
The elections do seem to demonstrate that the pro-life convictions of many Americans are not well grounded or considered. While the pro-life movement can take real hope from this new headline, there is clearly much ground yet to be won. Americans may be squeamish about abortion and, thanks to modern ultrasound technology, they have a genuine concern for the unborn child, but this has not yet translated into a firm and convictional determination to bring the scourge of abortion on demand to an end.
The pro-choice movement can point to the election of President Obama and many other pro-choice candidates, but the movement must be biting its nails over the trend evident in this new poll and similar surveys. The most ominous trend for the pro-choice movement is the increasingly pro-life character of younger Americans. As some observers have pointed out, a generation that can see ultrasound images of themselves in their own baby books tends to see abortion for what it is — the killing of a child.
Here is the great quandary for the pro-choice movement: More than 35 years after Roe v. Wade, they find that abortion is anything but the “settled issue” that some abortion proponents were certain would be the fate of the abortion question soon after 1973. To the contrary, the pro-choice movement is losing ground, not gaining. The frustration of pro-choice leaders is starting to show. They have little reason to be confident.
Abortion remains the greatest scandal confronting the American conscience. Those of us who yearn for America to return to its senses on this issue can take hope, even as we have much to do. Rebuilding a Culture of Life is no easy or quick task. This is one of the greatest civilizational challenges faced by this generation.
America has an unsettled conscience about abortion. We should be thankful for this fact, but not satisfied. An unsettled conscience is far better than a conscience settled on the killing of unborn children.
When It Comes To The Iran Nuclear Threat, The American People “Get It” More Than Washington
May 22, 2009
>> Netanyahu: Jerusalem will never be divided
A fascinating new poll by McLaughlin & Associates finds Americans are deeply and overwhelming concerned about the rising Iranian nuclear threat both to the U.S. and to Israel, and deeply concerned about the potential for Radical Islamic terrorists to acquire nuclear weapons from Iran. The poll also suggests the Obama administration’s apparent strategy of backing away from a full-fledged alliance with Israel — and strategy to pressure Israel to make unwise territorial concessions and potentially not defend herself from the Iran threat — could backfire politically, both for the White House and for Members of Congress who sign on to the President’s approach. Excerpts:
- Nine in ten voters (91%) say that Iran supplying a nuclear umbrella for terrorists is a serious threat to the United States
- Seven in ten voters (71%) say the United States will not be safe with a nuclear Iran
- Eight in ten voters (80%) say it is likely that Iran will launch a missile attack on Israel
- Three in four voters (77%) say it is likely that Iran will use the threat of nuclear attack to provide a shield for Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists to attack Israel
- The majority of voters approves of taking several specific actions to discourage the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran
To read the full poll results, click here.
Helping Students ‘Get It’
May 19, 2009
What Do They Need?
In a previous article, I argued that a major project for those of us who work with students is to help them “get” Christianity. While a significant number of Christian students reject Christianity during their university years, far more struggle to embrace a faith that is not really authentic or orthodox. Theirs is a “moralistic therapeutic deism,” as Christian Smith put it—a tame faith that is privatized and perhaps personally meaningful but which is not publicly true, culturally significant, or fundamentally informative to the rest of their lives.
Rather than trying to make Christianity as attractive and entertaining as possible, we ought instead to be sure that what we are communicating to them is actually Christianity. As I noted, this is very challenging in a culture of information overload, where students are bombarded daily with a multitude of messages, most of which, encourage them toward a mentality of adolescence.
Still, there is good news. Adolescently minded cultures like ours inevitably have a leadership vacuum. So, there remains a terrific opportunity for influence for those who produce the leaders, especially if they produce networks of leaders who can think deeply and contribute broadly to a wide variety of cultural institutions.
How can we do this?
CHALLENGE STUDENTS, INSTEAD OF CODDLE THEM
Frankly, it is my opinion that we aim too low with teenagers. Students do not need more entertainment, whether it is from the television, the Wii, the iPod, or the youth group. We will never effectively prepare students to engage our entertainment-driven culture by replacing it with Christian entertainment.
It is foolish to expect students to take Christianity and the world seriously if all they have been exposed to at youth group is games, pizza, and mindless mini-therapy lessons that may or may not come from the Scriptures. The church should be the place where we no longer believe (and students no longer experience) the myth of adolescence.
Instead, students need (and want) to be challenged—with the Scriptures, theology, tough questions, and cultural dilemmas. We see this every year at our Summit student leadership conferences—students endure 70-plus hours of lecture and instruction on worldviews, apologetics, culture, and character. Then they call home and ask for more money, so they can buy books!
I think there is something of the imago Dei in these students that screams in rebellion against the low expectations they face everywhere. For proof, see the movement of teenagers started by Brett and Alex Harris’ book Do Hard Things.
GIVE THEM A THOROUGH EDUCATION IN WORLDVIEWS AND APOLOGETICS
Because everyone has a worldview—a basic way in which they see, understand, and interact with the world—education is at its most fundamental level a worldview-shaping enterprise. It is the responsibility of a Christian institution to challenge students with the Christian view of life and the world, while exposing the non-Christian worldviews that others hold and which are behind historical movements and cultural expressions.
First, students need to know what they believe. Many see Christianity as merely a private faith rather than as a robust view of reality that offers a tried and true map for life. If students are convinced that the core of the Christian faith is how they can get to heaven and have a happy life, rather than as the Truth about all of life and the world, they do not know what they believe.
Of course, there simply is no substitute here for equipping students to dive deeply into the Scriptures. At the same time, however, it is important to help them dive into the Scriptures in the right way. Unfortunately, many students have only seen the Bible handled poorly by other Christians. Often, their only experience with the Scriptures include it being replaced by therapeutic clichés, utilized and memorized completely out of context, tacked on but not central to a lesson, strangely pieced together with other verses to make a point, proof-texted to supplement a devotional book or song lyric, or largely ignored.
When the Scriptures are handled this way, bits and pieces of the Bible only get co-opted into the student’s existent worldview. They may know the Bible, but they don’t think biblically. Rather, the student remains as the central arbiter of truth and interpretation.
The goal is that the Scriptures would transform the student’s mind (i.e. worldview). I fear we may have a generation of students who see the Bible through the lens of their culturally inherited worldview, rather than seeing the culture through the lens of the Bible.
Second, students need to know what others believe. There are non-biblical worldviews that are battling for hearts and minds as well as our culture. Historically, Christians from Justin Martyr to Augustine to Pascal to Edwards to C.S. Lewis, not to mention the apostle Paul, exhibited a strong understanding of the competing worldviews in their cultures.
We at Summit Ministries contend that, at minimum, students need to have a handle on at least six major Western worldviews before going to college: secular humanism, Marxism/Leninism, postmodernism, Islam, New Age, and biblical Christianity.
Third, Christians must know why they believe what they believe. Too many Christians cannot answer, and are even afraid of, the challenging questions about God, Jesus, the Bible, morality, or truth. Unfortunately, too many adults dread the moment that a student asks them a tough faith question they cannot answer. This avoidance, of course, does not remove the question. It merely delays the question until the student is an environment where the question will be entertained (like college!). We ought to see these questions as opportunities for the student, and ourselves, to dive even deeper into this faith we claim is true. Plus, God is big enough for the question.
SHOW THEM THAT CHRISTIANITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT WE ARE AGAINST, BUT WHAT WE ARE ABOUT
Proverbs says that without vision, the people “cast off restraint.” One of the main reasons that students are casualties of immoral choices is that they lack a big vision for their lives. While they may know what they are not supposed to do, they fail to understand the life of meaning, purpose, and impact Christ calls them to. Christian students often get the impression that we are merely saved from, and not “to.”
The picture of redemption in Scripture is far broader than this. We often forget how many words used in the Scripture for redemption are “re” words: renew, regenerate, reconcile, redeem, re-creation, etc. The implication is that salvation is a return to the real life God intended for us before the fall. Christ not only came to save us from death, he came to save us to life—an abundant life at that!
This life is not merely our “spiritual” lives either. Rather, the Scriptures offer us the true Big Story of the world—from creation to new creation.
CONFRONT THEM WITH, RATHER THAN ISOLATE THEM FROM, THE MAJOR CULTURAL BATTLES OF OUR DAY
Challenging students to love God fully by thinking deeply, discerningly, and truthfully about His word and His world is foundational to what a truly Christian education is. Any other educational means and methods that do not include this as a goal cannot, in my opinion, really be considered Christian education (even if there is a plethora of rules, Bible references, and verses to memorize).
According to the way the Scriptures describe the grand narrative of God’s redemptive plan for creation, Christianity is neither a religion of ascetic withdrawal nor a dualistic philosophy that denigrates certain human activity as less than spiritual. Rather, followers of Christ are called to dive deeply—and hopefully headfirst—into the significant historical and cultural issues of the human situation. As G.K. Chesterton once said, “If Christianity should happen to be true—that is to say if its God is the real God of the universe—then defending it may mean talking about anything and everything.”
This is what ought to be meant when the language of worldview is used in education. Historically, Christians have sought to understand, and respond to cultural crises. They understood that these crises were the site of the battle of worldviews. Unfortunately, many Christians today are unaware of, disinterested in, or avoiding of issues like embryo-destructive research, euthanasia, emerging technologies, the arts, film, fashion, legislation, human trafficking, politics, and international relations. In Gethsemane on the evening before His death, Christ prayed these astounding words for his followers: “Father, do not take them from the world, but protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15). Our prayer, and preparation, for our children should be no different.
One final word about the spirit from which we approach the next generation. A few months back, I received a thoughtful and appropriate criticism to a talk I often give, which I call “Why students walk away from their faith (and what we can do about it).” The letter asked if I was coming at this issue from a position of fear—fear of the world and the enemy—and very appropriately suggested that Christians should not be fearful.
I must say that I fully concur with this point. The fear of God casts out all other fear. As the late Richard John Neuhaus wrote: “We have not the right to despair for despair is sin. And, we have not the reason to despair for Christ has risen.” I hope I am not approaching this issue from fear, though I can certainly see how it could be seen that way.
I hope I am approaching this issue from a perspective of realism, for students really are walking away from or checking out of the faith they were raised with, and we should confront this reality as Biblically and resourcefully as possible. This is not something we can ignore. As the historian Will Durant aptly noted: “From barbarism to civilization requires a century. From civilization to barbarism takes but a day.”
I can say in all truthfulness that as I write this, I really do have hope. Fundamentally, I have hope in Christ—He has risen. The day He died was actually the day that death died, and nothing can ever undo that reality. I also have hope in the Church, despite my critical words about it. I am part of this institution which Christ established and announced that against it the gates of Hell could not stand. (My reading of Church History has done more than anything else to secure my belief in those words).
Finally, I have hope because annually I work with many students—both here and abroad—who do, or are fighting to, “get it.” They want their lives to matter for Christ, they want to take the Gospel into all the world (including every corner of culture), and they want to think well about and in this world. They will be better than my generation has been. They will love God better, serve others better, care more deeply, and think more clearly. They want to read good books, and they want to live for something bigger than themselves.
Two Hours At The White House: Was progress made?
May 19, 2009
> UPDATE: On Monday, I’m scheduled to be on Janet Parshall’s nationally syndicated radio show from 3pm to 3:45pm to discuss the Netanyahu visit. I’m also scheduled to be on Glenn Beck’s TV show on Fox to discuss the Obama-Netanyahu meeting at 5:30pm eastern.
UPDATE AT 2:30pm eastern: President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu just completed two hours of meetings at the White House. The major topics, as expected, were Iran’s nuclear threat to Israel and the Western world, and the future of the peace process with the Palestinians.
The President unsuccessfully pressed Netanyahu to commit to a “two state solution.” Netanyahu reiterated that Israel does not want to govern the Palestinians but would not commit to agreeing that they have full sovereignty, something that would allow the Palestinians to build strategic military alliances with Iran, Syria and other dangerous regimes, as well as build an air force and navy, all of which would endanger the Jewish States.
The President did not commit to putting to put a time limit on diplomacy with Iran. He did say he wants to see a positive response from Iran by the end of the year, but did not define what progress would look like. “Obama said he expects a positive response from his diplomatic outreach to Iran on stopping its nuclear program by the end of the year,” reported the Associated Press. “The president said the United States wanted to bring Iran into the world community, but declared ‘we’re not going to have talks forever.’”
Reuters is also reporting that “Obama said after the meeting he saw no reasons to set an artificial deadline for diplomacy with Iran, but the United States would like to see progress with Tehran by the end of the year.”
“The two were intended to meet in private for an hour and then be joined by their advisors, though the tête-à-tête was extended by half an hour,” reported the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz. “Afterwards Netanyahu was joined by top aide Ron Dermer and his National Security Advisor, Uzi Arad. Obama was joined by the US National Security Advisor, James Jones.” It was General Jones who publicly criticized Israels’ “preoccuption” with the Iranian nuclear threat and recently told European diplomats that “we’re not going to throw Israel in front of a bus, but…” — but we’re going to pressure Israel to accept American dictates on Middle East policy vis-a-vis Iran and the Palestinians.
ORIGINAL POST: Please carve time out of your schedules today to pray that the God of Israel would bless the meetings today, tomorrow and Wednesday between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, Defense Secretary Gates, and Congressional leaders. Given the high stakes in the epicenter, please pray that the Lord’s will would be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Yes, it appears a diplomatic train wreck is coming between the U.S. and Israel in the not-too-distant future given that Netanyahu understands Iran’s leaders are part of an apocalyptic, genocidal death cult and believe it is their God-given mission to annihilate Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it, and the American President and his team clearly do not. [Example: Gen. James Jones, President Obama's national security advisor -- appearing on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopolous" last week -- referred to "Israel's preoccupation with Iran as an existential threat." That's a curious choice of words to the rise of a Nazi-esque regime in Iran.] That disconnect, of course, could change. Change is the mantra, after all. The Lord in His grace and power could change the hearts and minds of our government leaders so that they would: 1) understand the evil nature of the Iranian regime and be united with Israel in doing everything possible to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons; and 2) stop pressuring Israel to make unwise concessions to their enemies. The question I’m asking is not whether the Lord can change the hearts of our leaders, but whether He will choose to do so.
Perhaps, the Lord is going to allow the U.S. to abandon Israel at this moment in history. The Obama administration is certainly doing everything it can to curry favor with the Muslim world and clearly views Israel as the problem in the region, not our best strategic ally in the epicenter. Only 31% of Israelis now see President Obama as “pro-Israel,” down from more than 80% of Israelis who saw President George W. Bush that way. Perhaps the season of American love and steadfast support for the Jewish State is coming to a close. I hope not. I pray not. But we must realize that Scripturally we know that the entire world will eventually turn against Israel in the “last days.” The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob won’t abandon Israel. Indeed, the Lord will use the nations turning against Israel to show His unconditional love and unwavering support for the Jews. That He is their only friend. Their only hope. God is jealous for the Jewish people. He wants to draw them to Himself, to protect them, to care for them, to save them. He does not want them to trust in anyone or anything but Him. Perhaps the Lord is beginning to show His people that He is the only one they can truly trust to love them and care for them.
The good news is that the Bible gives us hope — that the God of Israel can change the situation dramatically if He so chooses; and He can and will bless Israel even if the United States does not, because He loves the Jewish people and has a great plan for their lives. Consider the following verses as you pray for U.S. and Israeli leaders today:
- “Nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37).
- “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the and of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1)
- “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:4)
- “O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield….The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel.” (Psalm 115:9,12)
- “Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 125:1-2)
- “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. ‘This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her needy with bread. Her priests also I will clothe with salvation, and her godly ones will sing aloud for joy.” (Psalm 132:13-16)
- “I know that You [Lord] can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2)
So let us pray, but not be worried. God has everything in His control, and we need to put our full trust in Him, especially as the return of Jesus Christ approaches. As Jesus told us in John 14:1-3, “Let your heart not be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
Talking About Talking About Abortion
May 19, 2009
President Barack Obama delivered his commencement address at the University of Notre Dame on Sunday, and he appeared to dive right into the very issue that made his visit to the Catholic university so controversial — abortion.
The President’s appearance at Notre Dame came even as seventy Catholic bishops denounced the university’s invitation. Protests and debates roiled the world of American Catholicism and a major media event was assured.
The President began his address with a call for common ground, noting that the generation represented by the young Notre Dame graduates would face daunting challenges. “Moreover, no one person, or religion, or nation can meet these challenges alone,” said Mr. Obama. “Our very survival has never required greater cooperation and greater understanding among all people from all places than at this moment in history.”
Yet, even as he called for common ground, he also warned: “We’re not going to shy away from things that are uncomfortable sometimes.” Everyone knew that the President was referring to abortion. Once again, he called for common ground. “That’s when we begin to say, ‘Maybe we won’t agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this heart-wrenching decision for any woman is not made casually, it has both moral and spiritual dimensions.’”
In virtually every way imaginable, the Notre Dame speech represents the quintessential Obama. By now, Americans should understand that this President is going to take positions and shape policies that are at odds with the sanctity of human life. He has already done this with respect to federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research and, as a candidate he pledged to do far more — even to sign the Freedom of Choice Act if passed by Congress.
At the same time, the President wants to claim common ground and respect for those who differ with him on these issues. He calls for others to do the same:
I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. Because no matter how much we may want to fudge it — indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory — the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.
Mr. Obama went on to call for “Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words.” In the end, the President’s comments were entirely about how Americans should discuss or debate abortion. There was no serious consideration of abortion itself. President Obama merely talked about talking about abortion.
This was a moral evasion and an insult to the importance of the issue. If the President had actually addressed the issue of abortion — if he had actually even offered a defense or rationale for his own position — he would have dignified the issue. Instead, Mr. Obama issued what amounted to a call for civility.
When the President called for Americans to agree that, while differing on abortion, “we can still agree that this heart-wrenching decision for any woman is not made casually,” he failed to make clear why this is so. If the unborn baby is not a person who possesses an intrinsic right to life, why is the decision to abort so “heart-wrenching?” If the fetus is just a collection of cells, why the angst? Furthermore, does the fact that a decision is “heart-wrenching” make it right or rational?
When the President acknowledged that, in the end, the two positions on abortion are irreconcilable, he was on more solid ground. Both sides frame the issue as a question of rights — specifically a woman’s “right” to control her reproductive destiny by any means, including abortion vs. the unborn child’s right to live. The weakness of the pro-abortion (or “pro-choice”) position becomes evident at this point. The claimed right of control over reproduction is not commensurate with another person’s right to live, and not to be killed in the womb.
If President Obama had actually spoken of abortion itself, rather than addressing abortion only as an issue of controversy, he would have found himself defending the indefensible, which explains why he avoids this discussion at all costs. Yet, now that he is President, he cannot get by with claiming that this question is “above my pay grade.”
The President also called for a certain humility on contested issues. “And this doubt should not push us away our faith,” argued the President. “But it should humble us. It should temper our passions, cause us to be wary of too much self-righteousness.” In itself, this is a good and responsible warning. But, as President Abraham Lincoln made clear in his second inaugural address, avoiding arrogance and self-righteousness does not mean failing to take a clear and costly stand.
This President is entirely predictable on the issue of abortion and related issues of human life, such as embryonic stem cell research. He is framing policies that are completely consistent with what he said and promised during his campaign. It is embarrassing to see some evangelicals who claim to be pro-life running public relations for the Obama Administration’s policies and positions. It is not uncivil to protest the President’s positions as subversive of human dignity and the sanctity of human life.
At the University of Notre Dame President Barack Obama talked about talking about abortion. One day, he will have to talk about abortion itself. He will put that day off as long as possible.
Importunate Prayer, or Is It Necessary?
May 17, 2009
S. Lewis Johnson Message of the Week
Why isn’t it enough to simply ask God once? Listen as Dr. Lewis Johnson skillfully teaches straight from the Biblical text the necessity of persistent prayer.
Importunate Prayer, or Is It Necessary?
Part 8 of an 8-week series on Prayer Read more
