Nonsense #7: Abortion and the Bible (Part 4)

One might think that the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. (FFRFI) had by now run out of steam, but, no, like someone desperate for heat in the winter time, they keep shoveling more debris onto a few glowing ashes, hoping that something will catch fire. They have the temerity to suggest that God is the leading abortionist in the world—due to miscarriages.

Spontaneous abortions occur far more often than medical abortions. Gynecology textbooks conservatively cite a 15% miscarriage rate, with one medical study finding a spontaneous abortion rate of almost 90% in very early pregnancy. That would make a deity in charge of nature the greatest abortionist in history!

It was not for nothing that we labeled the nontract "nonsense." The above statement causes a person to ask several questions.

How many gynecological textbooks are being referenced—two, twenty, one hundred?

Do any of the gynecological textbooks have a name, so that someone could verify the information?

Who checked all those textbooks and determined that 15% was a conservative miscarriage rate, and with what was the information in the textbooks compared?

Who did the "one medical study" concerning spontaneous abortions, and is it universally accepted or rejected?

Who said there was a Deity in charge of nature?

It is odd that any group of people would make medical assertions without citing the research that would prove their case. FFRFI cites Scriptures (although many of them are misapplied), and they cite church groups that support abortion. Why don't they name a source on these extravagant claims?

Concerning nature, however, it is not now the way God created it. When sin first entered the world, many things changed. And when the Flood came upon the world—due to man's excesses in wickedness—conditions changed even more. Miscarriages can be caused by a number of factors, but we do not need to analyze all of them to respond to such a flimsy argument. FFRFI acts as though God appoints miscarriages to occur. He does not—any more than He appoints automobile accidents. Do we have a Deity for Traffic? Poisonous snakes have killed people, also. Some things just occur in nature. The point is that medical abortions are performed on healthy children—even up to nine months, which is malicious, not natural.

"The Bible Is Anti-Woman"

After all of the arguments made, trying to prove that the Bible is not pro-life, the FFRFIans next claim that the Bible provides "a biblical basis for the real motivation behind the antiabortion religious crusade: hatred of women" (emph. GWS). Such a charge could only be made—and received—by those who have no familiarity with the Scriptures at all. Apparently, they have never read the extended praise of the worthy woman in Proverbs 31 (is there a passage about worthy men?). Are they ignorant of the nobility of Ruth and the courage of Queen Esther? They blather on:

The bible is anti-woman, blaming women for sin, demanding subservience, mandating a slave/master relationship to men, and demonstrating contempt and lack of compassion.

Right! And in her spare time Wonder Woman doubles as the tooth fairy. Eve did sin, but Paul targeted her husband: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). Both were guilty; both were punished. God no more hated Eve than He did Adam; both received punishments for allowing sin to enter the world. But through the seed of woman would the Messiah come (Gen. 3:15).

God never authorized women to be slaves to men. Talk about spin. He did give man headship, which some might consider a privilege, but it also carries with it responsibility. And the command is for husbands to love their wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it (Eph. 5:25). The husband ruling over the wife (Gen. 3:16) implies neither dictatorship nor tyranny. And hundreds of thousands of self-respecting women are happy to follow the pattern.

Having pain during childbirth is God's penalty for the female role in sin. Every woman who bears a child is reminded of that fact. Men must earn a living from a reluctant earth bearing thorns and thistles. Does FFRFI utter a protest on behalf of men because they are forced to sweat? Why doesn't God have contempt for and lack compassion on men? These penalties were intended to punish male and female. Hello! This is the reason that nontheists should not write nontracts. They have no clue about spiritual matters.

Worldwatch

According to Worldwatch Institute, 50% of all abortions in the entire world are illegal, and 200,000 women a year die from illegal or self-induced abortions. One wonders why, if they are legal, some women self-induce. Australia, North America, Europe, and most of Asia have very liberal policies; Central and South America have more restrictions, as does Africa. How well documented is the alleged 200,000 women?

One ought to remember that the Worldwatch Institute is a climate change, zero population growth group. Some of these agencies have been known to fabricate or lie about statistics, which is documented. They have been caught at it. But even if it were true, what is the reason? No one is forced to have an abortion. If a woman chooses to behave in this manner, at least it was her choice. In an abortion, the baby is killed 100% of the time—and had no choice whatsoever. These women are violating both civil law and God's law.

Cartoon

Even the cartoons FFRFI uses are slanted. Side by side are two individuals holding up signs. On the left is a fat white guy; his sign says, "Fetuses Have a Heartbeat" (which is true after three weeks). On the right is a slim woman (obviously not pregnant) with her sign: "I love the Right to Choose." Yes, she loves the right to choose to kill her child.

The spin is that only men oppose abortion when in fact women do, also. The woman who was Roe in the 1973 lawsuit has become pro-life. Women like Carol Everett, who once operated abortion clinics have become pro-life. Abortion has never been a male-female issue, as the cartoon implies. The fact is that many men are pro-abortion. Why wouldn't they be? They can be as immoral as they want and not be forced to pay for an offspring's college education. Abortion is a really cheap alternative for them.

Pro-Abortion Churches

In an attempt to gain religious support, the "nontract" lists 20 groups (not all are churches). The first one is "American Baptist Churches-USA." According to the Handbook of Denominations (10th edition), there are 27 different Baptist denominations; the nontract lists only one in support of abortion, and it has about 1½ million members out of the total of 32,000,000.

The American Ethical Union is more of a humanist organization than a church. They welcome nontheists. Likewise, no one considers the YWCA a church group. According to Wikipedia, their common goal is that by 2035 there will be "100 million young women and girls" who "will transform power structures to create justice, gender equality and a world without violence and war…." One wonders what god they are serving.

The Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Christ (no relation to us) have long been considered the most liberal church groups in America. Their moral stances directly oppose what the Scriptures teach. Another of these is the Disciples of Christ, who split from the Christian Church several decades ago. Marvin Weir, in The Reno Record of September 8, 2019, quotes from Charlie Butts of OneNewsNow: "In the mid1960's, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) recorded having more than two million members. But in succeeding decades, the denomination has seen significant drops in membership, with the most recent data showing an 80 percent decline since that time, standing at 382,000 for 2018." Maybe all liberal groups are not declining this fast, but most people recognize that they are not Christian.

The American Friends (Quaker) Service Committee is another small group (fewer than 50,000). The Moravian Church has about 600,000 members in the entire world—much fewer in the United States. The Internet does not list a group called "Evangelicals for Choice."

Three of the remaining ten are Jewish groups: the American Jewish Congress, the Union of American Hebrew congregations, and the United Synagogue of America. The "Congress" was formed in 1918 to protect the rights of all minorities; abortion does not seem to be one of their main emphases. The Union has fewer than one million members. According to Wikipedia, about 83% of American Jews are pro-abortion, but that is not the position of Judaism itself.

Some go against the teachings of their religious group. For example, there is a "Catholics for Free Choice," which clearly defies what the head and leadership of the Catholic Church believes. A Lutheran's Women's Caucus is pro-abortion, also. A Women's Caucus of the Church of the Brethren presumably takes issue with the majority. One wonders what position the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice would take. These are not churches; they are pro-abortion members of those churches.

That leaves the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (about 250,000 members), the Presbyterian Church USA, and the Unitarian Universalist Association, which is atheistic and humanistic. All that this list really shows is that the vast majority of religious groups that call themselves Christian are pro-life. Citing these dissident groups proves nothing except that some desire to be religious, but when it comes to standing with the Scriptures, they betray the Lord like Judas and opt for the immoral position of killing innocent life.

Final Thoughts

In the nontract's closing comments, they continue to err, saying that life beginning at conception is a matter of faith. No, it's a medical fact as well as a spiritual truth, as shown previously. Having laws against abortion would be the equivalent of "passing a law that all citizens must attend Catholic mass!" Here the FFRFIans imply another misconception—that only the Catholic Church opposes abortion. Mormons, Baptists, Presbyterians, most religious groups (except the liberal ones), and members of the churches of Christ have opposed abortion for decades. Finally, the nontract proclaims that abortion is a matter of separation of church and state. Hogwash! No church is being imposed on America. Nobody claimed such when we were fighting World War II and abortion was illegal. Medically, ethically, and Biblically, abortion takes an innocent life. Our government was designed to protect those who cannot protect themselves. As a nation, we have the obligation to do so.

Those who do not know what they are saying shouldn't be: