Silent Scream and the Apostles' Creed
by
Motte Brown
on Apr 3, 2008 at 2:31 PM
A reader responds to Ted's Silent Scream post with this:
I have an unwanted vegetative crack addicted baby for one of you to take off my hands down at the inner city hospital. It should only "live" a couple weeks. Where can I drop it off?
I would give you my address if this were true. And many other Christians have actually.
Though the point being made was hypothetical, it brings to my mind a question about the origin of life. Meaning, is it merely the result of evolutionary reproductive processes? Or is God a clock winder who sets the world in motion then sits back and lets "nature" take its course? Or is God the author of life? Even "crack addicted" life?
We read in the Apostles' Creed that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. So we know that the fullness of time, God ordained for His conception, His life in Mary's womb, and His birth. Was there a moment during the cell-splitting process when He ceased to exist? Indeed, He cannot cease to exist for all things exist through Him. So at no point during and after conception did He cease to be fully God and fully human.
And though none of us are the God-man, we existed and were fully human at conception. And all of the 45 million babies who've been aborted were fully human too. And so is the hypothetical vegetative crack addicted baby and he/she deserves more than being torn apart and crushed inside the mother's womb.
1. W. Hank Balch had the following to say on Apr 3 at 4:13 PM:
This is absolutely right on. The nature of our conception is not the basis whereby we evaluate the dignity of human life. Like King David (Psa 51:5), we were all born in sin, which, as far as genetic diseases go, is the most virulent disease known on the planet. Every child ever conceived (with the exception of Jesus Christ) was born with this terminal illness. Yet even in the midst of that, as we confront the miracle of life - even the life of a drug addicted child - we are called to exclaim with Eve, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." (Gen. 4:1) For truly, children are a heritage from Him. (Psa 127:3)
2. Sarah had the following to say on Apr 3 at 5:21 PM:
If you're serious about being a rescue family, here's an organization you might want to check out.
http://www.projectcuddle.org/rescuefamily.asp
3. Rachael had the following to say on Apr 3 at 10:21 PM:
Or is God the author of life? Even "crack addicted" life?
Yes. Ultimately, yes. This precious baby is made in His image as well...minus the crack addictions of course. That, unfortunately, is a result of sin...sweet, sweet babies...Yes, every baby deserves a chance. Without a doubt.
I cannot fathom pro-choice, if people believe that abortion is equivalent to murder. Maybe they just don't view it that way...
4. Chris > had the following to say on Apr 4 at 1:57 AM:
"He cannot cease to exist for all things exist through Him. So at no point during and after conception did He cease to be fully God and fully human."
Hey Motte & Ted, Thanks SO much for your insightful write-ups. I have been pro-life from just about as far back as the phrase was coined in the public arena, and like one of the families in the comments from Ted's original post, took our little ones along with us on Pro-Life marches, etc.
The statement above about the existence of all things being held together by Jesus is probably, for Christians, one of the most compelling Biblical facts pointing to life beginning at conception that i've ever heard!
I say "for Christians" because, as we know, people who are not yet Believers would not put much stock in something that is taken just from God's Word.
But for Believers who are just not quite sure where they stand on this issue, this should open their eyes, once and for all, if they really are looking for Biblical Truth.
I guess it's really a testimony to the power of culture to influence when you think about the fact that there are Christians who could still waver on the issue of abortion. All the more reason why things like Boundless, TrueU and guys like Chuck Colson's and Del Tackett's informative teachings are so necessary to help us know what we believe and why we believe it.
Just a final thought, you know it's funny how in my years in the world, i never once had to stop and think about what i really believed or why i believed it - i just did - and i would defend myself on any topic like my life depended on it, even when it was wrong - arguing til dawn with anybody who would disagree with me. It was so good to finally learn about real Eternal Truth when i accepted Jesus into my life.
But now it's so disconcerting to see how many Christians seem to walk around in a fog about what they should, or even actually do, believe. And then when they do get hold of something powerful they're half-afraid to share it because they are so intimidated by their culture - the very people who so desperately need that Truth! Thanks for helping to be a big part of "the remedy" for this endemic "disease" of modern-day Believers! Keep up the good work!
5. Didi had the following to say on Apr 4 at 8:41 AM:
Yes, God created life, and abortion is wrong. But was that really the reader's point? You can talk about the evils of abortion all day long, but who is going to be there to rock that vegetative (albeit hypothetical) newborn? I think the reader's point was: "Don't just talk about abortion. Get your hands dirty. Take in an unwed mother. Listen to her. Rock a sick child that has no one. Adopt from foster care." There are so many other pro-life issues that go along with the issue of abortion. We have to stop congratulating ourselves for merely being pro-life, and be willing to sacrifice our time, money and love for the ones that escape abortion.
6. Matthew had the following to say on Apr 4 at 8:51 AM:
I think that the take-home point from this is that conservative Christians have often advocating strongly for outlawing abortion but not always advocating as strongly for assisting mothers and children, especially those who are poor. Early Christians used to look for abandoned babies to rescue and changed the world; we simply don't see the same level of effort that impresses people around us.
I am NOT ignorant of CPC's and churches that do provide mothers with unplanned pregnancies. I am also not ignorant of Christian adoption efforts. These have been great responses to the abortion crisis in America. However, I am saying that it is just not enough. If this poster could leave such a sarcastic and vicious comment, then we're clearly not working hard enough. There are hundreds of thousands of children in foster care in America, so many that even now gay couples are being pressed to adopt. There are not nearly enough CPCs and they're not staffed with enough full-time workers or volunteers. More stable Christian families need to move to geographic areas where they can minister directly to at-risk moms.
We Christians have to put our money where our mouths are. Either we have to support more government support for unmarried mothers (I don't like this idea much and neither would most people on the board) or we as Christians need to ramp up our efforts to provide for these mothers and their children.
Public advocacy and government efforts will always be crucial, and I firmly believe that preborn babies need to be protected by law. But until we reduce the demand for abortion, we'll just be making the battle harder for ourselves. What's worse, our political opponents will have plenty of ammunition to call us hypocrites, and much of the time they'll be right.
7. Riqui had the following to say on Apr 4 at 10:21 AM:
I'm struggling with lots of questions right now, mainly why. My 10 mo. old niece has been in a struggle for her life since conception. She has Spina Bifida. The doctors told my brother and sister-in-law that the had several options. My brother only saw one: life. They firmly believe that this little life is a gift and she belongs to the Creator.
As I type, she is in the hospital for the umpteenth time. At this time, the reason is pneumonia and heart problems. Last month it was because her shunt failed; two months before that was because she had two surgeries.
Despite my questions of why and feeling that all of this is so unfair, hard, sad, whatever...God put this little one into our lives for a reason. There are those who think she shouldn't have had to go through all of this. It has been a major strain--physically and financially on my brother and sister-in-law. However, the love and joy that she brings to their life, the growth of their faith, the prayers of so many, and the lives that have been touched by this little one are beyond comprehension.
God is sovereign and though we get to be a part of Creation, brining new life into this world, we ultimately cannot decided who gets that life.
Thank you for this article. I needed it right now.
8. Katie had the following to say on Apr 4 at 10:55 AM:
Matthew, I agree. We need to do more. Its one thing to send your adress for the hypothetical drop off of a hypothetical baby. Pro life should mean more than protecting the right to be born. It should mean supporting people at all stages of life. Prolife retoric and political action is the easy part, it is also far to easy to blame someone else when it fails to make a difference. But it is never enough to prevent an abortion then fail to provide for the family that is created by the birth.
On a side note, I think our labels fall short, if someone who thinks killing the unborn is wrong, but still advocates a womans choice, obviously they cant concider themselves 'anti-life', just as we who advocate protecting the right to birth would not like the label 'anti-choice. I believe that abortion is murder, but I also know that individual situations are complicated and have little to do with the debate, and every baby resides in the body of a real live woman, who is greatly affected by it and needs to choose how to deal with this change in her life and body. Do I support her right to make a choice? yes. Do I support her baby's right to live? yes.
advocating the restriction of terrible choices doesnt accomplish enough, we need to make life the best choice.
9. Suzanne had the following to say on Apr 4 at 11:10 PM:
Katie, I really like your last sentence: "advocating the restriction of terrible choices doesnt accomplish enough, we need to make life the best choice."
Being pro-life is really about saving at least two lives: the life of the baby and the life of the mother: the physical life of one and the emotional and spiritual life of the other. We are about life, about abundant life.
10. Kevin Torres had the following to say on Apr 5 at 9:09 AM:
Human body cells have 46 chromosomes. Dogs have 78 chromosomes. Cats have 38 chromosomes. Chromosomes is what biologically defines us as humans.
At fertilization the 23 chromosomes of the male sperm cell fuse with the 23 chromosomes of the female secondary oocyte.
This fused structure is you. You have chromosomes from each of your parents. Have you ever noticed how you look so much like you mother or father. Because you came from them. You literally have 23 chromosomes from your mother and 23 chromosomes from your father.
This is why the unborn is a human life.