When is a Human a Human? (Abortion)

I was listening to the radio this evening, and a talk show host was discussing a new law passed - in Missouri, I think - that would define a baby as being human at the moment of conception. He argued that this was pushing one religion's moral view on everyone, and while he admitted he didn't know for sure when a fetus 'became alive' he thought that the idea it was at the moment of conception was ridiculous. He mentioned views from various religions, philosophers and scientists over the years, and it got me thinking about how I would defend my personal belief on this subject.

It is my firm belief that life begins at conception. The moment a sperm fertilizes an egg the process of building a human baby begins. Neither a sperm or an egg left on its own will do that, and setting that process in motion seems pretty indicative to me. There is still the possibility that natural processes will keep the fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, and as many women have sadly experienced things will often go wrong even later and result in a miscarriage. I take that to be just like accidents later in life: sin in the world has resulted in imperfections which lead to untimely deaths, as all of us have experienced in the loss of friends or loved ones.

Intentionally taking that growing human life, then, is the same as murder in my book. However, I do understand that not everyone agrees with me - so here is my reasoning for having abortion (at any stage) made illegal:

- Human life is sacred
- It is a travesty to take human life without just cause (punishment for certain crimes, for example)
- We should do everything possible to prevent accidentally taking a human life; the death penalty even should be reserved for only the most heinous crimes, and when guilt is absolutely certain
- There are even those who would posit that capital punishment should *never* be used, because of how sacred life is
- We can't prove empirically when human life begins
- Because we can't prove when life begins, we should not allow elective abortion at any point to make sure we are protecting all human life

With that said, I can see exceptions to this in the following cases:

- Risk to the mother and child: If there is a high chance that bringing a baby to term would lead to the death of both the mother and child, then it makes sense to sacrifice one to save the other. Give the choice, then, to the mother (or the father, if the mother is incapacitated).

- Risk to the mother alone: If there is a high chance that bringing the baby to term would lead to the death of the mother, then a choice is needed. Personally I would risk it, I think, as I trust in God and His mercy and power... but I can't force that on others.

- Rape: Honestly here I think it is only fair to the innocent baby to bring it to term, despite horrible circumstances. The baby could be given up for adoption if raising it would be too traumatic to the mother, but I don't see any reason to punish a child for the crime of someone else. I've been told, though, that letting the result of such a violation grow inside a woman is devastating - and since I don't have any personal experience in that area I could again see letting this be up to the choice of the mother.

I am aware that the topic of abortion is a very divisive one, and while I am pretty settled in my opinions here I would welcome comments from those on all sides of this issue. As always, feel free to post your thoughts or questions!

Inalienable Rights

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

So says the Declaration of Independence, the document that set forth the principles on which our forefathers separated from England and began the great experiment which we, over two centuries later, are the result of. The prominent place this sentence, and the ideas contained therein, occupy certainly makes it an important foundation of our country and the way it works and in which its laws should be interpreted... but the more I think about it the less sure I am that the founders were really correct. Please note that I am not suggesting these rights should be taken away from anyone here in the United States, but I begin to wonder if God really has given us the rights described there.

I do believe that we are each created by God, in His image - by which I take it that we have an eternal soul as a part of us which is in some sense modeled after God Himself. That does mean that humans are special individuals, and in Genesis 9:5 we are told the following:

"And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man."

That could perhaps be interpreted to mean that we have a 'right' to life, at least in so far as other people are concerned. God of course has no obligation to let any of us live another second, so before him we have no rights at all, but that is as it should be in the relationship between a Creator and His creation.

Life, then, we may have a legitimate claim to... but what of 'liberty' and 'the pursuit of happiness'? Liberty is analogous to freedom, at least in some sense, and many would argue that this means slavery and forced servitude are both in violation of human rights. This has led to things like the abolition of slavery here in the US, which I consider to be a great thing... but if you look at the instructions given to slaves in the New Testament there are no instructions to rise up and claim their freedom. Instead they are told in Ephesians 6:5 to "obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ." That doesn't seem to imply a right to liberty to me, though the accompanying instructions for masters (which follow immediately after the guidelines for slaves) do seem to indicate that those in positions of authority should treat their underlings with some measure of respect.

The last 'right', the pursuit of happiness, is a bit more vague. I'm not even sure what that means exactly - but at least it isn't a right to happiness itself, as that would be nigh-impossible to imagine. Still, I don't see anything in the Bible which indicates that we have a God-given right to anything relating to happiness. We are encouraged, though, to "be joyful always" (I Thessalonians 5:16) and even to "consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds" (James 1:2). No matter what our circumstances, then - whether slave or free, rich or poor - we should be joyful in the Lord. That is easier said than done, to be sure, but true joy also seems like a more noble goal than simple happiness.

A Very Interesting Document

A co-worker of mine recently linked me to the Manhattan Declaration, a very curious document that has been posted online by a group of Christian leaders. After reading it I decided to sign my name, and I want to also share it with those who read my blog(s). I would strongly encourage you all to at least read over the basics of it, as I believe the principles put forth are true and good. Let me know what you think!

Israel - A Special Nation

I'd probably get in trouble for this post, if enough people read my blog - but I guess I don't have to worry about that right now :) The topic I'd like to touch on today was inspired by many recent stories I've read online about the nation of Israel, the current version of which was created by Allied powers in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust.

The Bible describes the Jewish people - the majority of the population of present-day Israel - as God's chosen (Deuteronomy 7:6) to whom He gave the 'promised land' (Genesis 15:18-21, 28:13, Exodus 23:31). The area occupied by the modern state of Israel is in roughly that same geographic location, and it is my belief that it is their God-given right to possess that land... no matter who inhabits it in the various interim periods throughout history where the Jews have been driven away from their ancestral home (Deuteronomy 30:4-5).

I am aware that the Palestinians, who lived in that region prior to the 1948 declaration of Israel as a state, have different views: they see the Jews as intruders, thieves, and the like... and some of them have turned to terrorism as a way to fight back - trying to recover their lost territory or just exact revenge. I can understand their position, and were this any other group of people but the Jews I would likely side with them to some extent; against God's chosen people, though, I cannot raise my hand.

That brings me to the second point I wanted to make: not only do I believe the Israelis have a right to the land they inhabit, but I also believe that they should always be supported by Christians - or at the very least never opposed. God's exact words were "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3, NIV). I take that literally, and so I am proud to be an American since we have historically aided Israel. I worry, though, that the winds of politics have been shifting and that someday we may not - or worse. I pray that we never try to stand against the Israelis in battle, or even political posturing, lest we fall even further from God's grace than we have already.

Note that this doesn't mean that I think Israel is always right, or that they are given any more leeway by God when they sin (as individuals or a people). We are, after all, human - whether Jew or Gentile we all need Christ's redemption and forgiveness. What I am saying, though, is that I believe God has a special place for the Israelites and that they have an important role to play in the history of this world.

Aliens

I was trying to decide if I should go through this blog in some sort of order, with each post leading into the next, but I know eventually it would have to become more random - so I'm just going to go straight to that and write about whatever aspect of my beliefs happen to be on my mind.

Today, it is my answer to the question "are there such things as aliens?" Another way to put that is "are we alone in the universe" - and I think the answer there is clearly "no". God created us, I believe, and so at the very least He is here too. There are some pretty strange phenomenon, though, which likely aren't being done by Him: crop circles, abduction stories, UFOs, etc. Some of those are surely made up or caused by humans, but I am very open to the idea that not all of them are... so yes - I do believe this planet has been 'visited' by beings not native to it. However, I don't necessarily thing they are from another planet, either.

You see, I believe that both angels and demons, or fallen / sinful angels, are quite active in this world. They clearly appear many times in Biblical accounts, and I've heard stories from people even these days that sure sound like angels - protecting missionaries, keeping people from harm, etc. I doubt that God's angelic messengers are responsible for any 'alien activity' as it is portrayed in science fiction, but I believe their fallen counterparts - demons - are.

What is the effect that stories about abductions, UFO sightings, and other such paranormal activities (even things like ghosts) have on people? Then tend to cause some folks to obsess over them, focusing time and energy on research, investigation, etc - time and energy that then isn't spent on learning about God. Isn't that the very thing that demons would want to do: distract humans from the truth about God?

I guess perhaps I should have done a blog on my beliefs regarding angels and demons, but you can probably surmise at least some of it here. I find it so interesting that others don't seem to have picked up on this possibility: most people I know tend to either believe in some form of traditional ET-style aliens or just dismiss everything as fictitious ramblings... but realizing that demons are active in this world makes a lot more sense to me. I don't think that their activity is limited to tricking paranoid people, either - I bet do a lot more in terms of influencing and sometimes directly controlling people too, but that is another topic.

With all of that said, I do also leave open the door for other life on other planets in the universe. I don't see anything clearly in the Bible that indicates an answer either way on that, and I have a hard time imagining that the whole of the cosmos as we can see it through telescopes and such exists only to encompass us humans - but then I'm not God, so I can't claim to understand what reasoning He might have. I don't think that any other beings from such worlds have visited ours, though, unless angels and demons themselves have that origin.

The Nature of God

Light - Love - Holy - Just. There are many words used in the Bible (and other places) to describe God, but as mortal humans it is hard to wrap our heads around how some of the things attributed to him are possible. For example, eternal: just try to think about that for a second.

If you read my last post you know that I believe all of the Biblical descriptions of God are true, but that is a bit of a cop-out here. Instead of simply listing some or all of those descriptions I would like to take you through the way I understand God - in so far as my limited mortal capacities can.

Timeless - I think that is one of the best words in the English vocabulary for this aspect of God. He is eternal, in that He has no end, but He also has no beginning. He has always been, and always will be. In fact, He created time as we know it - so concepts like age, beginning and ending have no meaning for His nature... hence, Timeless.

This I believe is a requisite condition of God as He has revealed himself in the Bible. If He created the world (don't worry, we'll get there) then He had to precede it - and you can't just have created our world without also creating the rest of the cosmos; indeed, the Biblical creation account states that pretty clearly. If we give God any sort of beginning as we humans would understand it then there is just another step behind Him: someone or something must have created Him, which leaves us with a blank question mark. It is much simpler to accept that He is indeed the origin of all things, yet has no origin Himself.

Holy - This one term encompasses a lot. Another contender for this spot would be 'perfect' - but perfection implies a standard above the thing which you are describing... and I believe that God, by his very nature, is the standard. 'Holy' carries that connotation a lot better, while also bringing up the idea that God cannot abide un-holiness. I'll go into it deeper in another post, I'm sure, but I believe this attribute of God is how we have the idea of sin: that which is not in line with God's holiness.

The reasoning behind my belief in God's holiness is again in part based in the Bible, but also stems from logic. If He is indeed the Creator of all things, the One who no one else is above, then no matter what His standards for behavior are (to bring things into human terminology) they would be right. If He was full of death and destruction then those would be right - because there is no higher standard to hold him to. However, I think that our shared human instinct that says such things are wrong points to God's true morals... and the Bible backs that up. He has black and white standards for what is right - that which is in line with his nature and holiness - and wrong - everything else.

Omnipotent and Omnipresent - God is all-powerful, capable of anything that doesn't violate His own nature. He can create universes, endow beings with intelligence, and because He is outside of time (he created it!) He can see all points along that - and every other dimension - simultaneously. In fact, God is everywhere, and sees everything, at all points in time and space (as we understand them).

Again, this is proclaimed in the Bible - but it also follows naturally once you accept that God is the Creator. He exists outside of our universe and authored it, so there is nothing limiting Him but Himself.

That's a good start. There are other attributes, certainly - too many for me to list in a lifetime - but I think these are God's core... at least as best as I can understand it. From these flow all the rest, especially from his Holiness. It is why He loves without equal, why He brings us light and truth, and why He deals out justice so impartially.

The Foundation

Everyone has a world view - a set of beliefs that color the way they see things around them. Most of us take these things for granted in our lives, rarely questioning them unless we are faced with a traumatic event that doesn't seem to fit in with those core convictions. In is because of the differences between these world views that two people, presented with the same evidence, can come to completely different conclusions. A single fossils may at once tell one observer that evolution is clearly true and another that it is clearly false, because the people examining it start with opposing views and see everything they come in contact with through those filters.

With a blog like this one, I think it is only fair that I start with a description of my core, foundational beliefs. These will affect all of the other beliefs I hold, and since many of those may seem strange to someone with a different world view I hope that this explanation of my perspective will help in understanding everything that follows. In short, I believe the following:

The various parts of the Bible, as they were originally written, are 100% God-inspired and absolutely truthful. I know the basics of how our modern Bible was assembled, that it was penned by dozens of human hands and has passed through centuries of meticulous copying, and while I am willing to accept the possibility that there have been minor errors introduced over time or that certain translators have twisted God's Word (intentionally or not) I have to believe that with all that God is capable of He also kept the truth of His teaching intact throughout the ages. Therefore it is my belief that modern English translations of the Bible I have available to read, at least those made by people who genuinely sought after God's Word and His wisdom, are accurate and reliable for teaching and rebuking.

There are quite a few reasons why I believe that, and some of them stem from the Bible itself (which I realize is technically circular reasoning). However, in the time that I have spent studying this greatest of books, and what other contemporary authors have written about it, I find that it holds together remarkably well. The number of transcripts we have of passages of scripture, the accuracy in matching other historical records, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in the events of Jesus' life here on Earth, and a number of other logical arguments draw me in this direction. For those interested in more of those reasons, I strongly suggest reading Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell - it should prove insightful for those who share my world view and any interested in understanding it better.

I also feel compelled to state that my personal relationship with God, and His son Jesus Christ, has given me an assurance on a more emotional level that His Word is truth. I can't explain it well in words, as I am no poet, but I simply *know* this to be true. I don't expect anyone who isn't a Christian to understand what I mean, but it is necessary for me to state that up-front.

Because I believe in the veracity of the Bible, I also believe that God has made us (humans) in His image: that we are spiritual beings as well as physical, and that we have mental acuity enough to understand the basics of His truth. It is that truth, and the conclusions that flow from it, which I will examine in future posts.