Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: November 12, 2006
WHAT ABOUT ABORTION IN CASES OF RAPE
AND INCEST?
Ben Justice
The state of South Dakota took on a bold initiative a few months ago when the
state legislature voted in favor to ban abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
Of course, this could not become law until it was voted on by the public.
Unfortunately, the majority of South Dakotans voted against this bill. If this had
passed, it would have sent shock-waves throughout the “pro-choice” community.
It could have had a ripple affect across the nation, with other states possibly
looking into doing the same thing. This was a major set-back for those who
value all human life as sacred. But, here is the clincher in all of this. One
source stated the following about this vote: “Recent polling found a majority of
voters — 56 percent — who were undecided or opposed said they would support
Referred Law 6 if it had included an exemption for rape and incest.” Even though
the initiative didn’t pass in SD, it is certainly encouraging to see that almost
half of the voters in that state supported the ban on virtually all abortions in the
state. There seems to be a lot of “pro-life” people in SD. South Dakota must
not give up the fight for morality and neither should we!
Many politicians who are pro-life favor abortions in cases involving rape and
incest. For one, I can’t understand the logic here. How does argue for the
sanctity of human life and seek to protect and preserve human life and then be
in favor of abortions involving rape and incest. QUESTION: Are those embryos
that are conceived in rape and incest any less than human than those that are
not? Some fail to understand that just because an ungodly act of rape or incest
occurs doesn’t change the fact that the embryo that is conceived is still human,
created in the image and likeness of God. Aborting the unborn baby is to add
another sin on top of the other. Two wrongs don’t make a right. It is upsetting
to hear politicians say they are pro-life but then turn right around and make the
exception for abortion in cases involving rape and incest. It seems that those in
the state legislature in SD understood that sanctity of human life when they
voted to ban virtually all abortions even in cases of rape and incest. We need more
representatives (both in the state and federal government) like those in SD.
While it may be true that some politicians who favor abortion in cases involving
rape and incest who are otherwise pro-life, they are certainly not your “died-in-
the-wool” abortion advocates. Some push the abortion agenda as if there is no
tomorrow. They seem to be intoxicated on murdering the most helpless and
innocent among us — THE UNBORN. There is tremendous difference, though, in
the one who is pro-life, but yet allows exceptions in cases of rape and incest and
the one who is for abortion across the board, including the horrible practice of
“partial-birth” abortion. Although Christians would have a problem with both
positions, it is the “lesser of two evils” that many times we have to settle for,
and certainly not the “greater of two evils.” For the Christian, though, he has
the responsibility to uphold the dignity and sacredness of all human life, even
life conceived in the most ungodly of situations. Compromise for the Christian
is simply not an option!
CLOCK WATCHERS
Brief sermons are in great demand. If one could package and sell twenty-minute
sermons with “preheat and serve” instructions, he would become an instant
Forbes celebrity. The “hurry up and get this over with” philosophy has found a
home in the church.
“If a man cannot strike oil in twenty minutes, he is drilling with a dull bit” may
provide a chuckle, but not from the spiritual mind intent on drinking deep from
the well of living water. Sunday’s high noon sounds the gun for the Indianapolis
500 to the local restaurants; beating the Baptists to the drumstick has become a
sporting event.
One brother said, “When the sermon goes overtime, I turn it off.” Rest assured
he never said that about his favorite television program. One can easily discern
Sunday’s time of day by taking note of the activity in the pew. Proceeding past
the “allotted time” is like scraping the top of an ant bed. Overtime is no man’s
land where preachers void of stout hearts fear to tread.
Some attempt to justify this disturbing lack of interest in God, worship and the
gospel by pointing to man’s diminutive attention span. This is insane. The
application of this point is always limited to small children or adults in a worship
assembly. The truth is, the capacity of one’s concentration is dependent upon
his sense of priority and interest. One lacking in spirituality can devote rapt
attention for several hours to some entertainment medium, while experiencing a
severe shortage of mental vigilance under the sound of gospel preaching.
Missionaries tell of people who walk for miles to sit for hours on backless boards
in thatched huts and scorching heat to feast on the treasures of the gospel. It
is indeed tragic when one’s interest in spiritual things can be exhausted during
the course of a thirty-minute sermon.
— Selected
— Frank Chesser (1995)