Commentary
Christians who are becoming aware of the left’s increasing tensions with the church should check out EpochTV’s latest series, “Church and State” presented by Lucas Miles, an ordained minister and best-selling author. In this episode, he breaks down pro-abortion arguments made by the left that God is pro-choice.
Historically, the pro-choice argument has claimed to be based on “science,” saying that babies in the womb aren’t human or that they are simply part of the mother’s body. From a secular standpoint, the left has argued that any religious reason for outlawing abortion is a violation of the separation of church and state, saying that abortion is not a religious issue, but a human rights issue. However, since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the left has shifted its approach to using Christianity and religion to advocate for abortion, and even attempting to claim that God is pro-choice.
Can a Pastor Be Pro-Choice?
In the EpochTV episode, Miles quotes an article written by a female pastor who is pro-choice. He notes that being pro-choice is a heretical viewpoint and not one that a pastor—or even a true Christian—can hold. Although he believes there is grace for people’s blindness to various issues, he says people need to understand that, as Christians, they can’t look at social issues and pick and choose which ones we will adhere to the Bible on and which ones we won’t.“The Bible is very clear on these issues and it is very clear on the issue of life. The Bible teaches emphatically and without question that God is a pro-life God. He’s the one who created life; He’s the one who sustains life.” Miles says that playing god over another innocent life and deciding whether it lives or dies is not a position Christians can ever support.
Fake Pastors and Lost Christians
One of the common tactics employed by the left is to use the voices of pro-choice people and present those people as Christians who represent Christianity accurately. For example, the pastor who wrote the article about being pro-choice is ordained through the United Church of Christ, a far-left denomination known for its anti-Biblical standpoints, placing itself far outside the Christian faith on a host of issues. It is important to be aware of this tactic, because when people see an “ordained minister” they associate that person with the Christian faith, but in this pastor’s case, she is ordained by a church that stands contrary to the Christian faith and is irrelevant to what the Bible says or what the true church believes.It also states in her article that she has served on Planned Parenthood’s board as a clergy member. She is not the average pastor who happens to believe that God is pro-choice, she is a pro-choice activist who has been serving the murderous industry of abortion for decades.
Revising History and Virtue Signaling
Revisionist history is another tactic the left attempts to use, claiming that the church has always been in support of abortion because it’s the compassionate and moral stance to take. They paint the conservative right as the bad guys who have been misrepresenting or drowning out the voice of the church. The article by the pro-choice “pastor” concludes by relying heavily on virtue signaling, saying that being pro-choice is not about the life of a child but about love—that compassion and love mean accompanying people in places where they choose to go, whether they choose to kill their baby or to let it live. It’s typical leftist ideology to say that condoning sin is the loving and compassionate thing to do.Free Will
One of the most common arguments used by the pro-choice movement in recent months is to claim that because God gave Christians free will, God is pro-choice and therefore Christians must be pro-choice as well. They argue that even if God doesn’t want people to make a certain choice, if God has given free will, then God is pro-choice, and therefore abortion should be legalized. Miles notes that it’s important to understand that not every Christian believes in free will. However, Miles personally does, so he goes on to dissect the argument using free will theology.First, in the EpochTV episode, Miles notes that whether or not something is illegal does not determine whether someone can still choose to do that thing or not. Someone can still choose to murder, lie, commit adultery, and so on. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, outlawing certain acts and behaviors. That doesn’t mean people can’t break the commandments. However, they are not suggestions, they are commandments from God outlawing those actions. So he is not pro-choice in those Ten Commandments, he is laying out clearly and without a doubt what Christians are supposed to do and how they are supposed to act. Is God pro-choice on the issue of murder because he doesn’t stand in the way of someone’s free will to commit murder, so therefore we should legalize murder? Miles says that God is not pro-choice, He is pro-right choice. A wrong choice should not be legalized and is not condoned by God simply because a person allegedly has free will.
Old Testament Passages Taken Out of Context
Many people are using Old Testament Mosaic laws, particularly a passage in Numbers 5, claiming that God taught priests how to perform abortions. Miles exposits the texts, explaining that the text is referring to the jealousy ritual, not an abortion. The jealousy ritual specifically addresses when a man suspects his wife of having an affair but he has no proof of it. It’s important to note that it is not for whether he suspects she is pregnant, just that he is concerned she may have been unfaithful. Under Mosaic Law, a woman caught in the act of adultery was stoned. Miles first notes that he believes this passage was a grace built into the Mosaic Law because, in the Christian faith, we know that we all have sinned and fallen short, and the punishment for sin is death. His view is that the passage in Numbers 5 served to prevent unlawful stoning to death under the Mosaic Law, and instead provided a scenario for the husband to bring his wife to the priest and have the priest help him discern whether she had been unfaithful. Ancient customs in modern times certainly can seem bizarre to modern readers, but since Jesus’ death and resurrection, Christians do not live under the Old Covenant.Liberals argue that the ritual concocts some kind of potion that causes the woman to have an abortion, but the text clearly states she drinks water mixed with dirt only. This was a way to bring about Divine judgment, not physical. If she drank it and was not lying, nothing would happen because again, there is nothing harmful about this mixture. However, if she was lying, the text says her womb would shrivel and her body swell, again, caused by God, not by the drink or the priest. Miles dives into the original language, noting that the Hebrew word translated into “womb” is a difficult word to translate. The word has various meanings, such as loins, stomach, and more. Nowhere in the passage does it say anything about her being pregnant, conceiving a child, or any mention of a child in this situation whatsoever.
The situation explained in the passage is simply a husband who is concerned about his wife’s faithfulness. However, the NIV (New International Version) uses the word “miscarries” in one translation. Miles says that “every other translation translates the word differently because it’s not what the word says.” He explains that the Hebrew word is not talking about miscarrying because she is pregnant, it is talking about a physical judgment in her body, such as potentially a thigh rotting or a womb shriveling, etc. according to various other translations. Perhaps this could affect her ability to conceive in the future, which as he reminds viewers, is more of a mercy than being stoned. But the ancient language and text do not say that she was pregnant and that this drink would somehow cause her to have an abortion, as the left is claiming.
“This passage has nothing to do with abortion. God did not teach the Israelites how to perform an abortion. This passage has nothing to do with even having a child,” says Miles, calling the left’s argument spiritual propaganda that is twisted and pushed on people who have no understanding of the Bible. He says it shows the left is rabid to convince Americans to support abortion. “Basically, the state is using the church as a useful idiot to push this agenda forward.”
The Real Motive of the Left
Miles concludes the EpochTV episode by saying that the left wants to get rid of any belief that there is foundational truth, and attempt to overthrow the moral foundation of the church. If Christians dig deeper into scripture, they will find that God is a God of life. He advises that if a pastor is buying into any idea that God is pro-choice, then Christians should find a new church. “You need to start looking someplace else to find a church that is committed to teaching the word of God, absolutely, without any sort of apologies without ever bending a knee or bowing a head to the culture of the day.” Miles believes that if Christians do that, they will impact generations to come to know and understand the truth.--
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Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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