Editorial:
Is God Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?
Confusion and misunderstandings often occur over the definitions of words
and terms. What does "pro-life" mean? What does "pro-choice"
mean? Let's consider these words from a biblical viewpoint.
To say God is pro-life is an understatement.
God is the Creator, Sustainer and Protector of life. One of His Ten Commandments
prohibits taking life (Exodus 20:13).
God is also pro-choice in the sense that He
created human beings with freedom of choice. He does not control us in a way that
robs us of the freedom to choose our own way. Human life is an ongoing series of
choices.
But choices are not all equal. There are wise
and foolish, good and bad, and right and wrong choices. Some would have us believe
that one choice is as good as another and merely a matter of personal preference.
Such thinking is based on the idea that there are no absolutes.
But there is absolute truth. The Bible is God's
revelation of ultimate truth. Jesus Christ said of God the Father, "Your word
is truth" (John 17:17). The Ten Commandments summarize God's standards of right
and wrong.
God doesn't force His standards on anyone.
He does, however, reveal what is right, show some of the consequences for our actions
and exhort us to choose what is right. But then He leaves it up to us to choose.
For example, God instructed Adam and Eve, forewarned
them of consequences and allowed them to make their own choice—and then they paid
the penalties for their wrong decision.
God inspired Joshua to tell the Israelites,
"... Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve"—whether
the false gods of the pagans around them or the one true God (Joshua 24:15). In Isaiah
65:12 God pronounces judgment on the Israelites "because, when I called, you
did not answer; ... but did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which
I do not delight."
For unborn babies, parents should choose life
rather than death. Abortion is the wrong choice. God is pro-life. He abhors killing,
including killing unborn babies.
The terms pro-life and pro-choice have taken
on an additional meaning in many countries. Politically speaking, pro-life refers
largely to people seeking legislation and the help of courts to outlaw or restrict
abortion.
Pro-choice refers largely to people seeking
the opposite—to remove restrictions on abortion. Though God is pleased with the goal
of saving babies, one must be careful not to assume God approves of every pro-life
tactic, especially when they involve physical harm or destruction of property. Nor
should we assume He is behind every pro-lifer's efforts or various legal and political
actions.
Legislation, you see, will not be the ultimate
solution for the evil of abortion or any of the other evils of society.
What this world so desperately needs is a change
of the human heart from selfish to selfless, from carnal to caring. What we need
is a change from spiritual blindness to a clear understanding of right values.
Rather than a philosophy of hedonism ("If
it feels good, do it"), we need to consider the long-term results of sexual
promiscuity—rampant venereal diseases, broken homes, shattered relationships, drug
abuse, suicide and, yes, the continuing slaughter of the innocents conceived from
such unions. They have certainly done nothing that deserves one of the most nightmarish
deaths one could imagine.
We desperately need to learn God's perspective
of right and wrong. For most of mankind, this will not happen until Jesus Christ
returns to establish His Kingdom on earth.
In all our thinking, God encourages us to choose
life-life in general as well as the way that leads ultimately to eternal life. He
tells us: "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have
set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that
both you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19, emphasis added).GN
— Don Hooser
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