 In a July 26, 2016 article for the online newsletter “The Stream” (www.stream.org) Dr. Michael Brown asks the question of whether or not a Christian can or should in good conscience vote for a political candidate who takes a pro-abortion (aka: pro-choice) position. As I write this article for the church newsletter, the Republican national convention just finished up last week and the Democratic national convention is getting ready to finish up this week.
Brown notes that there are few sins God hates as much as shedding innocent blood, especially the blood of children. He’s right. In Jeremiah 19:4-5 God explains to the Jewish people why Judah is about to go into exile. He says through the prophet Jeremiah that it was because they worshipped idols and because they filled the nation with “foreign gods; they burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they filled the place (Jerusalem) with the blood of the innocent.” Jeremiah goes on: “They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.” Jeremiah 7:31 states, “They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire….” Because of heinous sins such as this, Jerusalem was destroyed, the Temple was burned to the ground, and tens of thousands of Jewish people were taken into exile. Brown asks and then answers the question, “What did this sacrificing of children to Baal entail?” According to a medieval Jewish commentator of the Old Testament, Rabbi Rashi, the high places of Topheth (and other places like it) were pagan cult centers where Molech, also called Baal, was worshipped. A copper statue of Molech was made, whose image was a statue of a man with a bull’s head and outstretched arms. The outstretched arms formed a ramp which led down into a hole within the abdomen. Rabbi Rashi noted that the copper statue was heated up by a fire underneath it, and the father would place his child on the statue’s hands. “The baby would be burnt and moan, and the priests would beat drums so that the father should not hear his son’s voice and take pity.” This is horrible. But stop and think about how God must feel about the shedding of innocent blood from abortions taking place in the United States right now—the blood of innocent babies in the womb. If you have the stomach for it, do a Google search with the phrase “images of aborted babies.” WARNING: you will see very graphic and very sad photos of little human beings torn limb from limb. Can Christians merely ignore this issue when it comes to politics? Do you think this issue matters to God? As reported by LifeNews.com, the proposed Democratic Party platform supports legalized and taxpayer funded abortion on demand for any reason up until birth, stating, “We will continue to oppose—and seek to overturn—federal and state laws and policies that impede a woman’s access to abortion, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment.” In contrast, the Republican Party platform on abortion states, “Faithful to the ‘self-evident’ truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.” I’m not telling you how to vote, but science and ultrasounds clearly show that the unborn child is a life, a human being. Scripture is clear that God sees life as sacred and special. Do you want leaders whose values reflect godly principles? Shouldn’t that influence how people of Christian faith vote? It seems to me that it should. Working together to win together, Tyler Comments are closed.
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