Just when you thought the news regarding the abortion debate in this nation couldn’t get any more shocking or strange, news comes from our neighboring state of Ohio of several members of the “clergy” performed a “blessing” for an abortion clinic in Cleveland (I think you can understand my usage of quotation marks for these two words). Fifteen such individuals (including some rabbis) took part in this event in front of a clinic called Preterm about a week ago, among other abortion supporters. One such person, Laura Young (who is ordained in the United Methodist Church), said, “There is a reverence for life that happens in this clinic.” I want you to stop, reread that statement, and allow the sheer insanity of it to sink in. If this is not as clear an example of Isa. 5:20 (“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”), I don’t know what is.
When I first saw this story, my heart was broken. My first thoughts were about those women who thought they had no other option but an abortion, who were now hearing the lie that God approves of their choice. Rather than the truth of God’s Word, they are receiving the wisdom of this world and the “cosmic powers over this present darkness” (Eph. 6:12). Thank God for organizations like Alternatives of Battle Creek, who are faithfully proclaiming the truth to those who are in these situations. My thoughts then turned to the people who must be part of the “churches” overseen by these individuals (please forgive me, but I cannot bring myself to refer to them as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because I do not believe they are). When churches turn away from God’s truth, they run the risk of ceasing to be a church in God’s eyes (cf. Rev. 2:5; Rev. 2:16; Rev. 3:3; Rev. 3:16). I know many who are in such churches today, who are mourning the apostasy that has overtaken the churches they love so dearly, and who are desperately pleading with God to restore them to their foundations. Finally, my thoughts turned to these people who claim to speak for God. I thought about how Jesus said that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was unforgiveable (that is, attributing the work of God to Satan), because what these people are doing is the corollary to that (attributing the work of Satan to God). Paul wrote to Timothy that “evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13), and it reminded me that even those who are actively deceiving others – which I believe these imposter clergy are doing – are themselves deceived by the Evil One. Our hearts should be broken.
There is no doubt the culture around us is shifting at increasing speed. While I do believe the attitude expressed by those who tried to “bless” this abortion clinic remains a minority position, it is nonetheless an attitude that is gaining steam. Are we prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks why we believe what we believe (I Pet. 3:15), especially in the area of abortion? Just something to think about…
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