I have been following discussion of my previous post on rape as best that I can as I notice incoming links from new domains, and there have been a few things that I have seen which need some clarification and/or correction. Allow me to do so here.
First, it appears I have misunderstood what the morning after pill does. Praise God, it does not cause an abortion. Rather, it simply prevents ovulation which then prevents any kind of fertilization. Thus, conception never occurs to begin with. (Edit: A further clarification. There is are apparently 5 different things methods which Plan B [Levonorgestrel] can do to prevent a pregnancy. One of them would seem to result in the abortion of a fertilized egg by preventing it from implanting in the uterus. I’m not for sure if I would be able to live with a 20% of causing the loss of a human life, but that’s just me. End edit.)
Now, while I think that could certainly be abused to support a sexually loose lifestyle (the Bible uses harsher words), I also concede that as a post-rape measure it is no less than wonderful.
I still maintain that if conception occurs, it is life that God created and we have no right to end it. God hates the hands of those who shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17), and I can’t think of any blood that would be more innocent on earth today than the blood of an unborn child.
Second, at least once someone has said that I have labeled rape as a gift from God. May it never be so. Rape is a heinous act no matter how you look at it. What I intended to do in my post was explain how it could possibly be worked for a blessing by the God who spoke the words of Romans 8:28. Either the “all things” of that verse includes rape or we need to start redefining some words.
Third, it seems as though the message I posted was taken to be chauvinistic. I don’t really care if that’s what people want to think about me. It means nothing to me unless they can show me from the Bible itself how my position is wrong. I know of no other reason to repent of a position than to drink even deeper of the wisdom of God’s word and discover that I am not lining up in a particular way.
However, regarding the voluntary ending of a pregnancy, I will not be moved. Psalm 127:3 speaks far too loudly to ever consider children a burden, especially one which during pregnancy is still at the whim of one’s own will. “Do I keep the baby, or do I get an abortion?” May that question never enter into the mind of one who loves and trusts the Lord, for to murder (yes, murder) is to directly say to God, “I reject your will for my life. I reject this gift, and I forcibly thrust it back to Your abode through abortion. Stay out of my womb, God.”
I realize that’s harsh. It’s meant to be. As mentioned before, abortion is not viewed lightly by God (Proverbs 6:17), and we are to hate that which God hates, loving that which He loves. We are to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29), to know the will of God (Romans 12:2), and so on. If it can be shown to be against the will of God, we have no recourse but to reject it.
In summary:
* No, I do not condone rape. If anyone can read what I have written and get that out of it, I suggest taking a class in reading comprehension or in overcoming preconceived ideas or similar. I don’t appreciate being misrepresented. Rape is sin. (Honestly, with a proper view of sin, nothing worse can be said about it than that it is sin.)
* The morning after pill is not a bad idea in the case of rape. Preventing pregancy in such a circumstance is infinitely more preferable than aborting the unwanted child.
* If conception occurs no matter what the circumstances, that child is a gift from God, for only He can give life.
* God hates the shedding of innocent blood, and it is impossible to not view infants and unborn children as anything but innocent, having never been faced with the choice between good nor having any ability to act upon the inherited predisposition to evil we receive from our first father Adam.
* Thanks for reading.
Addendum: Have you received an abortion? Please don’t think I hate you for it. The act has already been committed, and God calls you to simple repentance. He will in no way cast you out. To reject repentance of the act of abortion is to hold fast the attitude I described above. When faced with a difficult circumstance–such as an unexpected pregnancy–God asks such simple things of us. We are to come to Him (Matthew 11:28), we are to cast upon Him our cares (1 Peter 5:7), and we are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and our essentials will be met (Matthew 6:33).
First Corinthians 10:13 teachs us that when we are tempted with sin, God will never allow the temptation to be more than we can handle, and He promises to always provide a way out. When tempted with abortion, hold fast to that promise, that God is faithful. Philippians 4:13 says that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, including resisting temptation and even bringing to term an originally unwanted child. Second Peter 1:3 tells us that God gives us all things that are necessary for life and godliness. He will take care of you if you love Him and are called by Him (Romans 8:28). Place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save you. Reach out in belief and “put on” Jesus Christ just as you would a parachute in an airplane. Believe that Jesus Christ can save you and grant you eternal life, and He will. He has promised it in His Word, and He will follow through for those who have faith. May you be one of them.
Ok Firstly can i say that i understand that you have said that you do not condone rape and that it is a sin, but how can you honestly expect a women that has been inpregnated with her attackers sperm to go on and have this “gift” as you put it, put yourself in that situastion, could you imaging not only giving birth to your attackers child but then having to look in its eyes each day and have them as a constant reminder of what happened. Because to be honest that is not only not fair on you as the victim but not fair on the child.
Secondly how would you feel as the child, and finding out that you were conceived in the act of rape? i mean that is a horrific way to enter life and something i would never wish upon anyone, ever.
So to say that a child conceived (in cluding in an act of rape) is a gift is the same as saying the deliverance of the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima was a gift!!! And frakly you cant show me any bible verses that can call that a gift.
On another note, abortion that is, frankly you shouldn’t consern yourself with this as you will never need to make the decision as to whether you should or shouldnt have one, as you do not feel you are fit or in any state (be it emotionally, physically, finantionally whatever) to bear, give birt and raise a child, Congratulations!!! But if you ever find yourself confrounted in the situation of a partner of yours being unsure of what to do i hope you consider there individual case (as all aboution cases should be taken on an indervidual basis) rather then preasuring them into having a child that they may not be ready or able to have.
On that note you must understand that people who get abortions get them for good reasons such as rape, health issues (which mean they put their life in grave danger by bearing a child), or phyisical and mental unreadyness and it is on a very rare occation a women will get an abortion to avoid strech marks or to ensure they keep there figure!!!
Honestly i am enraged at this whole abortion argument (both in everydasy life and in the political world) not because of peoples differing views but because the majority of peoplke that are so amazxingly aposed to abortion are men who clearly cant understand or even experience the complications and issues that surround things that lead you to make such a decision.
Sorry, but appealing to emotion does not a sound argument makes. It is either right or wrong, and a person’s inability or unwillingness to cast their care upon God and to bring the burden to Christ does not change what I have said above.
The Savior was murdered. His death is often on the mind’s of Christians who recognize themselves as the cause of it. We do not claim the murder was a good thing, but the results are fantastic. He could not have resurrected in defeat of death and Hell had He not first been slain. Life came from murder. Should we be any less thankful if a different kind of life could come from a different kind of transgression, such as a child from a rape?
Remember, God can work all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. That means if you love God and have made your calling and election sure, you have God’s promise that situations–especially those beyond your control–will be worked out for good by He who is able.
I’d probably feel a lot better than those children who were aborted but live to tell about it. I’d probably feel pretty good about having a chance to live, as God intended. Whether I felt weird about the circumstances surrounding my conception is pretty irrelevant–it’s not like I had any say in the matter, after all.
And again, appealing to emotion is a logical fallacy which should be left to the toothpaste and detergent advertisers, not arguments of life and morality.
What does mass murder in Hiroshima have to do with anything?
What makes you think I am not fit or in any state to have children?
As I have pointed out, it is not my decision. Psalm 127:3 stands far too strongly on its own, as do the Lord’s admonitions to us for times of trouble, distress, trial, or tribulation.
I don’t expect unbelievers to follow through on these verses, but if the person is a Christian, I would hope they love God enough to receive the gift of a child if such an opportunity arises, no matter what the circumstances, just as the Christian had previously received the gift of life through the circumstance of the world’s most unjust death sentence.
And I know where my wife stands on abortion, so it really isn’t an issue within our home.
I never said they get abortions for purely cosmetic reasons, nor can I even instruct unbelievers in what to do in this situation. They have more pressing matters–like salvation–to attend to. Second Timothy 3:13 says that those who are wicked will progressively get moreso, and there isn’t anything a Christian can do to stop it unless they repent and believe in Jesus Christ. It should also be noted God is not obligated to work the situation of rape for good for those who hate Him or ignore Him or anything like that.
But to those who love God, it should be recognized that the chance to have a child is a chance to receive a gift from God. It is recognizing the promise that all things will be worked for good, and it is trusting God to follow through on that promise which has defied medical science in the past, has defied death in the case of Lazarus and others, and so on. There is no reason to reject a gift of a child for any reason because any reason constitutes a lack of faith that God can work the situation for good, and as Romans 14:23 says, whatever is not of faith is sin.
That’s the beauty of it. I don’t have to understand such things. Neither do women. That’s the best part about having a Heavenly Father we can cast our care upon. And no matter how desperate or horrible a situation may seem, just think about a man named Lazarus, who had even the problem of death sorted out for Him by a single command out of Christ’s mouth.
For those who do not know God or who refuse to trust and love Him, yes, there may be all sorts of complications in the matter of rape. But thankfully, for those who do love Him, we have His Word that all things work together for good, and we have His Scriptures to make plain all manner of things that we have to deal with in life. There is no debate for one who trusts in His Word, and all I can do is simply admonish others who love Him to settle themselves in His Word. However, I recognize that these words are vain to those who have never accepted even His free gift of salvation, and that probably the majority of visitors to this post will not be those who are believers.