"There are many good biblical arguments against abortion; the 'sanctity of human life' does not appear to be one of them." Agree or disagree? (ed. note - this is very localized: for a 3rd yr undergrad bioethics class: Bioethical issues & Christian faith)
We'll be looking at a few areas initially: prenatal testing & abortion; economic choice & abortion; "undue hardship" & abortion. I'm still developing these themes & will intermittently inject them into the mix here over the next month.
In years past I have focused on a number of angles in addressing biothical questions from a Christian perspective. Many of those will be in the footnotes for this term's offerings. I want to begin from a rather different starting point this time around. I want to look at despair, hope, determinism, and a God who acts.
At the core of the Scriptural story is a God who acts, freely and in unexpected ways, in response to human tragedy. At the core of the Christian pro life position must be the God who acts. Christians are a people who live by love and in hope. Simply put, there is the contest of despair and hope. I am pro life because I believe in a God who always offers hope. What I hear in the pro choice arguments often seems to be a kind of determinism. We have eliminated the God who acts, we have determined that we see the necessary outcome of all situations.
This will be our starting point - not legal issues, not statistical analysis, not concepts of human freedom and responsibility. The starting point needs to be God. Our response as Christians needs to be grounded in who God is. I can only say that I find Jesus to be the one who consistently offers hope in the face of despair, indeed the only one who can do so. The Holy Spirit is capable of transforming any situation - if it were not so, I would renounce my faith at once - it would not be a God worth following.
"Despair?...even the very wise cannot see all ends". So said Gandalf to the council of Elrond.
ps We tend to forget that we are "adopted by grace" as St Paul says, and we need more imitation of our Father's character on that front. Go visit Wednesday's child; there are so many kids waiting for adoption that the provincial government is trying TV advertising. And remember how we all became sons & daughters of God.
Are we going to get to see the finished products of these sessions, Joe? Sounds really worthwhile to me.
Posted by: Tim | February 21, 2006 at 06:16 PM