Friday, May 24, 2019

Do I Really Need a Uterus? A Refutation of a Common "Pro-Choice" Argument

I am not usually one to get involved in debates on cultural issues. Generally speaking, I prefer to stick to biblical and theological questions and issues. But more and more, I am finding that I just cannot remain silent. Recently, with events that have transpired in Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, and elsewhere, I have seen an uptick in what has become a standard tactic wielded by the "pro-choice" crowd concerning the alleged right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy (read: murder her child). In a nutshell, the argument goes, "no uterus, no opinion". This diversionary tactic essentially attempts to de-legitimize every man from having an opinion on the abortion debate (unless of course, the man in question acts like a good little beta male and slavishly gets in line with the Leftist agenda). After all, abortion is a "women's rights" issue and only women should have a say, right? Wrong.

First of all, let's put the "women's rights" issue to bed right away. The assertion that abortion is all about "women's rights" is a true red herring. A red herring, according to at least one website, is basically a way of distracting from the real issue at hand. It may sound good, but it's not actually relevant. In this case, appealing to "women's rights" distracts from the real issue, which is that some people just want to kill a developing child in its mother's womb, typically (but not always) for reasons of convenience. Now, equal pay for doing the same job as a man? That is a women's rights issue. Protecting against unwanted sexual advances and harassment? That also is a women's rights issue. Abortion? That is not. That is an issue of protecting the rights of the unborn, specifically the rights of the unborn to not be violently murdered by vacuum suction (or by any other savage means).



But let's return to the question of the alleged uterine-possession prerequisite to having a conviction on the matter. Basically, what is being said is that a man should not be allowed to have an opinion on what a woman should do with her body (this assumes of course that the child inside her doesn't have a body of his/her own, but I digress). It sounds plausible on the surface. I mean why should a man be concerned with what women do? The reason is because both men and women exist together on this planet. That is just an obvious fact of life. Men and women share the world with each other in a symbiotic way. What one does affects the other. What happens to one affects - positively or negatively- the other. Feminists would like you to believe that "liberated" women should just be left alone to do what they wish as if it was their business and theirs alone; but the world just doesn't work that way.  So be gone with stupid and foolish arguments that merely distract with pious sounding, but ultimately self-serving sophistry.

You see, the problem with most ideological/political liberals is that they live in a fantasy world. They are trying desperately to create a world that just doesn't exist and can't exist¹. They are masters at effectively trying to deconstruct and redefine the most basic of human institutions and then when their pretentious fantasies are called to account, they resort to crying, mewling, ad hominem attacks, and childish temper tantrums.

Again, this is not the kind of thing I like to do. As I mentioned before, cultural issues like abortion are not the main emphasis of this blog. Even less of an emphasis of this blog and ministry is the kind of bare-knuckled polemics I have just engaged in. Nevertheless, I felt that it was necessary to address this issue head-on because a bad argument advanced by depraved child-murderers and their enablers continues to make the rounds, particularly on social media.







¹ Of course I would be remiss not to point out that the problem with many ideological/political conservatives is that they are just jerks with a gun fetish. 


Saturday, May 4, 2019

Learning Theological Terms: Creation Ex Nihilo

One of the clearest contrasts between biblical Christianity and secular, evolutionary belief concerns the doctrine of creation. While the average secular person believes that the universe came into being basically by accident via the "Big Bang", the Christian holds that God created all things that exist by His powerful Word (Genesis 1:3; John 1:3). Moreover, the Christian believes that God, through Jesus Christ, continues to uphold the entire cosmos through that same powerful Word (Hebrews 1:3).


While Christians take different stances on many of the details of creation¹, biblical Christians of all stripes believe in what theologians refer to as creation ex nihilo. Ex nihilo is a Latin theological term which, when literally translated means, "out of nothing". In other words, creation ex nihilo declares that God created the entire universe - both things seen and things unseen - out of nothing. That is, God did not create using preexisting matter. Rather, God spoke the cosmos into existence by fiat, and it simply became.

There are several Scriptures which best bear this concept out. Although written in a context discussing justification by faith alone and God's promise to Abraham, Paul writes in Romans, ...As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations” in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did... (Romans 4:17 NKJV). Paul, almost in passing, makes the point that God calls things which do not exist into existence. Obviously this implies that God creates out of nothing since what He calls into existence did not previously exist.

The second Scripture which teaches creation ex nihilo is in Hebrews. In the eleventh chapter, the anonymous writer gives to his Hebrew Christian readers (and us) the very definition of faith and a very important, specific application of the same:

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

While it is true that God and His attributes are made obvious in the created order (Romans 1:18-20), nevertheless, it is by faith that we believe that all things were, in fact, created by God. But the important part for our purposes is the second clause of verse 3. The writer of Hebrews teaches that the visible universe is not the sum of preexisting parts, but is rather framed by the Word of God.

Finally, there are verses in the Bible which teach that Jesus Christ Himself is the creator of all things. These verses are not only powerful testimony to Christ's deity, but they are also further evidence that all things are created ex nihilo, that is, out of nothing.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
(John 1:1-3 NKJV)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

In both of the above cases, the Scripture writers are seeking to show the total preeminence of Jesus Christ. One of the ways in which they do so is to show that Jesus is the creator of the universe. By implication and by direct statement, this means that Jesus is God. But the above quoted verses also establish creation ex nihilo because they state unequivocally that there was absolutely nothing that existed prior to Christ. Jesus is literally before everything and in Him, everything that could possibly be came into being through Him. It is important to understand this. Everything that is, from quarks to quasars, from amoebas to archangels, and everything in between, exists only because Jesus Christ - as creator God - says so. God the Son did not create from anything preexisting precisely because there was nothing preexisting!

The creation of the universe and all things in it, whether seen or unseen, exists only through the sovereign word of Almighty God. And despite the originally good creation being marred by sin, it is still true that, The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1 NIV). Amen.




¹ The position of David's Throne Ministries is that of Six-Day, Young Earth Creationism. This position is most consistent with a plain sense, face value reading of the text of the early chapters of Genesis as well as being the assumption of the rest of the Old Testament, of Jesus, and of the writers of the New Testament. Two excellent ministries which defend this view of creation are Answers in Genesis and Creation Ministries International.

The Gospel of God, Part 2

In  my last post , I took a look at Paul's description of the gospel of God from Romans 1:1-4, showing that his gospel was rooted in the...