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EDITOR’S NOTE: Sunday, Jan. 17, is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Babies’ Lives Matter
by Dr. Frank Page
Executive Committee President
Southern Baptist Convention
January 16, 2016
Over the past several months, we have seen a movement of protest and concern entitled “Black Lives Matter.” There have been a number of events where black men died while in the hands of law enforcement. Reacting to these tragic events, persons shouting this phrase have sought to raise social and spiritual awareness that black lives matter.
Another movement of protest and concern that has gripped the nation over the past few months is in response to a succession of videos that reveal an egregious pattern of persons deliberating the sale of body parts from aborted babies at Planned Parenthood clinics.
A collision of values
These two occurrences have shaken our nation and hopefully given cause for all of us to review our own value system. Do black lives matter? Certainly. Some think the value of black lives has been devalued by others. All caring people, and certainly all Christians, know that black lives do matter. In fact, as we know, all lives truly matter. No life, regardless of race, culture or creed, should be devalued in any way. This should be at the forefront of the ministry of our churches.
I am also convinced that babies’ lives matter! To be in a society where people casually discuss the sale of body parts or organs from aborted babies is certainly beyond belief. There was a time I would not have believed such a horrible example of unethical behavior could occur in our country. However, here we are. We have reached a new low in our society.
We live in a nation of surprising contrast. We are a nation that goes to unbelievable lengths to protect the rights of individuals in every conceivable way. And we are a nation that embraces the wholesale slaughter of the weakest and most vulnerable among us. While society is obsessed with the rights of the individual, denial of fundamental rights to those not yet born is legally and culturally accepted and even encouraged.
The vast majority of the 58 million babies who have been destroyed since Roe v. Wade were killed for convenience. Some try to argue the justification of abortion where the life of the mother is at stake or whether the impregnation was done through rape or incest. But statistics are clear. The top reasons women choose abortion are convenience — they want to postpone childbearing, they want no more children, they can’t afford a baby, they think having a child will disrupt their education or job, they think a child would complicate their relationship with their partner, they are too young, or their parents object to the pregnancy.
Some convince themselves that a child is not a human being until after birth. Others believe a woman’s right to destroy the life within her is a higher right than the baby’s right to life. Still others support abortion laws by saying they are necessary to protect women from unhealthy or unsafe circumstances.
The reality is that a child’s heart begins to beat at four weeks and children not yet born feel pain and experience emotion. We must not compound one wrong — an unwanted pregnancy — with a true tragedy — the murder of the unborn child.
A review of Scripture
Scripture affirms God’s creation and love of the not-yet-born. Psalm 139:13–14 states, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” In Isaiah 44:2, the Lord is spoken of as “He who made you, who formed you in the womb.”
When Elizabeth, who was expecting John the Baptist, heard Mary’s greeting, the Bible says “the baby leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41). There was a recognition on the part of the unborn John the Baptist of the presence of Mary in whose womb was the coming Son of God.
The Ten Commandments also speak to this wholesale holocaust of the innocents: “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13).
What can Christians do in the face of such pervasive evil? What can we do when even some who claim the name of Christ support the issue of choice so firmly that they would justify the killing of millions of precious babies?
Evangelist Ravi Zacharias points out that the only place where the entire suffering of this world can be handled is in the heart of God. To each of us, God grants the ability and the calling to act where we can and how we can. I pray that God would lead each of us to do what we can do regarding this crucial issue.
A call for response
In every respect, we must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We need to spread the Word, the truth of God, to all who are around us. We must let them know that this evil must be stopped. While I believe that those aborted babies are in heaven, for which we are grateful, they have been denied the ability to grow in the Lord and to give their lives in honest confession to the Lord. We must stop this horrible tragedy.
We must become involved in the political process. As people who are blessed to live in a democracy, we have a voice, and we need to share that voice. When we do, people will lambaste us for being extremists, fanatics and reactionaries. So be it! Others will claim that we are against the rights of women. Say you what you want, we are standing up for the rights of millions of unborn women and unborn men!
We must continue to provide loving care for those who are in situations where they feel the necessity of an abortion. We must support wonderful organizations that minister through the body of Christ to young women who are caught in these very difficult circumstances. We will continue to love them, care for them and their babies, and help them in every way possible.
My wife Dayle and I have formed a friendship with Jeannie Scott Smith and her husband Carter. Her book “Shattered into Beautiful” recounts an emotionally-wrenching journey from shame and lonely aches of grief, guilt and loss to spiritual forgiveness and restoration through Jesus Christ.
The womb was not designed to be a tomb! Help turn the tide from wholesale slaughter of innocent, precious children. Our churches must continue to reach out in love, care and ministry to anyone who has sinned, including the sin of abortion. The church must be the place where women and men find forgiveness, grace, love and new life in Christ. And it must be the place where we urge others to join us in shouting that babies’ lives truly matter to God!
— “Babies’ Lives Matter” originally appeared in SBC LIFE. Scripture references in this article are from the NIV.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
