Category Archives: abortion

Should We Obey God Or Woman?

In a recent speech given at the Women of the World summit, Hillary Clinton, Democrat candidate for President, stated that “Far too many women are denied access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth…And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.” While you might think that she was referring to some far away, oppressed, backward country, she wasn’t. She went on to clarify that what she referred to was “not just in far away countries but right here in the United States.”

In many ways this is simply a strange statement. The expression “reproductive health care” is just a nuanced way of saying “abortion.” The Planned Parenthood website, for instance, while they offer other token services (very few of which seem to be related to parenting) clearly seeks to promote and advance abortion. It is nearly all they talk about. And yet, apparently, Hillary Clinton thinks there are not enough abortions even in the United States where there have been 57,852,000 since 1973. Already, this year alone, there were 360,187 abortions. Think of this! These are innocent lives being snuffed out just because they were inconvenient to someone else. And Hillary Clinton thinks women are denied this “right”?

Furthermore, she blames religious beliefs for stifling abortion. Whatever else she may be referring to when she says this, she has in mind the Biblical teaching that abortion is murder. She would have Christians to change their “deep-seated religious beliefs” in order to bring about her goal of increased access to abortion. This clearly demonstrates not only a lack of humanity but also a lack of understanding on her part of the nature of truth, the origin of the Bible and the basis of Christianity.

Christians do not arbitrarily decide what they believe. We believe the things we believe because they come from God, not from any man (or any woman). All scripture is given by inspiration of God (II Tim. 3:16,17). Faithful Christians would never, could never, change their view about the sanctity of life. Those who would presume to alter the teaching of God’s word are warned:

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Rev. 22:18-19).

Christians, those who follow and adhere to the teaching of Jesus Christ, know that to add to or to take from the word of God is sinful. Christians would never seek to alter or have others alter their deep-seated views that come from God. Indeed, we ought to obey God rather than men or woman (Acts 5:29). While many will form their worldview based on something other than the Bible, faithful Christians, will have a “Thus saith the Lord” for their deep-seated beliefs.

This country does not now need, nor does it ever need, leaders who tempt its citizens to dismiss the will of God or have disdain for the sanctity of human life, which is made in the image of God. It needs leaders who will lead based upon the word of God. At the very lest, we need moral leaders who uphold the traditional Judea-Christian values that formed the basis of the founding of this country.

May God help us in the upcoming elections to choose men and women who uphold the traditional values upon which this country was founded, who will uphold the sanctity of life, and who will listen to God’s word as they govern.

Eric L. Padgett

We Ought To Obey God Rather Than Men

mattbirkfamily  Not being much of a pro-sports fan, I had never heard of Matt Birk until just recently and still do not know much about him. The entry on him in Wikipedia indicates he is a very talented offensive lineman and center for the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens respectively who has won many awards, including the 2012 Super Bowl Championship. He began the HIKE Foundation in 2002. HIKE stands for hope, inspiration, knowledge and education. The HIKE Foundation “was established to impact the lives of at-risk children by providing interactive programs and resources needed to guide a child through the key educational transitions between elementary, middle, high school and college.” He is also the father of six children.

The reason I bring him up is because he has received some notice in the news lately because he refused to attend a meeting at the White House celebrating the Raven’s 2012 Super Bowl win. He explained why: “I wasn’t there. I would say this, I would say that I have great respect for the office of the presidency, but about five or six weeks ago, our president made a comment in a speech and he said, ‘God bless Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood performs about 330,000 abortions a year. I am Catholic, I am active in the pro-life movement and I just felt like I couldn’t deal with that. I couldn’t endorse that in any way.”

Now, while I do not in any way support Catholicism, I do respect and commend Birk for standing up life. For this president to say publicly “God bless Planned Parenthood” is simply abhorrent. For those who believe in God and in His revealed will for man, the Bible, this is simply not an issue that is negotiable. Life is sacred. Even the Founders recognized this when they enshrined in our Declaration of Independence these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is truly more than tragic that this country now allows the murder of so many innocent children.

Birk has also been outspoken on other issues, as well. He has spoken and written for the defense of marriage and against homosexual marriage.

As I wrote earlier, I had not heard of Matt Birk until recently, but I am glad he has stood his ground on this important principle. I hope he does not now apologize for his stand as so many have done in the past. I doubt if he will. More Christians should find and exhibit the same kind of courage. We need men like the apostles who, when this government says “Don’t preach Jesus” will stand up and say “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 4:18-5:29).

Eric L. Padgett