The New York Times just published a story about how religious groups are using freedom of religion arguments to advocate in favor of abortion. Yes, you heard me right.

Several religious groups are claiming that restrictions on abortion actually hinder their ability to practice their religions. They claim their religions view abortion as a good thing; that access to abortion allows them to live out important principles that are central to their religious beliefs.

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Religious Groups and Abortion

Now you might be thinking that these are fringe religious groups, like Satanists. While Satanists are chiming in on this the shocking and tragic thing is that Christian denominations are making this case, alongside the satanist.

Now, call me crazy, but if you're a Christian pastor and you find yourself perfectly aligned with a Satanist on a moral issue, shouldn't you reevaluate your position? The Bible has a lot to say about teachers who lead people astray in the name of Christ. Matthew 7:15 says, “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

They use culturally popular terms like “freedom” and “choice” to make abortion seem like a harmless, if not a good thing, for women. One disturbing take is from a senior pastor at Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ who said in The New York Times article titled Religious Freedom Arguments Underpin Wave of Challenges to Abortion Bans, “We believe God is the source of all life and has caused us to share in the work of creation…the privileges and responsibilities of being part of co-creating means women have the ability and the wherewithal to make the decision that's right for them.”

Now this statement starts right and with the truth—God is the source of all life. But it strays far from the truth by saying that women co-create life alongside God. That would be like someone handing me a seed, and after I planted it in the garden and it starts to grow, I then claimed that I created the plant.

No, I stewarded something that was given to me. God is the source of life and we, his creation, are the resource. Also, if it's true that women co-create with God, then doesn't that mean that men are co-creators as well? And then, doesn't that mean that men should have an equal say in the abortion decision?

Moreover, during pregnancy, God's will is reflected in the fact that everything in the woman's body is operating together to conceive and birth the child. Therefore, if the woman aborts, her will trumps God's will, which makes her God, doesn't it?

I've often said that our culture treats abortion like a sacrament. Our secular pro-choice culture has co-opted religious terminology to elevate abortion to a higher, almost untouchable, state.

Indeed, in The New York Times article, a minister at a self-described satanic abortion clinic told a patient to recite the following lines while taking the abortion pill one's body is inviolable and subject to one's own will alone the minister also told the woman that after the abortion was complete she should say, “By my body, my blood. By my will, it is done.”

As horrific as this is, some Christian leaders are standing right alongside their secular and satanic counterparts affirming them in their use of biblical imagery and terminology—all to justify ending the lives of innocent unborn children.

The article reinforces something that I’ve believed for several years now: one of the most pressing battles in the fight to end abortion is within the church. Sadly, data shows that 54% of those who have abortions professed to be either Catholic or Protestant.

Religious leaders, including some Christian ones, are using their faith as a justification for abortion. Our pro-choice culture has long pointed to Christians who profess to be pro-choice as a justification as to why abortion should never be made illegal.

Pro-choice activists say the prominence of these Christians proves that even our nation's most prominent religion isn't really against abortion. Sadly many Christian leaders have made their job much easier. We will never be able to end abortion in our culture if we, in the church, can’t agree that abortion is wrong and should be ended. Whenever there is disunity in the church, just like with the issue of slavery, injustice reigns and the vulnerable suffer.

It's why I put my thoughts on this topic in a new booklet called, “Is the Pro-Choice Position Consistent with the Life and Teachings of Jesus?” If you want to learn a number of solid biblical arguments that support the Pro Abundant Life position, then I strongly encourage you to download a free copy of this booklet. I pray that this resource will equip you to have winsome, compassionate conversations with Christians in your family, your church, and your neighborhood, who profess to be pro-choice.

I truly fear for Christian leaders who are misguided on the issue of abortion. I pray that they will come out of the darkness of their support for abortion and that the words and teachings of Christ himself bring them into his marvelous light. The lives of millions of unborn children may depend on it.

Download your free copy of “Is the Pro-Choice Position Consistent with the Life and Teachings of Jesus?”