Saturday, February 25, 2006

The Bible Is Silent on Abortion says Planned Parenthood Rabbi

Here's an excerpt:
Some contend that the Bible approaches the subject of abortion in Exodus
(22) when two brawling men accidentally strike a pregnant woman. If the woman is injured, the inadvertent assailant gets punished, receiving the very same wound he caused the woman: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If the woman dies, then it is a life for a life and the man who caused the injury dies. But if the woman miscarries, then the assailant just pays a fine.

So, an injury caused to the woman is one thing. The injury to her fetus is not viewed the same way. This same biblical passage does not say that the fetus is a human being like the injured women or like you or me. If the fetus were considered human, the punishment for injuring the fetus would be the same punishment as that for injuring the pregnant woman.

The book of Exodus warns us to take care around a pregnant woman. Cause her to miscarry, it costs money. Cause her to die, and the penalty is death. The Bible extends a full measure of legal protection to a pregnant woman, a fullness of rights and protection that is not extended to the fetus.

But these verses simply discuss the fetus; they are not about abortion. They do not permit, proscribe, or prohibit abortion. They consider an accidental miscarriage but do not describe the willful termination of a pregnancy. And what if a woman wants to end her pregnancy? Let's say the fetus endangers her life or her physical or mental health. If she decides on abortion, the Bible is silent.


Here is an article from John Piper on this Exodus 21 passage used by pro-choice advocates.

Thursday, February 16, 2006


What is this thing from my mother-in-law?
I'm 2 seconds away from heaving it into the ole' garbage can.
B-l-e-c-h!

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

High School Flashback

We were in one of Mr. Crush's math classes, obviously not a math person, I have no recollection of what it was. We must have been getting rowdy and difficult. Crush needing to restore order launched into a full rebuke of our unseemly behavior. At one point in his diatribe, he started off a sentence with the pointed words, "What I don't need is...". For some unknown reason that struck most of the class quite funny. I'm sure no one laughed out loud, however, in the hallways, bathrooms, and study halls, that line was repeated over and over as we added various lines to make the originally statement completely ridiculous. The crowning moment came when one industrious student placed a handwritten sign over Mr. Crush's classroom garbage can, proclaiming "Things he doesn't need". Thankfully Crush had brought his sense of humor to school that day and we all laughed ourselves silly at the ingenuousness of the sign.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Sensing God's love

I grew up singing the song written below during our Lord's Supper service. It came to my mind in bits and pieces as I was thinking of how hot and cold I am about the Lord. I know God loves me, but I don't feel it in the same way as I do my husband's or my mother's love. Reading in John MacArthur's book, The God Who Loves, I found this encouraging thought as he wrote about the prodigal son and his father in Luke 15.
Like the father of the prodigal son, God loves us constantly. He forgives eagerly, loves lavishly, and does not deal with us according to our sins or reward us according to our iniquities (Ps. 103:10).(pg. 159)

1 We hear the words of love,
We gaze upon the blood,
We see the mighty Sacrifice,
And we have peace with God.

2 'Tis everlasting peace,
Sure as Jehovah's Name;
'Tis stable as His steadfast throne,
For evermore the same.

3 Our love is oft-times low,
Our joy still ebbs and flows;
But peace with Him remains the same;
No change Jehovah knows.


4 We change – He changes not,
Our Christ can never die;
His love, not ours, the resting-place,
We on His truth rely.

5 The cross still stands unchanged,
Though heav'n is now His home;
The mighty stone is rolled away,
For He has left the tomb.

6 We know He liveth now
At God's right hand above;
We know the throne on which He sits,
We know His truth and love.

by H. Bonar

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Pleading Ignorance

So I've been reading D.A. Carson's book on the Emerging Church. I started before Christmas and I am not quite half way yet. I have found it to be very heavy reading...for me. I read and reread some paragraphs without much further understanding. I have zero background in philosophy and ideology. I have no experience in discussing what is modern versus postmodern thought. I have had to stop and look up various vocabulary terms that were unknown to me. My ignorance has been so great at times that I just feel like shelving the book. However, I want to finish the book even if it takes me all year. But as I am reading, one thought continues to plague me. How conversant are the Christians who have aligned themselves with this movement in discussing what is postmodern thought and what is not? Can they articulate for themselves what the problems are with modern thought? I'm a bit skeptical that a vast majority can. That's fine. I can't either. But how much understanding do I have to have to join up? How much do I have to understand to participate in the narratives and conversations? How intellectual do I have to be?