Abortion, the image of God, and faithful witness for Jesus MB Confession of Faith Article 14. The Sanctity of Human Life By Ken Esau
We believe that all human life belongs to God. Each person is created in the image of God and ought to be celebrated and nurtured. Because God is Creator, the author and giver of life, we oppose all actions and attitudes which devalue human life. The unborn, disabled, poor, aging, and dying are particularly vulnerable to such injustices. Christ calls the people of all nations to care for the defenseless. God values human life highly. Ultimate decisions regarding life and death belong to God. Therefore, we hold that procedures designed to take life, including abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide, are an affront to God’s sovereignty. We esteem the life-sustaining findings of medical science, but recognize that there are limits to the value of seeking to sustain life indefinitely. In all complex ethical decisions regarding life and death, we seek to offer hope and healing, support and counsel in the context of the Christian community.
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AUGUST 2022
M B H E R A L D.C O M
don’t know of any words more inflammatory in public discourse today than those of “abortion,” “right to life,” and “pro-choice.” It is with great hesitation and a lot of humility that I want to pen a few reflections here on these topics which have recently taken over the news. (As a man, I want to express even more humility since I cannot truly understand women’s experiences and suffering as they face unwanted pregnancies. I hope that my tone and heart here point toward love, compassion, encouragement, blessing, and faithful witness to Jesus.) It is important to explain my presuppositions on these topics prior to engaging with them. Those who do not share these presuppositions will, obviously, find my reflections puzzling and odd. First, I believe that for disciples of Jesus, our ethical reflection is to be founded on something more than
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