A group of Tennessee “faith leaders” penned a letter this week urging Gov. Bill Lee to reject a bill that would prevent abortions after a baby’s heartbeat is detectable — as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
Over 150 pastors and local leaders have called on Gov. Lee to reject HB77, the “Fetal Heartbeat Bill,” claiming that it will “force pregnant people to turn to unregulated and often dangerous attempts to end their pregnancies.”
In the highly disturbing letter, the faith group uses biblical language to argue why the bill, which simply outlaws the termination of an “intrauterine fetus with a heartbeat,” would “take away the bodily autonomy that many of our religious traditions celebrate.”
Letter to Governor With Sig… by on Scribd
“All created in the image of God”
Perhaps the most profoundly troubling line of the entire letter is this simple opening declaration: “We, the undersigned, believe that all people are created in the image of God.”
That’s right — a letter calling for unfettered access to the intentional, gruesome murder of little human beings justifies its arguments with the fact all humans are made in the image of God.
It is true that all humans bear the image and likeness our God, our Creator — the Bible affirms this numerous times in the Old and New Testaments. But the Bible is also explicit about where this creation process begins: in the mind of God, who forms us in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-16).
If any of these “leaders” cared to flick open a Bible, they would see how devastatingly mistaken they are by putting forward such a lie:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart,” wrote the prophet Jeremiah.
Further, modern science is absolutely clear that unborn babies are members of the human family — biologically, they are people just like you and me. Given all of this, how can this group of professed people of faith not believe that these living, feeling, thinking humans are made in the image of God?
Does Christianity celebrate “bodily autonomy”?
Much of the letter’s argument rests on the assumption of “bodily autonomy” — that we can do exactly what we want with our own bodies.
Referring to this issue, the group asserts that all people are “moral agents empowered to make decisions based on their own knowledge, context, and relationship with the Divine.”
The Bible does not, however, affirm the signatories’ claim that Christianity celebrates bodily autonomy. In fact, the Christian holy book argues the exact opposite:
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” writes the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians. “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
How Christians should combat abortion lies
This letter is an absolute abomination, and any Christian who knows the divinely ordained and precious nature of every single human life should be able to see that with clarity.
In recent years, the abortion debate has only grown more muddled with misleading rhetoric that frames the killing of unborn children as compassionate, just, liberating and yes, even holy. Those who employ such rhetoric are following in the footsteps not of Jesus, but the Father of Lies. The Bible cites multiple instances of Satan quoting Scripture in order to lead the faithful astray.
If we really wish to do what is right in God’s eyes, we must fight this holy battle just as Christ did, with the “Sword of the Spirit” that is God’s Word.