Life Matters

0:00The following commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and management of WBCA or the Boston neighborhood network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to Boston neighborhood network, 3025 Washington Street, Boston Massachusetts, 02119. To arrange a time for your own commentary, you can call WBCA at 617-708-3215 or email radio at bnnmedia.org. Hello, welcome to Life Matters. I'm your host, Brendan O'Connell.

1:01Well, recently I was down in Florida and met a gentleman who gave some excellent presentations and I thought would have him on the show today. It has to do with religion and with folks that go to church. Are they pro-life? Are they not pro-life? And what's the current status basically? He's looked into this issue significantly and we're lucky to have him today. Well, welcome Samuel Green. Thank you, Brendan. It's great to be with you today. Samuel, I wanted to ask first of all, how did you ever get involved with the pro-life movement? Well, it actually goes back to when I was around seven years old and first learned about abortion and my child's heart was just broken to know that abortion was taking place in the United States. I think it was God who burdened my heart then to work towards ending abortion in America. And so that's been my goal ever since I was about seven years old.

2:03So I have some great hairs now. I've been at it for a while and have been sad to see how much work is left to be done. But it's definitely been an honor to work alongside so many people who are passionate about saving the most innocent and defenseless among us. Now, in your studies, some may want to assume that everyone in church is pro-life. Is that a safe assumption? Sadly, it is not. Just from being in church for myself my whole life, I saw countless instances of confusion on the issue and there are studies that reflect that confusion more broadly. In fact, a gentleman by the name of George Barna conducted a steady in collaboration with the Family Research Council. And it revealed that among churchgoers, if you told them about a woman who was pregnant and her life was not in danger, only 54% of them know the Bible teaches abortion would be wrong.

3:10So just a little over half of churchgoers recognizing the biblical teachings about the sanctity of human life, which means that almost half of churchgoers need to be taught the truth about how children are made in the image of God from the moment of fertilization and worthy of protection, love and care. Well, why do you think there is so much confusion about abortion within the church? Well, I think it's due to a number of factors. One is everyone in church is also in the world and the world has been telling us for decades that abortion is acceptable, that abortion just removes a meaningless blob of cells and other lies like that. And sadly, within the church, there are many pastors who are hesitant to share the truth of God's word about this subject. They simply don't want to touch the issue. So as a result, you have people in church being discipled by the world about this issue. So they're hearing the lies of the world. They're never hearing the truth from the church. And as a result, they are being deceived.

4:15I think also the pro-abortion industry is actually specifically targeting churchgoers and trying to convince them that abortion is morally acceptable and they're even twisting the scriptures, misusing the scriptures to try to get churchgoers to think that they can be good Christians and still support abortion, which is obviously incorrect. But again, when you have those lies being told by the abortion industry and no truth coming from many pulpits will end up having this confusion. Well, what would be an example that would foster confusion? Well, sure. So as most of your listeners probably know, there have been multiple states that have faced pro-abortion ballot measures, measures to add up abortion as a state constitutional right. And in many of those states where these abortion measures have been taking place, the abortion industry has actually been running ads using religious imagery, religious language to get Christians to vote for abortion.

5:18In a particularly egregious example, there was an ad that ran in favour of Ohio's abortion ballot measure featuring a so-called pastor reading from the Bible saying judge not less to be judged and then basically saying that if you don't vote in support of abortion, then you're judging in violation of the Bible. And of course, that's simply not true. If people just think about it a little bit, they would realize that if that's what the passage means, then they have to oppose laws that protect children from child abuse or prohibit theft. Otherwise, you're judging people who just want to steal or abuse children. But obviously, when you think about it like that, you realize, well, that's certainly not what the Bible verse means. And yet you did have this, again, person presenting himself as a pastor, telling Christians, hey, if you want to follow the Bible, you have to vote for abortion. And the Bible doesn't mention the word abortion. So how can we explain to our church going friends that the Bible proclaims the value of unborn children and establishes that abortion is a sin?

6:25I think that is one of the issues that lines itself to the confusion in the church is because you're right, the Bible doesn't actually use the word abortion. And so some people may think the Bible is silent on the topic. But throughout scripture, we see clear teaching that human life is precious to God that every human is made in the image of God. That's what gives us our value and dignity and equality and that the killing of innocent human lives is a terrible sin. It grieves the heart of God at the Bible that the Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood. Obviously, if we looked at the 10 commandments, we see the commands prohibiting murder. So you have these very clear principles about the sacredness of life and the sin of murder. And so then we just need to get people to grapple with the question of, well, is there anything about the unborn child that somehow makes the child different and of less value than those who have been born? And thankfully, the scriptures are very clear that that is not the case that in fact, children in the womb are of equal value and dignity to those who have been born.

7:32And when the Bible talks about the value of human life, when it prohibits the murder of innocent human life, it is prohibiting elective abortion. And what might we say to our Christian friends who are pro-life, but are hesitant to advocate for life because they fear they'll be viewed as judgmental or unloving? Well, really, if you look at the parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke, you see this instance where the command, love your neighbors, yourself comes up and this lawyer asks Jesus, who is my neighbor? In other words, who do I have to love as myself? And of course, Jesus then in response tells the parable, and there's this man who is beaten, robbed, and left for dead on the side of the road. You have a priest in the lead bite who come by and decide to just ignore this situation, keep on walking. And then you have this American who comes and sees a man whose life is hanging in the balance, who will probably die without help and chooses to intervene out of compassion, out of love, and save that life.

8:45And so we need to help Christians realize, right now in the United States, even after the overturning of robbers is weighed, there are about 3,000 children being killed every single day here in America with the blessing of state law. These are children whose lives depend on others, intervening and speaking out for them. And so the loving thing for us to do is to follow the example of the Good Samaritan, as Jesus commanded, he said, go and do likewise. We're to follow the example of the Good Samaritan when we see these lives hanging in the balance, intervene, and speak the truth. In doing so, we're not only showing love to our unborn neighbors, but also to their parents because steady after steady shows that those who turn to abortion and a suffering significant psychological issues in many cases, and sometimes even physical issues. And then of course there is the spiritual side as well, when people turn to abortion they are committing a sin.

9:48So if we can share the shoes of them ahead of time and prevent them from walking that path of sin, pain, and suffering, we will be showing love to those who are born, and obviously those who are unborn as well. When it comes to pastors of church, whether it be priests or rabbis or well pastors, they reluctant to preach about abortion because they view it as a political issue. And how can we address that concern when encouraging pastors to preach about the subject, which they rarely ever do, it seems like both contraception and abortion. I think obviously abortion is a very politically controversial issue, we see it come up a lot in campaigns. And so I think the fact that it is so politically controversial is part of the reason that pastors, many of them at least, tend to avoid the matter. So I just encourage everyone who is listening to lovingly ask their pastor to preach clearly about this issue, help them understand that there is confusion within the church.

10:57The abortion industry is targeting churchgovers with twisted versions of the Bible, and it is important for pastors to speak the full counsel of God's word. The Bible is very clear that children in the womb are just as precious and valuable as those outside the womb. The pastor who is responsible for discipling his congregation and teaching them to do all that God has commanded should actually take the fact that the matter is politically controversial to see, wow, many people are confused about this, I need to bring biblical clarity. And a pastor can't decide that whenever something in the Bible becomes politically controversial, they are simply going to avoid the responsibility to preach the full counsel of God's word, remains, and is perhaps even heightened when we know that society is teaching a message, contrary to God's word, and that many are being led away to the slaughter as a result. Having that pastor or priest or rabbi say, oh my gosh, my parish is not thriving if I lose a few people, it could financially sink me.

12:09Sadly, pastors do often have that financial consideration, they are thinking about trying to keep the lights on and pay the staff, but I think that the concern that pastors have about preaching about this issue is often a bit overblown. I think that the blowback that pastors anticipate is probably more than they will actually face if they handle the matter in a bivocally sound delicate way. And so I think acknowledging that there are many in the church women and men who have turned to abortion in the past and making sure that that impacts the way that they bring the message, that they lead with a clear message of the grace and forgiveness that Jesus offers. For those who, when they were deceived, turned to abortion, and then when they came to the knowledge of the truth, turned to Jesus and asked for forgiveness, to make clear that they are forgiven, that when Christ died for our sins, he died for all of our sins and is willing to cleanse us of all of our unrighteousness.

13:09So to bring that message of hope and then walk very clearly through the Bible, help people in the church realize the pastors not making a political statement, the pastor is doing what he is obligated to do as a shepherd of the flock and go through verse after verse, whether it be in Luke chapter 1 where we see John the Baptist in the womb experiencing emotion, the emotion of joy and leapiness of the result. And in fact, being filled by the Holy Spirit in the womb or whether we look to Genesis 25 and see Jacob and E saw struggling with one another in the womb showing unique aspects of their personalities, individuals, unique persons. When we show those verses, we can very clearly lay out, look, children in the womb are precious in the eyes of God, otherwise John the Baptist wouldn't be filled with the Holy Spirit before taking his first breath. They're fully human, otherwise we wouldn't see Jacob and E saw struggling with one another in the womb, we wouldn't see John the Baptist experiencing emotion and leaping for joy.

14:15And because they're precious to God, because they're fully human, our job as Christians is to love them, they are among the neighbors we have been called to love ourselves and sadly in America, their lives are in jeopardy. And so we must speak for them as Christians, as individuals called to follow God's commands, the second greatest of which is to love our neighbors as ourselves. Now, is it a case where these pastors, rabbis and priests, they actually just need to have the courage to speak that message? Well, I think that is part of it and that's why loving exhortations from members of the congregation can be valuable. Because again, pastors may be thinking, well, what will people say if I preach about this issue, but I think they need to know that there are people in the congregation who will support them in doing their job as spiritual leaders, as teachers of God's word, and to know that they will have that support.

15:18But I think it's also important for pastors to think about the fact that God calls us to fear him, not to fear man. So whatever the circumstances might be in a particular church, we, whether we're churchgoers or whether we happen to be pastors, our responsibility is to God and to honor him and to do what he has called us to do. And there's a great need for pastors and for churchgoers to be speaking clearly about God's heart of love for children in the womb because if we don't speak out about this issue, the sad fact is that children will die and parents will suffer tremendously. So as pastors think about, well, what kind of blowback might I get? I encourage them to think about the consequences of silence. Is their concern about how someone might react to scriptural teaching more than they're concerned about how God might respond to their decision to refrain from sharing the truth?

16:21Is their concern about how people might react greater than their concern for the children who will be killed in some very brutal barbaric ways if they are silent? Is their concern for how people may be react greater than their concern for the men and women in their congregation who are looking to them for truth and who may walk a very destructive sinful path if they don't hear the truth from them? So I hope those are all things that pastors will consider and that it will inspire them to speak clearly and lovingly about this most important matter. Now I noticed that you are the general counsel for your organization. What gave you the idea to start reasonable life and how can you help pastors going down the future? So I mentioned one of you help pastors. I hope I can. So reason for life is focused largely on sharing biblical truths about God's heart of love for unborn children and so as a result in some churches I have the chance to deliver sermons.

17:31Obviously in other churches I can't because maybe I'm not ordained in that church but if a church wants me to come they can visit reason for life.org and ask me to guest preach. I also speak at church youth groups and adult groups. I speak at religious schools at their chapel services and school assemblies about what the Bible says regarding the sanctity of life and it's always an honor to get to do so. Again, people should feel free to reach it out through reason for life.org. Also on that website we have a resources tab and there is a free written sample sermon for pastors on that website. So everyone who's listening can go download that written sample sermon. They can read it for themselves to become more familiar with the biblical case for life and they can give it to their own pastors when they respectfully encourage their pastors to preach clearly about this issue. So what do you hope to see in the future with your organization? Do you hope to grow it? Are you a single individual going around a peripatetic preacher kind of without the full collar? I'll say religious collar? What do you hope to achieve?

18:47So reason for life is a Bible 1C3 nonprofit organization. So we obviously have a board of directors that governs I am the sole laborer or if you will and so we will see what God does. It would be great to be able to expand our reach a bit. But definitely blessed to have all the opportunities that we've had to share the truth and churches and religious schools and other events. And so we do hope that the resources that we offer can be helpful. Also if there's a pastor out there who just wants to hop on the phone with me and have a conversation and talk through some of the hard issues, some of the concerns that they have ask about resources. I have the luxury of spending most of my waking hours thinking about this issue and pastors obviously have many matters on their plate. So reason for life is there to be a resource to pastors and try to help make it as easy as possible for pastors to preach effectively and clearly on this matter of life and death and righteousness versus sin.

19:55And on your website do have more than one sermon there. I mean can they click on ABC and D or how does that work? There's only one written sample sermon, but we also have a media tab that has some videos of various presentations of mine to different audiences. So one is geared is a training specifically for pastors to help pastors see how they can preach clearly on the topic. Another is a talk at a church youth group. So there's different elements and so people can hopefully glean wisdom from watching those videos and feel free to to pull some of my approaches and replicate them in their own talks. And again, people can feel free to reach out and ask about specific resources and I'll see what I can do to be of assistance. And can I ask what are some of your favorite pro life quotes from the Bible? Well, so I already hinted at some of them, you know, like in Luke 1 with John the Baptist being filled with the Holy Spirit and leaping for joy in the womb.

21:03And Jacob and Esau Genesis 25 struggling with one another in the womb, one of the passages that I didn't get to is from the book of Judges. I think it's chapter 13 where Samson, who was a Nazarite who had long hair and pushed over pillars and killed 1,000 Philistines of the Jawbone and I'm hoping your listeners remember Samson. So he was actually a Nazarite to God from the womb. So Nazarites are consecrated to God in a special way. They're not allowed to cut their hair. They are not allowed to eat or drink certain things. And in Judges 13, the Bible talks about the angel of the Lord coming to Samson's mother and instructing her not to eat or drink that which the Nazarites can body to drink while she was pregnant. And angel of the Lord explains that it's because Samson is to be a Nazarite to God from the womb. So when we think about the mantra that we often hear from abortion supporters that says my body, my choice.

22:05I love this passage when you're talking to a Bible believer because there you can point out that the Bible is teaching something that science also teaches that when a woman is pregnant with one child, there are actually two bodies involved. There's the body of the mother and the body of the child within her. And so we see that in Judges because Samson's mother was not called to be a Nazarite. She wasn't a Nazarite and yet she had to follow the dietary rules of the Nazarites while she was pregnant so that Samson could follow the dietary rules of the Nazarites while he was still an unborn baby. In a mantra to God, what Samson was getting in his nutrition there in the womb because Samson was the same exact person to got in the womb that he was outside the womb. There was nothing about birth that somehow magically transformed Samson into someone who was precious to God. You know, he was he was just as precious to God in the womb as he was outside the womb. Indeed, he was Samson the Nazarite to God while hidden in his mother's womb just that he was he was Samson the Nazarite to God pushing over those pillars in the Philistine temple.

23:13So that's a matter of passage that shows in a very concrete way that children in the womb are just as precious and valuable to God as those who have been born. And therefore they are protected by the commandment that says do not murder. They are protected when the Bible says love your neighbor as yourselves and so Christians need to share those truths and act accordingly. Can I ask, what is a Nazarite? Is that someone from Nazareth? It does sound like it, but no, it's not someone from Nazareth. It's just a specific name for people who are consecrated to God in a special way. And so there are a few instances of Nazarites in the Bible. Samson being one of them, but I think Samson is the only one where we see in the Bible. So it clearly being said that his mother had to follow the dietary rules of the Nazarites while she was pregnant again because Samson was to be a Nazarite to God from the womb. So that's what makes Samson's story uniquely helpful for making the pro-life case from the Bible.

24:19And my last question is for women that are opposed to what, how should they turn to the Bible to hopefully be forgiven? Yes, well, you know, it's women and it's men who have been encouraged abortion who need to turn to Christ. And first John 1.9 says that if we confess our sins, he, I mean, Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So that's a great message of hope for us to embrace for ourselves and to share with others as we talk about this delicate issue. Also, in the book of Acts, there is a passage where the disciples is addressing some Jews and he tells them that they killed Jesus. So a pretty big accusation. He says they killed Jesus, but then he tells them to repent so that their sins can be blotted out so they can be erased and they can refine, find refreshing in the presence of the Lord.

25:20So if there's anyone who thinks, oh, the sin of abortion is too big, that is a lie from the devil to hold people back from living out the fool calling God has for them. So know that even those who committed the sin of killing Jesus could be forgiven and find refreshing in the Lord and that promise is available to all of us. So I encourage people to turn to Jesus for forgiveness and let him lead you into all the wonderful things he has created you to accomplish. Well, we're ending on a definite upbeat moment and I really appreciate you coming on Samuel Green to explain how religion and pastors and priests and clergy should deal with the issue and why they should deal with the issue. And folks, we hope you found today's show to be unique, informative, content-rich, truthful and thought-provoking. Thanks for watching and listening. I'm Brendan O'Connell, your friend for life.

26:39The preceding commentary does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and management of WBCA on the Boston neighborhood network. If you would like to express another opinion, you can address your comments to Boston neighborhood network 3025 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02119. To arrange a time for your own commentary, you can call WBCA at 617-708-3215 or email radio at bnnmedia.org.