February 5--  Democrats in New York and Virginia have come out in favor of killing babies, infanticide, and Democrat Senator Patty Murray of Washington blocked an effort in the U.S. Senate to provide protections for any infants born alive after attempted abortion procedures.

Gady Youmans, Director of the Sweet Onion Christian Learning Center, reacted with the following.  It's long, but worth the read if you are concerned about the direction of our country and its abandonment of Christian principles.

"Ever wonder HOW or WHY someone can be okay with or even consider killing an infant inside or outside the womb? My students are asking these questions, so I thought I'd offer a take that I have YET to see on social media, the news media, or even from local pastors. So seriously, have you ever stopped to ask, "What logic or rational does one have to believe to make this make sense?" It's easy (and very true) to leave it at, "well, they are hard heart-ed to the truth of God's Word, therefore they are okay with this." But maybe  if we seek to understand this crisis in our culture we might can better minister to those on the opposing side of the sacredness of life.

"Let's start with history. Infanticide (the killing of infants), is not new to mankind. Pharaoh in Egypt, Herod in Israel, and even the Spartans and Romans did this. The Spartans and Romans would actually throw babies off of cliffs or into the trash mounds if any imperfection in them was found. If we flash forward to the slave trade of the America's (as was in any era) people were considered property and could do as they wished with their property, including infanticide.

"Let's move even closer to our day. Look at Hitler, before he killed 6 million Jews he had killed 100's of 1,000's of his own people due to their physical or mental disabilities, young and old. He saw those who were "lesser" as a drain on society, resources, and damaging to the reproductive gene pools. Therefore he exterminated men, women and children for pragmatic reasons.

"Now let's look at modern day America. Abortions are legal and post-birth abortions are being openly discussed. The most common theme of the argument you may read or hear from both sides is: A) The life is a child the moment of conception, its a PERSON! or B) It's the mother's body, it's her CHOICE!

"But have you ever stopped to think about these two polarized views? For someone in either camp it is impossible for them to understand the other it seems, which indicates a philosophical difference and a foundational starting point that needs to be addressed. The Scriptures tell us not to be carried away by false teachings/philosophies, so let me explain...

"Roe V. Wade legalized abortion in the United States for one reason: A child conceived was not a "PERSON" until birth. The US constitution gives the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to "PERSONS", and at the time, science was not advanced enough to verify that the life inside the mother's womb was a "person". Now you may think this is crazy, but keep following.

"The philosophical argument was this: Being human does not equate being a person. The foundation of this is a value statement. People have value, humans don't. Much like the Ancient Greek/Roman logic of the past, a person was not valuable unless they contributed to society, therefore if they were of no value then they could be treated how one desired. This thought process has lingered for millennium. Slave owners didn't view slaves as people, but as humans. Their value was in their human ability to do work that animals could not, but their person-hood was of no value to the slave owners life or perspective of society as an equal.

"God created all men equal. There is only one race, and its the HUMAN race. The Bible defines being humans as being a person and vice versa... so let me tie this back to our culture.

"Roe V. Wade made abortion possible, but then something happened. We mapped the human genome, we realized that at conception life takes its own unique DNA form with its own 23 pairs of chromosomes. It is no longer biologically the body of the mother, but a separate organism inside the mother. A single celled organism on Mars would be considered life because it is just that, and science has proven this. But it doesn't stop there, we can now detect heartbeats, track neurological processes such as pain and pleasure of fetuses in the womb, and even when a child is born in the 2nd trimester we can keep them alive and perfectly healthy due to medical advances. This has caused a problem for those who view the Human/Person dualism as their foundation.

"So it use to be an argument of:  
Person-hood (Human at birth has value) > Humanity (simply being a human)

"Now the argument as evolved to:
Person-hood (value of humanity based on feelings) > Humanity (simply being a human)

"What I mean is this, the liberal abortion and infanticide debate has lost their original argument because SCIENCE has proven that at conception a human is created and they are a person. However, they changed the argument to define a "person" based on what is pragmatic, just like the Ancient Romans/Greeks did.

"Think about it, if you hold the view that my "feelings" and my "desires" are all that matter, that that is what defines truth, then you are clearly sinning by committing idolatry. You have made yourself God, and you define value for everything based on your feelings. Romans 1 says that you are of a depraved mind, a mind that dwells on yourself instead of the Lordship of Jesus.

"If a person believes that VALUE comes from their feelings of what is valuable, then the logic of the abortion/infanticide becomes more understandable (yet still evil). They do not value the conceived child because it will hinder the lifestyle or professional goals of the mother. They do not value the child in the womb because due to rape the child will cause the family too much emotional harm. They do not value the child yet to be born because it will have some deformity that will be a drain on society, resources, and muddy the genetic pool in our world. (sounds like Hitler right?) Therefore ending the life of the HUMAN in the womb is okay because they are not a PERSON. They are not valuable in the eyes of the owner (mother) therefore they can do as they please with their property. 

"I hope that this is making sense, even as evil as it is. There is purpose to my telling you this. You see, while Christians believe in a dichotomy of Soul/Body, we believe that they are unified and that everything we do in one area (spiritual/physical) has an impact in the other. The Bible teaches that all humanity has value as each individual is created in the image of God.

"Let's keep going. Our society has accepted that truth is relative, and there are no absolutes. Morality is pragmatic, or whatever works best for the majority. Therefore the argument that women should be Pro-Choice is philosophically okay with them. Yet the problem is that now we are seeing the logical ends of this disastrous view of mankind. 

"Just like with Hitler, Stalin, the Romans, Slave owners, etc., when you view mankind as only valuable when it meets your needs or your view of "valuable", you are the sole definer of who deserves to live... Read that again... if WE define VALUE, then WE can decide WHO LIVES. This is the current state of this debate. But it gets worse!

"Infanticide is the killing of a child within the first year of its BIRTH (like outside the womb birth). The Gov. of VA, who is a medical doctor who has delivered babies, last week said that after a baby is born that the mother ought to have the right to decide whether or not she wants to keep the infant, and if not, then death is an option. This evil logic is predicated on the idea that a HUMAN is not VALUABLE, only PEOPLE have value, and a Human is not a Person unless you and I think that they have a value based on our pragmatic feelings towards that Human.

"History tells us where this will go next, and what I'm about to state is not a scare tactic, but the logical end of this reasoning AND the already proven history of those who carried it to it's logical end in practice.

"How much value does the elder have or do they devalue society or your life? How much value does the 7 year old little boy who is not in a vegetative state because of a car accident have? How much value does your spouse have who require medical treatments to survive and thrive, but cost a lot? Who gets to make these value judgments? Who gets to tell you and I how much value a human, a person, a man/woman made in the image of God has?... The government or the Lord Jesus?

"There may come a day when you and I are faced with the threat of being "put down like a dog" because the government sees no value in our life. It could come at the hand of a dictator or at the hand of a government run health care system that is struggling financially. (Remember the argument for death panels with Obama-Care? This is more than just a talking point now.) Or maybe you and I will be put down because our organs are valuable to some research facility and it just makes too much sense financially to not care this idea out in practice (Planned Parenthood anyone?).

"So What Do WE as Believers in Jesus Need to Do?

"Guys, we need to pray. If you are reading this, I thank you for taking the time. But you need to pray. Pray for darkness to be removed, for the blinders to be taken off, for the Holy Spirit to open hearts and minds. Pray that God would use you to take the fight for this world to the powers of darkness with a well articulated TRUTH only found in the message of Jesus Christ and His divine creation and sacredness of HUMAN life as PEOPLE created in HIS IMAGE at conception! 

"We can win this fight. Christians were the SOLE force responsible for the downfall of the hedonistic and devaluing of human life in the early church. Christians were the key then as they spread the Gospel and truths of God's Word, and if we will put our feet to the work, we can be the force that is empowered by the Holy Spirit again today to see a world where 60,000,000 babies don't have to die at the hands of "Choice".