Alan’s monthly letter for November 2007
Dear Friend,
Followers of Jesus Christ are killing their unborn children. Christians in your church and mine are having abortions. What is going on?
During a recent radio interview with a Sacramento radio station, I told the host that abortion is the most important bioethical issue we face today. Why? Each day approximately 3,500 American children are killed through abortion—more than died on September 11—and that’s happened every day for the last 30 years.
More troubling is that Christians contribute to the killing. Polls and statistics paint a sobering picture. 13% of abortions are committed by self-proclaimed evangelical or born-again Christians. Protestants are responsible for 43% of abortions. Many pro-life Christians are de facto pro-choice.
The charge that Christians are hypocrites, although often unfounded, strikes a chord here. How can we claim to lead our culture on moral issues when we violate the most sacred of human rights—the right to life? While God will forgive the sin of abortion, we must stop killing our own children.
In an article titled “Why Abortion Is a Yawner” Greg Koukl said if you mention the word “abortion” eyes glaze over. Many think to themselves, Here’s that abortion subject again. Yeah, yeah. Millions of babies are dying. I know. Sure, it’s tragic, but what do you want me to do about it? Some people are overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem. Others “don’t feel called” to do anything about it. The result? Little gets done. And more unborn children are killed.
So what can we do? For starters, we can’t yawn. We must back up our convictions with action. Here are four action steps we can all do that will save lives:
- Don’t have an abortion yourself.
- Encourage a friend who has a crisis pregnancy to not have an abortion. You can also refer her to a local crisis pregnancy center for more support.
- Learn a few common arguments that defend the unborn and be prepared to share them. Our website has free articles, radio shows, and information. If you don’t know where to begin, just ask me.
- Financially support and/or pray for a pro-life apologist, trainer, or worker (the name Alan comes to mind) or pro-life organization (the name Stand to Reason comes to mind). Obviously, many of you already support my work and I greatly appreciate that.
Abortion is a tragic reality in our country, but it’s also a grievous sin among believers. Let’s do what we can to protect the unborn. It’s my pledge to leverage our partnership to make abortion unthinkable.
Grateful for your support,
Alan Shlemon