This week the universal church marked the feast of the Holy Innocents, recalling with horror the brutal murder of tiny children in the wake of Christ’s birth and giving thanks that God gathered these precious souls and counted them amongst his elect.
The biblical account naturally appalls us, how monstrous that defenseless babies should be slain by murderous thugs. What an evil despot Herod must have been! But are we modern Westerners any better? The 195,428 Uk abortions performed in 2008 alone suggests not, indeed Herod’s attrocity almost looks feeble by comparison. Each of these fragile lives taken from this world were equally hallowed by God, yet snuffed out because they were deemed an inconvenience.
Traditional Christianity has always opposed abortion in the strongest possible terms. I always point out that I do so whilst remaining pro choice- choose to have sex or not…but live with the consequences if you do! Abortion is wrong and to use it as birth control, as the majority of these were, is wicked and barbaric. And in the rare cases where rape is involved there is much psychological evidence to demonstrate that rearing the child for adoption, whilst fully supporting a victim, is more beneficial than merely medicating and pretending the horror never occured. Furthermore abortion has been shown to add to the stress and pain of rape victims and not to take it away.
Understand then that the Church of God has always protected the unborn…that is until now, for the Episcopal church in America has now abandoned this stance along with everything else! For according to the Church of England newspaper, this increasingly heretical branch of our church has now further shamed itself by backing the use of tax payer’s money to fund abortion. What on earth do they think they are doing? There is no theological justification for this at all! I am disgusted, angered and genuinely appalled! It seems to me to be further proof, if any were needed, that this wayward lot have totally lost touch with the faith they claim to affirm in their unquenching pursuit of secular, liberal values.
In the Gospel Christ hallows John’s ministry whilst still within the womb, causing John the Baptist to leap in Elizabeth’s womb! We are further reminded, in this touching account, that Christ is to be revered as the fruit of Mary’s womb. Surely every little baby, in every womb, in every place, is equally precious in God’s eyes? Is that not the message of faith? Are we not utterly committed to fighting for the dignity and worth of every living being, viewing every single life as equal and deserving of God’s indiscriminate love?
Today I weep at what is happening to the Anglican church and what is being done in its name in various places. I simply cannot see God’s hand at work in this. It leaves me asking one question, have rabidly secular minded wolves entered our fold? And if so what is our duty as Christians who want to abide by God’s laws and defend the faith of the ages?
For with every passing day the behaviour of certain Anglicans is distancing us all from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and making us look bizarre, erratic and confused to the watching world. In this instance you can add the word evil to that tragic list. Once again the Ordinariate seems ever more tantalising and necessary. If abortion has affected your life do please speak to a priest and seek healing and forgiveness in Christ’s name
Well said, Father.
“Informed choice” is what the supporters of abortion claim to want for mothers but somehow they never seem to mention totally reliable research showing a massively increased risk of breast cancer in mothers who have undergone an abortion. It is clear that those who are aware of the risks and suppress the information about it are more pro-abortion than anti-cancer and are concerned only about ‘pushing’ their own agenda. (See “Risk of Breast Cancer Among Young Women: Relationship to Induced Abortion,” published on November 2nd, 1994, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.)
In defense of us folks in the trenches of the Episcopal Church USA, there are quite a few folks who completely disagree with the unilateral endorsement spoken of here by the Executive Council of ECUSA. There are folks, like myself, who abhor the fundamentalist takeover of the Episcopal Church.
I hear you and my heart goes out to you Archer. It must be incredibly difficult for you and your people. There must be an almighty turmoil within between – when does one say ‘I cannot stay in this body’ v ‘I need to stay for love of those remaining’. It is the struggle many here also feel as, sadly, the C of E is heading in the same direction.
Underlying Father Ed’s often complex arguments are the simple principles of an Orthodox Faith, which we would all do well to remember. Here, using the example of the Holy Innocents, he gives an exposition of the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”. As ever, the words of Scripture are mediated through the doctrines of the Holy Catholic Church, to bring us as close as possible to Christ’s own teaching. In this case it could be summarised as: “Thou shalt not kill the unborn child”. It does not follow that killing after birth has taken place is to be encouraged, but occasionally this is a necessary part of a robust faith and something which is justified by Scripture, Tradition and Reason.
I agree Father; in some ways I might be considered a liberal but abortion is a vile practice that I pray will banned in the future.