Is The Black Church Too Silent On Abortion
Jan 16
R.C Sproul has rewritten a book on abortion. This got me to thinking. In all of my life I have yet to hear a black pastor address the issue of abortion. Not to mention I have yet to see a black church have a ministry to help with the fight against abortion.
Now hear what I am saying. I am not saying get involved with all of the political charge behind the issue. I do believe the black church which is heavily involved with politics should discuss the candidates and their position on issues of morality since they already discuss these issues anyway. But I am speaking of grass roots or even national organizations that are combating the evils of abortion through the power of the Gospel. This could include call centers, bill boards, but more importantly pregnancy resource centers that through love attempts to convince the person that they are carrying a human being not some lifeless “fetus”, but a person made in the image of God who is just being nurtured for some time so that they may live on their own.
When it came to issues of health care the black church was all over it. But for some reason the black church (overall) has been nearly mute on the issue of abortion and its effects and its theological implications. What is odd is that human rights was once a big issue and health care is a human rights issue. Yet the greatest human rights issue facing us today is abortion. Abortion takes more lives than a lack of health care. Abortion effects more lives than a lack of health care yet not one national black leader has gotten up and spoke on this issue, especially nationally.
Again, I can’t understand why. And maybe in your experience your black leaders have spoken but in 33 years I have yet to hear a sermon dealing with the issue. Abortion is evil overall. There may be issues it has to be done but some even argue against those. But issues such as, it is going to ruin your life, effect you economically, your family doesn’t want you pregnant, you don’t love the father or any other issue like that is no excuse to take the life of another human being, no more than it would be if the baby was outside of the womb.
It is time for the black church to stand up on issues like this. Especially since one of its fundamental principles is human rights. I have a lot to say to this but we can do it in the comment section.
Nice composition! I deal with young children on a regular basis. That combined with everyday conversation with other women has proven one thing. There are a number of excuses women have given for having abortions, but the most obvious issue we face is accountability. We have created a society that says that it is ok to make decisions without considering the consequences, because you can always just make it go away! It is absolutely necessary to accept responsibility for our actions! Accountability and the acceptance or it is a must teach in today’s society!
Thanks for commenting Vicki and I agree, we lack accountability especially in the urban community, but what is even more saddening is that the black pastor has the loudest voice and the largest platform but has failed to use it in this instance (and we won’t even talk about the financial resources that runs through the black church).
I have never seen this issue directly addressed in the black church either (although I have heard it talked about a little bit). I personally believe the reason the black church doesn’t get involved in it is because in the political arena they tend to be democrats and dems are pro choice. Rather than say something about it and risk sounding contradictory to the public about who they support and why, they just ignore it all together. Even sadder, I know many Black Christians who are pro choice because they have not been properly educated about how abortion relates to the gospel.
Being a high school teacher of troubled minority teens, I come across this issue OFTEN, and it saddens me. All of the young ladies I have talked to about their abortions unanimously believe that abortion is another form of birth control. I’ve even spoken with a few young ladies who have had late term abortions (5months and beyond) who didn’t believe their baby was fully human even after I showed them pictures of a 5 month fetus and told them stories of women whose babies have survived early labor (most recently Michelle Duggar whose baby was delivered at 25 weeks)…
Within the school system my hands are tied with speaking about the relation of the gospel to abortion but I wish there was a place I could send them to be educated. Preferably their local church…
If I may say,
The discussion seems to remind me of how the Black church is so diverse that many times other groups may not be aware of what really goes on. Growing up, when I was more throughly in the camp of G.Craig Lewis/those of similar thought, I used to hear the issue of abortion ending often being something that was a BIG time issue not to be ignored. That’s not to say that black churches were speaking and are talking of it across the boards—but there are many that have indeed raised alarms about it for ages. Some of them may be on a smaller level of influence, as it concerns the local church having a voice rather than being seen in the mainstream media…
One of the greatest organizations I can think of is one by Will Ford called “Bound for Life”–a grassroots ministry based in political activism for the ending of abortion. The ministry is, of course, multi-cultural—but has done great strides and has gotten much attention. They were featured on CNN once for their activism.
For more info:
—Will Ford Appearance on TBN – Ministry Videos ( http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FJBFMNNU )
—EXMinistries Will Ford Truth Behind Abortion ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtP5e3Onhx8 )
—”Will Ford: Bound 4 Life and The Call Highlights – Today’s” ( http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FJBF1NNU )
—”The Billboards, The Babies and A Happy Birthday in Atlanta!”( https://exministries.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/a-groundshaking-revelation-from-will-ford/ )
Another person to keep in mind is Alveda King. “Priests for Life” is one ministry she’s affiliated…though the organization Dr. Alveda King is with primarily is also known as “Democrats For Life ” ( http://democratsforlife.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=116&Item id=2 ), a Pro Life Democratic organization that I’m affiliated with. Democrats 4 LIFE”—The Radical Group Within the Democratic Party Fighting to Take Back the Left for Christ, and Fighting for Pro-Life Cannidates All The Way who’d support the Right to Life from the Craddle to the Grave
As it stands, those who are Democratic and Pro Life have been causing quite a stir in the Democratic world when it comes to the platform they’ve taken and the ways they’ve sought to go about dealing with the ending of abortion. For more info, one can go online/investigate the article entitled “Pro-Life Democrats: Oxy-Morons?” ( http://blog.beliefnet.com/progressiverevival/2008/08/prolife-democrats-oxymorons.html ) and “Jim Wallis and the “Moral Center” on Abortion” ( http://culturekitchen.com/moiv/blog/jim_wallis_and_the_moral_center_on_abortion )
With Alveda King, I remember seeing her on stage 3 years ago at a prayer conference known as “The Call”.in Montgomery, Alabama…and when she spoke, you could tell this girl was different. She’s also apart of a movement known as “Black Genocide.org” ( http://blackgenocide.org/home.html ), in regards to exposing the reality of the racism inherent in Planned Parenthood and its orgins with Margret Sanger…..for Sanger (like Hitler) was for the philosophy of Eugenics and for the mindset that certain groups should be weeded out in order to cleanse the human race/perfect it. There was a rally on the issue not too long ago that she was apart of—as seen in an article one can find online called “Black Pro-lifers to NAACP: no more tax dollars for Planned Parenthood” ( http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2008/07/black_prolifers.php )
Another place to consider is “The Road To Self-GenocideBlackinformant.com | Blackinformant.com” ( http://www.blackinformant.com/self-genocide )
I think one of the main reasons many in the Black church have said nothing about it is because we lack a godly concept of the importance of family—-as children are often treated as baggage rather than gifts from God….and destablization in the black family has brought things down. However, I’d also add that many in the black church don’t discuss abortion because they feel that making laws to end abortion will do nothing. Perhaps I’m the only one here thinking such, but I truly believe that the key to ending abortion isn’t in making a ban against it—as I’ve seen otherwise in differing countries. The key, IMHO, is when the church will rise up not only in denouncing the issue but raising the issue of AIDING THOSE WHO ARE FATHERLESS, PROMOTING ADOPTION POLICY CHANGES MORE AGGRESSIVELY and SUPPORT FOR THOSE WOMEN WHO OFTEN FEEL TRAPPED IN THINKING THAT ABORTION IS THEIR ONLY OPTION EVEN WHEN THEY’RE DOING ALL THEY CAN TO TAKE CARE OF THE CHILD BUT SIMPLY CANNOT MAKE ENOUGH….
Some feel that with abortion, we as a church have a broken strategy when focusing only on ending it. As Jim Wallis once said, “As an evangelical who believes life begins before birth, I believe our presumed party alliance has become an abusive relationship. If we as followers of Christ truly believed in the agenda of life, why have we not taken seriously the proven correlation between poverty and increased abortion rates? Why have we not spoken out on supportive health care for women and children? Why have we not cried out about preventative education to minimize unplanned pregnancies that frequently lead to termination? ”
When it comes to the issue of abortion, the church always seems to get into a culture war on it…for the Republicans repeat that they think abortion should just be completely illegal; and the Democrats repeat their only mantra of a “woman’s right to choose.” And the number of abortions remained mostly unchanged.
“Pro-life” battle “pro-choice” when neither party was really either one. Those positions were more like postures, and they didn’t lead to solutions. What if “pro-life” really meant policies that would protect the precious gift of life wherever it is threatened and aim at dramatically reducing the number of abortions in America? And what if “pro-choice” meant extending the range of real choices available to women – not only to terminate a pregnancy, but also to make the decision to have a child with the necessary economic support, health care, and adoption services?
This is something I saw lived out myself—and often, it was frustrating whenever others would say “Black churches are only concerned about economic issues…” —and my issue was that the economic issues by default affected the moral choices that others may’ve been inclined to take…..and thus, for those areas doing street ministry/working in Urban Centers, they felt that telling a woman to keep her baby was only half the battle.
There was a front-page article in the Washington Post awhile back that may be of interest to people here. As it stands, the Black CHurch has frequently often been for the Democratic side—and it turns out that for many, frustrated by the failure to overturn Roe v. Wade, a growing number of antiabortion pastors, conservative academics and activists are setting aside efforts to outlaw abortion and instead are focusing on building social programs and developing other assistance for pregnant women to reduce the number of abortions.
Some of the activists are actually working with abortion rights advocates to push for legislation in Congress that would provide pregnant women with health care, child care and money for education — services that could encourage them to continue their pregnancies.
Of course, the new effort is causing a fissure in the antiabortion movement, with traditional groups viewing the activists as traitors to their cause. Leaders worried that the approach could gain traction with a more liberal Congress and president, although they do not expect it to weaken hard-core opposition.
However, Abortion reduction should not be seen as traitorous to…ending abortion
For more info:
–”Pro-Life Democrats Call for an Abortion Reduction – God’s Politics ” (http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2008/07/prolife-democrats-call-for-an.html )
-”What is the Meaning of “Life”? — Seeking Common Ground on Abortion Reduction- Gods Politics” ( http://blog.sojo.net/2008/10/13/what-is-the-meaning-of-life-seeking-common-ground-on-abortion-reduction/ )
Indeed, As the economy worsens, providers of reproductive services say they are fielding more calls from distraught women facing difficult decisions about pregnancies they didn’t plan and can’t afford. Many interviews with single mothers suggest that more women are struggling to afford contraception…
Again, many have noted how they cannot afford contraception and when they become pregnant cannot afford either another child or an abortion. In that situation, faith-based crisis pregnancy counseling organizations, adoption agencies, and clinics that provide free contraceptives are also reporting increased calls for help but too often cannot meet the demand.
As the economy continues to decline in some ways, assisting women facing these situations with practical steps including greater access to contraception, health care, adoption reform, and pre-and postnatal care are more important than ever if we are serious about reducing the number of abortions.
Gabe,
We plan to do something about it
)
Anonymous can you leave a name please. I don’t post anonymous comments.
Have you heard of pastor clenard childress? You must look him up.
I think the reason for the silent treatment in the black church is also political but also because of adultery by so-called sanctified Christians, disobeying the 7th Commandment. Pastors are having children out of their marriage and thus abortion seems ok, but it’s not. God knows and if they, the second head of the church, don’t get it together. Woe unto them.