Celebrating the Sanctity of Life: Part 1

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They're the joyful agains our children shout on the swings, the

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exhausting agains of cooking and laundry,

and the difficult agains of discipline.

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So much of what we do

as mothers is on repeat.

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So what if we woke up with clarity,

knowing which agains we were called

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to, and went to bed believing we

are faithful in what matters most?

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We believe God's word is

the key to untangle from the

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confusion and overwhelm we feel.

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Let's look up together to embrace a

motherhood full of freedom and joy.

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Happy sanctity of life Sunday

and welcome to this very special

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episode of the again, podcast.

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I'm your host, Stephanie Hickox.

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And today we'll be listening in on a very

important discussion between Tom Strode

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and Betsy Corning on the sanctity of life

and the dignity of every human being.

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Before we begin to listen in on

this truly informative dialogue.

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I want to share a little bit about Mr.

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Stroads impressive resume.

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Tom Strode has worked many years in

Christian journalism and public policy.

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He recently retired from the Baptist

press as the Washington DC bureau chief.

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And he held that position for 32 years.

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He has served in Christian

journalism for 40 years.

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And was also a correspondent for the

ethics and religious liberties commission.

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Or E R L C as we'll refer to it here.

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And though I could tell you

much more about his resume.

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I think what others have to say about his

character is even more impressive to hear.

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One man said it is not an

overstatement to describe.

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Tom is one of the greatest writers

in the history of Baptist journalism.

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Former E R L C.

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Vice-president called Mr.

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Strode.

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One of the finest man, he has ever known.

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His example of gracious faithfulness

has influenced many Christian

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men and women working in DC.

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He said he could always count on

Tom to search out the whole truth of

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an issue and to report it clearly.

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And a longtime bioethics consultant

referred to Tom as the consummate

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professional, competent adept and

ethical, and a giant of personal and

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professional integrity in every way.

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Our listeners know Betsy Corning

as the author of entrusted

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with the child's heart.

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And she has been praying for Roe V.

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Wade to be overturned

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for almost 50 years and this past June.

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Her prayers and the prayers of many

faithful followers of Christ and pro-life

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advocates had their hopes realized.

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But we want to make it clear.

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This isn't about debating.

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This is about embracing God's word and the

truth that reveals and living that out.

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That our love of the Lord would

extend outside our front door.

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And that we would be the hands

and feet of Christ to this world.

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And that inside our homes.

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Knowing the truth that God truly

cares for every human life.

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would energize and renew

us to care for our family.

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Well, and to know that God has

a purpose for every human life.

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May you be blessed, strengthened,

and encouraged to wholeheartedly

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foul and the truths of God's word.

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And may the Lord reveal to you

how you can practically live

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that out in your home and beyond.

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Thanks for listening.

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Betsy: Hello, Tom.

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Welcome.

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Tom: Well, thank you.

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It's a pleasure to be here, Betsy.

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I'm so grateful for the Ministry

of Entrusted and it's kind of you

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to enable me to be a part of this.

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Betsy: Well, in our discussion so

far, it's been very interesting to

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see all of your insight and wisdom

about what's happened over, really,

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not just your part as a reporter.

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in the last 40 years, but

just through the centuries.

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And we would like to update our listeners

on really what's been happening in this

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whole issue of the sanctity of life

and abortion and other related issues.

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Hopefully it serves to really

enlighten some people that.

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For me, I wasn't up to date on a lot of

the things that I've been reading lately.

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And I feel that often the

public legs behind what's really

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happening behind the scenes.

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So hopefully this will be helpful.

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I know it's going to be deep and I

know it's going to be eye opening.

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So we really thank

everybody for listening.

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We do believe in the Bible and

the authority of God's word.

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So.

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Tom, let's start with talking about,

how the Bible addresses the issue of

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abortion and the sanctity of life.

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Tom: Well, thank you, Betsy.

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And you're right.

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I mean, that is where we need to start.

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But the Bible's.

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picture of life, human life, it's

worth really is established quickly in

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the very first chapter of God's word.

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And Genesis 1, 27 describes God creating

human beings and the first human being

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after he created other creatures.

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And in this case, it says that, so

God created man in his own image.

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In the image of God, he created him.

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Male and female, he created them.

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And so we see, unlike the other creatures

that are created by God mankind, human

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beings, who it says he made male and

female, were created in his image.

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And he confirms that in Genesis

chapter nine, after the flood that

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brought judgment upon the earth,

except for Noah and his family

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and the animals that were spared.

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God tells Noah there that he's

going to require a reckoning

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for the taking of a man's life.

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And in the reason he gives in

in verse 6 of Genesis 9 is for

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God made man in his own image.

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And so he's saying that capital

punishment is Is a result of murder

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of the taking of a human being's life.

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And so that provides basically the

umbrella for the Bible's teaching on the

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dignity and sanctity of all human life.

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And then when you consider

as we are at this time and on

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this podcast the unborn child.

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We see that the Bible uses, in some

cases, language for the, in its

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original languages, for the unborn child

that it also uses for young infants.

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Luke is maybe the best example.

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There's the word that's

used for baby there.

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Brephos is how we would translate it

from the Greek language to describe

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John the Baptist when he's still

in his mother Elizabeth's womb.

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But then it also is used, that's in

Luke chapter 1, in Luke chapter 2 that

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same word is used to describe the baby

Jesus in the manger on two occasions.

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And then Luke 18 That same word is

used to describe infants and babes

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who are brought to Jesus by their

parents for him to touch them.

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And so there are other ways in which

the Bible affirms the dignity of the

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unborn child as a member of the whole

human family that has human dignity

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and sanctity, because it's made, or he

or she, Is made in the image of God.

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Betsy: And not only made

in the image of God.

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But life begins.

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I think that's a big question

that society has raised, is

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when does life actually begin?

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And of course the Bible tells us

that life begins at conception.

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So and we can see some verses obviously

the whole Psalm 139, which David is

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speaking there about how the Lord formed

his Fashioned his unformed substance

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and you know all his days were known

before there was even one of them.

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So we understand that too and as

believers we we embrace that understanding

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that life begins at conception.

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So we were discussing briefly a book

that is now out of print called Third

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Time Around and that book sort of talks

about Nothing new under the sun, right?

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That this is the third time around there's

been this major push for abortion and

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can you just briefly tell us, I guess

that book was written by a pastor, George

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Grant, and he actually lives in Franklin.

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Tell us a little bit about his book and

why he wrote it and the history behind it.

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Right, and that I think is really

important for us all to consider as

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Christians in the 21st century that this

viewpoint of the church based on scripture

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and the church's ministry in the pro

life arena has been around for centuries.

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Tom: Um,

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George Grant in this book Talks about

the fact that infanticide and abortion

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have existed through the centuries, but

so has the church's pro life ministry.

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He cites the a document known as the

Didache, which is subtitled, The Teaching

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of the Twelve Apostles to the Nations,

that was came, came into existence around

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the turn of the very first century AD.

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And in it, The Didache says there

are two ways, one of life and one

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of death, and there is a great

difference between the two ways.

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And later it says, You shall

not murder a child by abortion,

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nor kill a child at birth.

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So we're talking about early, early

church history, and this viewpoint that

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the church held that abortion was murder,

and infanticide is murder as well.

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And so he traces this history and

one of the people he focuses on in

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one of his chapters in the, about the

early church was Basil of Caesarea.

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He was the Bishop of Caesarea

in the fourth century AD.

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And he taught and worked and led his

church to oppose abortion and infanticide

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and to develop pro life ministries.

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At this time in the Roman Empire

families could just abandon

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children after they were born if

they decided they didn't want them.

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The father could make a decision

whether that child would continue

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to be a member of the family and

they had these walls in Caesarea.

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Where they would expose the

children and they would die there.

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And and he and others, the deacons

in his church, went out one night

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and actually tore down the walls

to demonstrate they were not going

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to stand for that at this time.

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And then, through the centuries, the

church has continued to have this pro

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life view and this view of the dignity

of the unborn child and all human beings,

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not only in starting ministries to

vulnerable people, starting hospitals.

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But continuing to support the pro

life cause for pre born children.

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He talks about in this book the missionary

movement of the: 1800

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When people like Amy Carmichael William

Carey, David Livingston, and others,

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Opposed abortion and infanticide and

ministered to those women in need

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as part of their gospel ministry.

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And so what we do now as the

church is just building on the

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heritage we have, which is based

on obviously the word of God.

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And I thought your point about

David writing in Psalm 139 is, is.

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A good illustration of another way in

which the Bible affirms the dignity

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and sanctity of a pre born child.

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He not only talks about being formed

in his mother's womb, but Others write

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similar things as well in the Bible.

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Jeremiah, Isaiah, and the Apostle Paul

all talked about God's claim on their

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lives when they were still in the womb.

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And so, we really have

a wonderful heritage.

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It's a heritage that goes against the

culture that we live in now and that

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Christians have lived in in the past.

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Betsy: And what a wonderful thing to

think about our heritage, that the Lord

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has created each of us in his image for

his purposes, and he knows that purpose.

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I think that ought to really encourage

every one of us, that God has a purpose.

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For our lives.

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And I hope that our children

grow up knowing that and knowing

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that they're, they're actually

very special and beloved by God.

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In fact, it says in Ezekiel,

all souls belong to God.

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And I really love that verse also.

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You mentioned here that the

father could dispose of his child,

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sell the child into slavery.

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It was my understanding from some recent

research that this was a lifelong thing.

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And I was really taken by that.

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The Bible is so contrary to life being

cheap or insignificant or not meaningful.

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It definitely has purpose, and that's

a part of the sanctity of life also.

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You mentioned some of these

people that didn't just work for

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abortion, but they also worked

for treating people in hospitals.

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Give us an example of how The

sanctity of life really spreads

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into other areas of life.

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It's really not just about the abortion

issue, but it's about the dignity

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of life in several different arenas.

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Tom: No, you're exactly right, Betsy,

and I think that is really important.

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A lot of the focus for me early when

my pro life convictions and efforts

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was just focused on the unborn and,

and have to realize based on Genesis

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1, if nothing else, that that statement

that every Human being is made in

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the image of God, that the very first

person was made in the image of God.

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It covers everything, everyone, and it's

not governed by the health of a person,

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the age of a person, the condition of a

person, the skin color or ethnicity of

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a person, the gender of a person, even.

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It's all encompassing, and so when we

think of other Ministries are other

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people in different situations other

than the pre born whether they're

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people who have Down syndrome or other

conditions, whether there are people

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who are poor, whether they're terminally

ill, whether they're elderly, whether

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they have, Alzheimer's and dementia, and

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trafficking victims refugees, immigrants,

everyone is made in the image of God and

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we, in relating to everyone, even our

opponents on this issue and other issues,

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we need to remember that person is made

in the image of God and is deserving.

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of protection in life, but also

respect as an image bearer.

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Betsy: Yes, I agree, and I think we're

going to come back to some of those

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issues to some degree, but let's go

back to where we are right now in

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this country because it's, it's a big,

some big changes are going on, and of

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course when that happens, then we're

going to have some big challenges.

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So, As far as Roe v.

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Wade goes, I mean, I would like our

listeners to really understand how

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did this third time around happen,

and when did it kind of start?

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It sort of formulated earlier

than the 70s when the Roe v.

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Wade decision was made, but can you

give us some background on that?

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And, and who were Roe, and who were

Wade, and how did this all come to be?

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Tom: Okay, sure.

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You know, abortion was not outlawed

by the states at the beginning

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of the American Republic, but in

, in the: 1820

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actually enacted a ban on abortion.

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And after the Civil War a, kind of

a coalition, even if they weren't

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working together so much, of churches,

denominations, doctors, and even

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the early women's rights advocates,

were working to protect human life.

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Some of the, we, some women, Who are

considered early feminists like Susan B.

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Anthony and Elizabeth Stady Canton.

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were pro life.

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They weren't working to give

women the right to abortion.

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They saw those children, unborn

children, as deserving of protection.

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And so by the 1880s, all states

in America at that time had

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some form of abortion ban.

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Now they may have different from state

to state, but largely abortion was

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banned in the 1880s in the states.

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Well, you jump forward about 80 years

things began to change in the: 1960

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Some states legalized abortion.

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Most notably, New York.

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New York State did not have

a residency requirement.

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So, women would travel from other states

to where their, where abortion was

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illegal, where they live, to New York.

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To have an abortion.

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And in fact, in the 1972, the year before

abortion was legalized in this country,

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more than 100, 000 women traveled just

to New York City to have abortions.

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And then everything changed

nd,: 1973

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That was the date of the Roe v.

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Wade decision.

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In that decision, the Supreme

Court justices voted 7 2, to strike

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down all state bans on abortion.

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So what they did was wipe out every

state restriction on abortion.

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They decided that their, the reasoning

was that there was a right to privacy

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in the constitution and that right

to privacy protected a woman's

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right to choose to have an abortion.

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On the same day, There was

a companion decision, also

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approved by 7 2, known as Doe v.

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Bolton.

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And in that decision, the court legalized

abortion for women after the viability

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of the child for health reasons.

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And those health reasons,

they said, Included physical,

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emotional, psychological,

familial, and the woman's age.

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Anything that was relevant

to her well being.

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So what ended up happening was that

made abortion just an expansive right.

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What I think was rightfully

called abortion on demand.

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And and so for the next almost

50 years, it's estimated that

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63 million Unborn children were

aborted legally in this country.

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and obviously there's opposition to that.

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Out of that, the pro life movement

was already there, but it really began

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to develop after the Roe decision.

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And a year later, the first

March for Life was held.

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It's been held every year

since then in Washington, D.

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C., and was again

yesterday in Washington, D.

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C.

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Tens of thousands of

people gathered together.

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To march for the sanctity of human life.

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Betsy: So, who was Roe, specifically?

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Who was that woman?

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Tom: Well, those who were trying to

overturn Texas's abortion law, at least.

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And as it turned out, they had

accomplished overturning all state bans.

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We're looking for a woman

to provide the test case.

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And so, Jane Rowe, as she was known in

the case, was actually Norma McCorvey.

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This became known later.

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She was a woman who was interested

in having abortion, agreed to

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be a part of the test case.

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And and so, Wade was Henry

Wade, who was the District

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Attorney for the Dallas County.

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And so they challenged the abortion

rights lawyers, challenged the

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Texas law on behalf of Jane Roe.

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And and it went all the

way to the Supreme Court.

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The court obviously agreed with them.

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Maybe beyond their wildest dreams, I

don't know, in what they actually ruled.

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And it received criticism

even from liberals.

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Lawyers after that.

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There were some lawyers.

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legal scholars like Lawrence Tribe of

Harvard Law School, like Ruth Bader

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Ginsburg, who was a women's rights

lawyer at that time, but then she became

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Supreme Court Justice in the 1990s.

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And they were critical, not of

the ultimate decision, they agreed

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with abortion rights, but they were

critical of the court's reasoning in

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coming to the conclusion they did.

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In fact, Ruth Bader Ginsburg said it

was sweeping, and it was really doctor

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centered rather than woman centered.

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Betsy: Very interesting.

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Well, we understand that not

everybody is going to think of

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human life the same that we do.

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We understand that we're presenting

here the Christian worldview, that

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we believe that God created each

individual in his image and, and has.

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Worth placed on their lives.

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And so we protect that life,

but we understand that there are

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people that don't believe that.

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And because they don't believe that

that has implications for life also.

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One of the things that I've learned

recently, which was so interesting

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was that if you don't believe that

human life was created by God or in

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his image, then your explanation.

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for the purpose of life or the

beginning of life changes dramatically.

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And if we all evolved and if we all

evolved from the same matter or material

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as animals or any other living organism,

well then we have something in common

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with them and we are no better than them.

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So that is the new thing that is

out now that I've heard is being

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called a Speciesist or Speciesism

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a speciesist is somebody who believes

that human life is superior to the life of

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any other life, even the life of animals.

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Well PETA, which is the acronym

for the People's Ethical Treatment

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of Animals, defines speciesism

as the human held belief that all

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other animal species are inferior.

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Speciesist thinking involves Considering

animals who have their own desires, needs,

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and complex life as means to an human end.

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And so, it was coined in 1970 by Richard

Ryder in a privately published pamphlet.

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And then that idea was carried

on from Peter Singer and

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popularized in Animal Liberation.

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So the main idea there is because

we've all evolved and we're

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really all the same matter.

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We shouldn't think of ourselves people

as more Highly evolved or more special

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than animals or other living organisms.

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So when you think about that, you

see the implication of that kind of

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thinking that a baby isn't really

how we regard a baby, a preborn

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baby, or a person that's infirmed.

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What happens is we start thinking

of how we can constantly invoke

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ourselves into the evolutionary

process that they believe.

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taking place and constantly improving it.

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And so we get this whole new arena

or area of bioethics and biogenetics.

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But before we get back to

that once I was looking up

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the leading cause of death in babies.

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And they don't even mention abortion

because it's so vastly higher number than

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any other cause of death in an infant that

they, they just don't even include it.

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So that being interesting, somebody

actually did make an attempt to do

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some research and include that and

was obviously completely Prevented

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from getting that information out.

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But we should say along those lines

that abortion is really under recorded.

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And I think that the numbers are much

higher than the numbers that we have.

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I've heard higher numbers.

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I'm sure that, that you have too, but

along that lines, it's become pandemic.

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It's circulating around the world.

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And as we know, the one child policy.

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That was, took place for

about 25 years in China.

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China boasts having aborted close

to 400 million children, babies.

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So we see this not just as an issue

in the United States, but a global

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issue of how people view human life.

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And we have the understanding that

they're not necessarily going to agree

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with us because they're coming from

a completely different worldview.

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So we just want to make sure

that people understand that.

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Tom: I'd be glad to comment on what you

were saying there especially at the start.

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There are obviously people

that disagree with us.

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And and we as Christians are going

to go come from the perspective

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of what does God's word say.

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But, you know, some people try to

just say, we're trying to impose

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our religion on other people and and

make religion an opponent of science.

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And they say, well, we believe in

science, but the science really

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confirms what the Bible has taught.

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A child at the moment of conception

has his or her whole genetic code.

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That's not going to change.

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Scott Klusendorf, who's the head of

the Life Training Institute, has an

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acronym known as SLED that he uses

to describe the difference, the, the

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fact that really there's no difference

between an unborn child and a born

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child based on whether they have.

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worthy life.

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And SLED is Size, Level of Development,

Environment, and Degree of Dependency.

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And he says, you know,

your size doesn't matter.

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Yes, an unborn child is smaller

than a born child, or a child

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who's older, or a human being.

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But that doesn't make that

person the size of a person.

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Doesn't determine whether he or she is

worthy of protection and the level of

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: 00:28:54

development, yes, but a five year old

isn't as developed as a 25 year old.

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So, we're not going to say, well, that

the five year old's life is not worth

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: 00:29:04

as much as a 25 year old's environment.

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: 00:29:07

Does it make a difference if a child

is in the environment of his mother's

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: 00:29:12

womb as opposed to Maybe several minutes

later, being outside his mother's

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: 00:29:18

womb, does that mean that he or she

is unworthy of life and protection?

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In degree of dependency

I can see in the future.

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: 00:29:30

I am going to be, could be

really dependent on other

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: 00:29:33

people to continue in my life.

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: 00:29:37

A newborn child for months is, and

with years really, is so dependent

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on his or her mother and father

and to, for almost everything.

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: 00:29:50

And people with dementia, people

with debilitating diseases.

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: 00:29:56

Can be dependent.

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Does that mean now we're not worthy?

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: 00:30:02

Well, it's not a matter

of our quality of life.

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: 00:30:05

It's the fact that we

have dignity in our life.

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: 00:30:10

Steph: That's part one of this.

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: 00:30:12

Very stimulating conversation.

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: 00:30:14

And part two will be coming shortly.

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: 00:30:16

In case this episode has brought about.

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: 00:30:18

Feelings of regret or remorse.

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: 00:30:20

For any acts in your past.

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: 00:30:23

I

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: 00:30:23

just

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: 00:30:23

Steph: want to remind you

of what God's word says.

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: 00:30:25

If we confess our sins, he is faithful

and righteous to forgive us our sins.

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: 00:30:30

And to cleanse us from

all unrighteousness.

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: 00:30:33

That's fun in first, John one nine.

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: 00:30:36

As Betsy says in interested, why

carry something around with you every

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: 00:30:40

day that Jesus has died to forgive.

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: 00:30:43

Is his sacrifice or forgiveness

too small for your sin?

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: 00:30:47

It is not.

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: 00:30:48

Betsy will touch on this in

part two, a little bit more.

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: 00:30:51

Whatever our regrets are in life.

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: 00:30:54

The Lord.

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: 00:30:55

Is bigger than it all.

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: 00:30:56

And his forgiveness..

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: 00:30:57

Extends to our deepest sins.

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: 00:31:00

.

Thank you for listening.

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: 00:31:02

And keep caring for those

image bearers in your home.

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: 00:31:04

We know how hard you work.

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: 00:31:06

And the Lord certainly does too.

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: 00:31:09

We know you're busy, Mama, so

we are truly grateful you joined

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: 00:31:12

us for this episode of Again.

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: 00:31:14

If you're looking for more information

about building your home on the

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: 00:31:17

foundation of Jesus Christ, head to www.

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: 00:31:21

EntrustedMinistries.

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: 00:31:23

com to learn more about our study for

moms, Entrusted with a Child's Heart.

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: 00:31:28

This scripture saturated study

has blessed families around the

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: 00:31:31

world, and we want it for you, too.

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: 00:31:34

Before you go, I want to pray

this benediction over you

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: 00:31:38

from 2 Thessalonians 1, 11 12.

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: 00:31:41

We're rooting for you.

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: 00:31:44

To this end, we always pray for you,

that our God may make you worthy of His

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: 00:31:49

calling, and may fulfill every resolve

for good, and every work of faith by

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: 00:31:54

His power, so that the name of our Lord

Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in

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: 00:32:00

Him, according to the grace of our God.

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: 00:32:03

And the Lord Jesus Christ.

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: 00:32:06

Amen.

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: 00:32:07

Until we meet again.