Focus on the Family Reports: Third Largest
Denomination in US Pulls Support of Abortion
For 40 years the United Methodist
Church has supported the Supreme Court’s infamous Roe v. Wade decision – that
is, until last week.
Delegates of the country’s
third-largest religious body voted 445 to 310 to repeal the official resolution
supporting the case establishing a constitutional “right” to abortion during
its General Conference. They also voted to sever its affiliation with the
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), an interfaith organization
co-founded by the United Methodist Church.
The RCRC advocates for abortion
without restrictions – the legal killing of any pre-born
child for any reason at any point during
pregnancy. The group even supports partial-birth and sex-selection abortion,
and promotes rituals to bless the work of abortion clinics.
You can begin to see why it’s big
news for the UMC to take two big leaps towards a complete pro-life position.
Pregnant, abortion-minded women within the Methodist denomination may now
reconsider their decision.
But beyond that, it’s also important
for the sake of the Gospel that the United Methodist Church moves to a position
that’s more faithful to Biblical truth regarding the sanctity of human life.
While Evangelicals
celebrate these life-affirming decisions
by the United Methodist Church, I want to reflect on three takeaways from the news.
1.
The American Church should be humbled.
For far too long the U.S. has
exported abortion through groups like Planned Parenthood. Our nation is
even more
pro-abortion than many “progressive”
European countries. Sadly, much of that support comes from members of and
leaders of mainline Protestant churches.
That’s why it doesn’t surprise me
that the UMC’s 5 million predominately theologically conservative African
members are largely responsible for this development. It is their efforts that
help explain why the denomination “has resisted liberalizing its teachings on
marriage and has moved more conservative on abortion,” writes Mark Tooley, a Methodist who serves as the president
of the Institute on Religion and Democracy.
As an American Christian, I’m
humbled by the example of my African brothers and sisters – and I’m grateful for
them.
2.
The UMC’s votes should give us hope.
As many mainline Protestant
denominations continue to grapple with issues concerning life and marriage, the
move by the United Methodists serves as a reminder for us to continue praying
for them.
Not all is “lost” – there is often a
remnant and a reason for hope. Therefore, when we read that other groups are
wrestling through Scriptural teaching on the life issue and sexuality, let’s
take a moment to ask for God’s mercy and
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