Sean C. Capparuccia

oringinally published June 22, 2020

Here’s an issue that is certainly not new but one that I feel needs to be continuously revisited:  can a Christian be pro-abortion?  Well, some would say “yes” and I reckon I know more than one church member who believes abortion to be okay.  And as I read the Scriptures from day to day, and certainly as certain passages come up within the lectionary which we use in church, answers to these issues manifest themselves plainly to my understanding.

      Today’s Epistle reading was I John 3:13ff.  St. John writes, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.  He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”

      So let’s look at a few terms to begin with.  “Eternal life abiding in” simply means “salvation.”  One who is “saved” has “eternal life.”  “Brethren,” when used in the New Testament, means other Christians.  The biblical word has unfortunately been tainted by the idea that on this earth all of humanity are “brothers” and, perhaps, in a sense, that may be so in a humanistic way.  But biblically, “brothers” means other believers.  The word “hate” is somewhat euphemistic as is the word “love.”  I can honestly say that I hate froglegs; I just do.  But I cannot say that I hate any person, especially a brother in the Lord.  I may hate what they do just as I hate what I do at times but I do not hate any person as of yet. 

      With that, then, the passage may read, “Do not be surprised, brothers (& sisters) , if unbelievers hate you. We know that we, the ‘saved,’ have passed from the death-life prior to salvation unto life, because we love other Christians.  He that does not love his brother in the Lord lives in death.  Whoever hates his brother in the Lord is a murderer: and you know that no murderer is saved.”

      Now I ask you, dear reader, if one who hates his/her brother in Lord is considered a murderer, then what is one who hates his/her unborn child?  Well, not even the pro-abortion Left denies that abortion is murder anymore, they just attempt to justify the murder with various reasons.  Yet the Scriptures plainly tell us that murder is not an option for God’s people.  In fact, says Jesus, and, here, His Apostle, God’s people are not even to hate each other which is tantamount to murder.  The point of the passage is an argument from the obvious general to the less obvious specific.  In other words, everyone knows that murder is evil; no one questions that logic.  But John reminds us of Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount that even hating your brother is murder such that one will be held just as liable for hating a brother as for murdering the same.  Again, I ask, will the mother or the abortionist or the abortionist’s nurse or scheduler be held any less accountable for murder when they premediatively kill a child not even 9 or 10 months old?  To think otherwise is ludicrous.

      No, one can not be a Christian and reasonably support abortion.  Those who belong to the number of the saved love life, support life, give life, and fight for life.  Murderers and those who affirm murder do not have life but live in death. 

      This is by no means a comprehensive thought on abortion so I am not too much worried about everything “not said.”  I am only reflecting upon this passage which we read in church today.  I encourage you to think about it as well.