Tag: Creation of Human Life

Fence Post Devotionals “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”

Creation

“Everything as far as eye can see was made by Jesus, and without Jesus nothin’ was made that has been made” —John 1:3 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

William Paley, a theologian who lived in the 19th century developed what has become known as the “Paley Argument” for the existence of God. Back in the day, it was a much-discussed topic by theologians and scientists alike. It even lends credibility to the affirmation of God’s existence by some in today’s theological world.

A paraphrase of “Paley’s Argument” goes something like this . . .

“A man walking along the beach kicks up a rock out of the sand. ‘I supposedly could be asked,’ the man thinks, ‘how the stone came to be there. And I might answer that as far as I knew it may have lain there forever.’

But suppose it had been a watch laying upon the ground. And again, the inquiry as to how the watch happened to be in that place. And the answer once more that as far as the man knew, the watch may have lain there forever.

But upon closer examination the man observes the intricate working order of the watch; its gears, springs and wheels all working together in an orderly fashion; seconds, minutes and hours following each other in a predetermined manner. Upon asking himself how this came to be, he concludes that somewhere there must be an intelligent being who formed the watch, i.e., a watchmaker.

Taking note then of his surroundings, the world about him, all things working together in an orderly fashion: The tide ebbing and rising on schedule, the setting and rising of the sun, and seasons following each other in a predetermined order. He concludes that there must be an intelligent and omnipotent being who formed the world; i.e., a world maker.”

And, indeed there is a world maker. His name is Jesus, the Son of God . . .

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” John 1:3 (KJV)

You see, there are a lot of folks who think the world and everything in it, including our existence, came about by pure accident. Gail Burton in “1-Minute Bible Love Notes” says it this way . . .

“They say our world just happened . . . from a random explosion or some other accident . . . and then life haphazardly evolved from mutations . . . with stronger organisms clobbering the weaker ones.”

According to Paley’s Argument, that kind of thinking would be as absurd as to think that springs, gears and jewels randomly, by accident or coincidence could all come together to form, mold and create an intricately detailed working watch.

No! The answer is, God created the world and all that is in it. It is faith, not evolution that answers the mystery of creation.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

What Does God Think of Abortion?

When I heard about the law recently passed in New York State allowing late term abortions up to the point of birth, I was both appalled and grief-stricken. New York Governor Cuomo celebrated the passing of the bill and said, “it is a victory for all New Yorkers.”

But I wonder what God thinks about it? Is the continuing and increasing abortion rights propagated by some lawmakers a victory for mankind or is it an abomination in the eyes of God?

Some who approve of abortion, even up to the time of birth argue that life does not begin until the baby takes it’s first breath. Before that, it is simply a fetus; not a living being. They propose therefore, that “Human life begins when the baby starts breathing.”

But, what does God say about the beginning of life? From Scripture it appears that life begins at the moment of conception.

  • “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the One who formed you from the womb, ‘I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone . . .'” (Isaiah 44:24, NASV).
  • “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16, NKJV).
  • “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5, NIV).
  • But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through His grace . . .” (Galatians 1:15, RSV).
  • “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit…[saying] ‘As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy'” (Luke 1:41, 44, NIV).
  • Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3, NASV). 

                       *Scriptures copied from Focus on the Family Website

If, indeed life does begin at the moment of conception, as the Bible indicates and science supports as well, then that embryo conceived in the womb of the mother is a living being. Accordingly then, the aborting of that embryo or fetus would result in the killing of an innocent human life.

 According to American Life League, there are 2,899 abortions performed in the US every day. That means that there are 12o abortions every hour; one performed in the United States every 30 seconds.

For these who honor the sanctity of human life and uphold the rights of the unborn, these are horrifying and heart-breaking statistics. If so for us, I wonder how it must be for God who is the Father and creator of all life?

We get an answer to that question from the way God reacted to the pagan nations in the Old Testament that practiced child sacrifice. In the eyes of God it was an abdominal and sinful practice, one for which He judged those nations. (Leviticus 18:21, 24-30, 20:2-5; II Kings 16:3; II Chronicles 28:3, 33:2)

God hates murder. One of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt not murder.” Abortion is murder. It is the snatching of an innocent living being who has no voice of its own from the womb and casts aside to die.

My heart goes out to the mothers who have been victimized in the whole premise of these unholy practices by our culture.  We are accountable as a society for failing them also.  

*Artist Duane Bryers