Episode 22 - Artist-in-Residence - Baby Chris Week 21

When a human child I the womb can be ascribed - or denied - humanity and personhood because of the personal desires of any other human being, or the capricious opinions of legislators and secular ethicists - then no lives matter and all human beings are put at risk.

Scripture references in this episode include:

Exodus 20          Deuteronomy 5            James 4:1-2

2 Corinthians 5:16-17    Revelation 7:9   Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1-2

Acts 17:26           Isaiah 43:1                    John 3:16

I Cor. 6:20          Ephesians 1:7               I Peter 1:18-19

Romans 12:5       I Cor. 12:12-27             Deuteronomy 10:17

Job 34:19            Acts 10:34                   Romans 2:11

Galatians 3:28    Mark 12:31                  Ephesians 6:12-14

I Samuel 16:7      Genesis 1:1                 Psalm 19:1-2

Ezekiel 1:28         Rev. 4:3                      Genesis 4:1

Exodus 35:35     2 Chron. 2:14              Ephesians 2:10

Exodus 25-27, 30     I Kings 6               Revelation 21

I Cor. 3:16            Philippians 1:6           2 Corinthians 5:17

Gilbert Stuart's Unfinished Portrait of George Washington

Where to watch Poldark Season 1, Episode 7

https://www.ppl.org/baby-chris

Abortion Pill Reversal https://abortionpillreversal.com 24/7 Helpline at 877.558.0333 Email: help@apr.life or Chat at the weblink above

Post abortion recovery for both women and men at https://www.rachelsvineyard.org

Life Training Institute https://www.prolifetraining.com

Charlotte Lozier Institute https://lozierinstitute.org

Guttmacher Institute https://guttmacher.org

Compelled by the gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage. PPL.org

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:16

Welcome back to the ProLife Kitchen Table. We are glad you're here to help Presbyterians protecting life, to champion life from fertilization to natural death. I'm your host, Deborah Holyfield, a former board member and former executive director of PPL, and today I want to talk about the value of all human life. The article that I'm about to read is one I wrote back during the COVID-related social chaos of 2020 that had people facing off between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, black lives versus all lives, and of course the supporters of lockdowns that resulted in abortion centers being considered essential services while churches were not. PPL and others in the pro life movement have always taken the position that all human life belongs to God, that all human lives are equally valuable, and that God created each person with the specific characteristics intended to fulfill God's purposes for each one. The article I wrote back then is titled Our Mass Delusion No Lives Matter. Presbyterians Protecting Life is a Christian organization with a Christian mission. Compelled by the gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage. What is unsaid in our mission statement, but which is true by extension, is that every stage includes every developmental point on the spectrum of life from conception to natural death, regardless of any particular attribute or ability possessed by any human life on that spectrum. We have published extensively on matters involving all methods of conception, contraception, circumstances of birth, varieties of adoptions, birth anomalies, suicide, and end of life issues. We have addressed matters of race surrounding the eugenic beliefs and methods of planned parenthood in communities of color, highlighting the disproportionately high number of black children eliminated by abortion, which is rightly deemed genocide. Whatever the topic, we have addressed it scientifically, ethically, and theologically, particularly regarding the image of God born by all human life. During the COVID epidemic, PPL watched the developing worldwide violence and racial strife following the death of George Floyd with dismay. But we delayed addressing race relations specifically from a pro life perspective for several reasons. Many articles were already written by others that had addressed many of the same issues. Our audience is limited and our ministry is narrow, and there was widespread resistance to the Christian ideal that all lives matter equally, because some perceived then and still perceive it today, that to do so diminishes the validity of the individual's or communities' experience. But PPL became increasingly aware that the bright lines could be drawn from most, if not all, of the social and civic dysfunction directly back to the commodification of life exhibited in the past by institutional slavery around the world, as well as in the nearly half century of population reduction, contraception, and legal abortion. It's a bold claim to compare slavery and abortion, and one that is not always well received or sufficiently appreciated. Nevertheless, when it comes to valuing human life, denying the image of God and imposing worth on human beings according to the arbitrary standards of others, the parallels are obvious. The denial of the right to life, a right that is embedded in our constitution, is as much a denial of civil rights as any other such denial when based on race, sex or orientation, and perhaps more so, since the denial of life to preborn human beings is a denial based not on an inherent characteristics or preference, but on mere existence. Even as America struggled through legislative efforts to influence social change and ensure protection of equal rights and opportunities for advancement for minorities, women, the economically deprived, the educationally disadvantaged, and the LGBTQ plus population. Many of these efforts have had the unintended consequences of placing disparate values on human lives. Nearly every move to equalize a community or group by placing a greater value on it has resulted not in a simple step up to a level playing field, but in a step beyond, causing concomitant losses as lower valued groups and communities are sidelined. Whole books are written on this single topic, but most readers will be familiar with the unfair competitive edge imposed on female athletes and the coercion of religious orders, organizations, and believers to purchase items and endorse or participate in matters that violate the conscience and free exercise of their religion and association that result when groups with opposing interests are favored under vague rubrics of equal rights. Please stay with me, I am in no way writing to disparage the need for civil rights, equal opportunity, or to encourage unfair discrimination. What I am attempting to illustrate is that in the way of all humanity for all of human history when we try to impose our human values to effect a certain personal end, instead of using God's values to facilitate God's end, we gut value altogether. In so doing, as manifested by the commodification of unborn human life through IVF, surrogacy, and especially abortion, we have brought society to the mental and ethical state that has an embedded delusion that no lives matter. Today, no life matters until someone else says it does. My body, my choice, has a much wider application than valuing the life of the woman and devaluing the life of her unborn child on the basis of her personal desire alone. Various activists and movements within the black community look to the privileged white population for reparations as recompense to restore and increase their sense of personal value. Those in the guilt-ridden white community are moved to kneel and pay to purchase personal redemption from the black community. Violence against persons and property is justified by those seeking to increase a sense of personal value by assuming someone else's wealth and status are ill gotten and unearned, or if earned, the profit must have been enabled through devaluing the lives of others. Generations of uncritical acceptance of Darwinism has produced a social construct of race that implies there is such a thing as a subhuman. Indeed, the full title of his work is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. Individuals and social groups are objectified, sorted by skin color and ethnicity, labeled as subhuman, and then scapegoated by those who live by the maxim I choose to increase my personal value by decreasing your value according to my measure. God identifies these human impulses as coveting, lying, stealing, and murder. In the Bible's book of James, we read in chapter four, verses one and two. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet, but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. No life matters when any human life can be bought or sold at any stage of development in any condition for any purpose. No life matters when infertile couples can spend thousands of dollars to fertilize enough eggs to conceive a child simply because of a deep human desire to parent one's own offspring, and yet later to dispose of the excess embryos. No life matters when any human of either sex, both adults and children of any age, can be purchased, sold, and traded as merchandise because someone's desire for sexual gratification justifies the dehumanization of the victimized. No life matters when women and men are reduced to a collection of miscellaneous body parts and sex organs, and whose personal value is ascribed according to someone else's visual or sexual desires and preferences which are based in envy. No life matters when female athletes have a lifetime of sacrifice and training and a future of potential achievement eliminated in a single race or wrestling match because their lives and efforts are deemed to be of lesser value than the mere participation of any single transgendered competitor in order to gain validation of that personal person's desire. No life matters when the desire of a parent for a child with particular characteristics, whether sex, eye color, or any other attribute, can be inflicted on any child whose human worth is believed to be of lesser value than the parents either before or after the child's birth. No life matters when medical care is triaged according to age, physical ability or mental competence, with a higher value being placed on the young and healthy at the expense of the elderly or infirm. When a human child in the womb can be ascribed or denied humanity and personhood because of the personal desires of any other human being, or the capricious opinions of legislators and secular ethicists, then no lives matter, and all human beings are put at risk. If Christians are to be true to the gospel, then we must stand with our hurting black brothers and sisters while at the same time rejecting the creation of false communities, according to race, wealth, social position, sex and developmental status, and the use of the politics of power and violence to advance any human agenda counter to God's impartial view of the right to life, indeed to an abundant life, for all human beings. In an episode of the historical drama series Poldark, Ross Poldark and his wife Demelza are still in the first weeks of grief, following the death of their infant daughter from the plague, as well as facing dire financial straits, when Demelza discovers that she is pregnant again. Demelza hesitates to tell Ross about the pregnancy because when speaking out of his grief, he had told her that he didn't want another child. And when by accident Ross learns of her condition, he rebukes Demilza's reticence by telling her that his earlier words were voicing just a thought, but that the child she carried was flesh and blood and that is a very different thing. Just so, our human desires are vacuous thoughts, unsuitable foundations for life and death decisions and actions in the presence of the realities of the desires and movements of God. This is not a message the world wants to receive. The forces now are wanting to create false communities based entirely on physical appearance or ethnicity as divining characteristics of personal worth. This stems from the culture of death and the wide acceptance of abortion that sends the message that others can be summarily dispatched in today's popular lexicon cancelled if they interfere with or hinder another's narrative of personal desire or expected life trajectory. The apostle Paul said, From now on we regard no one according to the flesh. He saw other people as present or potential members of the new creation. The old has died and the new is come. In the revelation of Jesus to John, John wrote that the new creation is made up of people from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Nations in the New Testament world were often multiracial, as is the United States, but were typically united by a common culture. And the early church recognized that that culture was rooted not in skin color, but in religious culture. The culture of the world created by God is diverse and inclusive, but not divided. Genesis teaches that the image of God, the Imago Day, was imprinted by God on every human being at the creation of the world. There is only one race, the human race, because all humans share a common ancestor. There is nothing that anyone can do to diminish the value of a human being in God's estimation. God wants everyone to have abundant eternal life and paid a high price. Yes, using the language of purchase and ransom for each one who believes. Every member of the body of the Christ is vital. God shows no partiality and all are equal in God's sight. As believers live their lives, they are expected to love their neighbors as themselves, elevating everyone. All of these things are real. They are sourced in God and are not the product of the human imagination or human desires. Ultimately there is only one life that matters, the life of Christ Jesus. Only the God man Jesus was worthy to satisfy God and save us from death through the sacrifice of his life. Only Jesus enables us to embrace and experience eternal life in the presence of God. Only Jesus cares enough about us to continue to intercede for us, enabling and empowering us to become fully human. Only by seeing ourselves and the world through the eyes of Christ can we hope to achieve a realistic and healthy love of self in order to offer genuine love to our neighbors. How can Christians communicate these purposes of God to an angry, fearful world? Well, first check your own heart, not for unconscious bias, but for anything that calls for personal repentance. At different times all of us have been alternately victims and victimizers. Both behaviors are sourced in fear and anger and shame. Identifying the sources of those emotions in our own lives can help us to think more realistically about our own perceptions and act more generously towards others. Next, put on the full armor of God. Paul wrote in Ephesians that our battle is not with flesh and blood, but against the powers of this world's darkness and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Preface your encounters and conversations with prayer. Then look for the right person and find the right time. Some people we meet will be seeking peace and reconciliation themselves. Some have been wounded and are still hurting. Others are either activists or tools. Nothing will be accomplished in the heat of a potentially violent confrontation, whether in front of an abortion facility or at a street protest. Personal safety does matter and this calls for discernment. Treat everyone with respect and dignity. Once you are engaged in conversation, seek the humanity in others. Listen to their stories and allow them to vent their pain and frustration without judgment. When you speak, acknowledge their experience before contributing to the discussion. Be conscious that the enemy wants to dilute our efforts at reconciliation by dividing our efforts among multiple causes. Instead of working to end the symptoms that manifest as promiscuity, abortion, human trafficking, euthanasia, suicide, racial and economic divides, going for the common roots of these symptoms will have a more immediate and lasting effect. Work on refining your ways of understanding how to apply God's view of the value of human life in any situation, which is the same in every situation. You need not learn several counterarguments, only one. Be open to the real possibility that policy and practice changes will be necessary to reduce abuses and effect meaningful change going forward. And then having done all you can, stand. There is no need to capitulate the truth of God. Say what you know to be true as clearly as you are able, do what you can to help, and leave the results to God. Hear the word of the Lord The Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. Thanks be to God. They say the church shouldn't be political, but if the definition of politics is navigating and negotiating the policies and practices necessary for life together in community, then all citizens have a responsibility to become informed about what's happening outside the walls of your Christian home and church and engage as peacemakers just one of the ways that we carry the image of God into the world. The things that we've thought about in the first half of this podcast are a good segue into our devotional about baby Chris's 21st week of development in the womb, when we consider that God, as an artist, was carefully fashioning each one of us into a valuable work of art. So this is a good time to stand up, take a break, maybe look at the pictures of your loved ones hanging on the walls of your home, and consider God's hand in making them who they are.

SPEAKER_00: 19:42

Presbyterians Protecting Life has the resources you need to equip yourself and your congregation to champion life at every stage. We have answers to your questions, referrals to specialized care like abortion pill reversal and post-abortion recovery, current statistics and information, discussion starters, and devotionals to help you think about and share about pregnancy and abortion, adoption, foster care, and even suicide, assisted suicide and end of life challenges. Visit PPL.org to learn more.

SPEAKER_01: 20:11

This week's Baby Chris devotional is titled Artist in Residence. Hear the word of the Lord. O Lord, you are our father, we are the clay, and you are our potter. We are all the work of your hand. Isaiah chapter 64, verse 8. Thanks be to God. At twenty one weeks, our baby has everything he needs in place for life outside the womb. The remaining weeks of his development will focus on growth and fine tuning. This week his movements become less random as his muscles and brain begin to sink, his muscles respond to intentional brain stimuli, his tooth buds are forming, his eyelashes and body hair are white because they are not yet pigmented. One can almost imagine a sculpture or painting that is essentially complete, except for the details and final touches, as God steps back and strokes his chin, and while he considers blonde or ginger, God is the consummate artist. We appreciate the beauty of creation that surrounds us, and the psalmist wrote that the beauty of creation is the first witness to the constant presence of God. The humans are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. God Himself dwells in the glory of rainbow beauty surrounding the throne of God described by the prophet Ezekiel and the Apostle John. The Imago Day, the image of God as God's self portrait. God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God He created them, male and female He created them. It is not merely biology, philosophy, or legislation that establishes the criteria that designates humanity. The presence of the Imago Day stamps human on every developing fetus from the moment of fertilization throughout life. The human family inherits God's creative bent. We are crafted for particular purposes. Whether or not someone is artistically gifted or talented, even if all you can draw is a stick figure. The Imago Day means everyone is gifted to add beauty and value to God's world. Human beings are driven to create more human beings. When Eve delivered Cain, she said I have gotten a man child with the help of the Lord. All Christians receive spiritual gifts to build up the church. Others are spiritually gifted crafters. Exodus says he has filled them with skills to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen and weavers, all of them skilled workers and designers, trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood, and in purple, blue and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design. Whether artistically talented or spiritually gifted, we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The Temple of God We may assume that God creates freehand, but we know for sure that attributes of God include order and design. We are expressly told when God ordered Moses to build a tabernacle for God to dwell among his people, he directed that everything be built according to specific instructions. God designed a pattern for everything, the sanctuary and all of the equipment necessary for right worship. Solomon's temple was extraordinarily beautiful, made of fine wood and stone, full of gold, silver, and bronze furnishings, rich fabrics. The foundations of the new Jerusalem are made of twelve layers of precious gemstones, gates of pearls and streets of gold full of light and trees. The description of our final home might be metaphorical, but if it's metaphor, it's beautiful metaphor. Believers as temples of the Holy Spirit. Each believer is now a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells. If each temple before us was built according to the plans set out by God and finished by multiple artisans into a collective work of extraordinary value and beauty, how much more are we being crafted throughout our lives into a finished work of beauty beyond human imagination? We are an unfinished work and God is our artist in residence. Like Gilbert Stewart's unfinished painting of George Washington, God's creative work in us is not completed in the womb, but continues throughout our lives. Art galleries, museums, and churches invite artists, academicians, and curators to work and or reside within the premises of the institution in programs known as artist in residence. Artist in residence programs exist to foster the creativity of an artist whose work enriches and beautifies the institution itself, or furthers and enhances the purposes and goals of its mission. As a temple of the Holy Spirit, each believer is analogous to an organized, purposeful entity that is being improved and enhanced by God as our artist in residence through a process Christian thought understands as sanctification. The process of sanctification is the lifelong process of allowing God to complete the work He began in us. Believers cannot sanctify themselves any more than a child in the womb can direct his own development. It seems that what begins in this twenty first week will not end until Jesus returns. Hear the word of the Lord. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, and the new is here. Second Corinthians chapter five, verse seventeen. Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_00: 27:10

We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection. We encourage you to share it and join us next time on Pro Life Kitchen Table. May God bless you.