I have a question I am pondering. Would you like to consider this question with me? I write this post to share an observation that has led to this question that plagues me. Did racism give rise to abortion? Have you ever considered that the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade in 1973 came immediately after some of the most historic Civil Rights legislation that too many Christians failed to support?
America has a sanctity of life problem. And this sanctity of life problem is the root cause of racism, abortion, violence, and so many other social ills that plague us today. I would like to suggest to you that Christians are supposed to be the loudest voice for the sanctity of life in the world. In talking with Pastor David about this post, he eloquently stated, “The Church should always hold the moral high ground with the belief in the sanctity of life.” I agree.
When we neglect that sacred duty, when we ourselves as Christians begin to negotiate the sanctity of life, there are two immediate consequences. One, we actually become the wrong kind of example to the world. Instead of being an example of righteousness, we become an example of compromise. Second, we leave the front lines of spiritual warfare woefully vulnerable. Let’s look at each of these further.
According to professor and author Kenneth R. Janken, the Civil Rights movement spans from 1919 into the 1960’s. And when we look at this period of history, too many Christians and too many churches were on the wrong side of history…some through silence but others shamefully actively resisted the struggle for equal rights for minorities in America. Christians during the Civil Rights movement were unknowingly teaching the rest of America that negotiating the sanctity of life is permissible. Meaning, that by resisting the Civil Rights movement, they were exposing their belief that the lives of minorities were not equal to their own. And if another life is not equal, is less valuable, is marginalized…then the sacredness of that life is now being negotiated. What began for me as a question is now quickly becoming a conclusion: this kind of negotiating and compromising by Christians during the Civil Rights movement paved the way for the landmark abortion decision Roe v. Wade. Secular society’s inclination to negotiate the sanctity life was being affirmed by Christians, unwittingly but nevertheless culpably.
Let’s explore the correlation between racism, abortion, and spiritual warfare. Let’s start with this question. Why didn’t the progress of the Civil Rights movement that championed the sanctity of life forestall any efforts to legalize abortion? My answer is, as discussed above, The Church had already laid the groundwork on how to negotiate the sanctity of life. Meaning, secular society (much of whom had grown up in churches) were completely comfortable with championing the sacredness of minorities while simultaneously minimizing and negotiating the sacredness of the unborn. Why? Because they had grown up watching their Christian professing parents and grandparents champion the sacredness of white lives while minimizing and negotiating the sacredness of minorities. And because The Church is ordained by God to stand against evil spiritually (Matthew 16:17-19 and Ephesians 6:12), by failing to raise up a standard of righteousness against racism, they opened the spiritual door in America to abortion. Their sin of negotiating the sanctity of life through racism rendered them inept on the front lines of prayer in the battle against evil’s agenda to wage war on the unborn. (Psalm 66:18 and James 5:16)
Even though secular society was making progress elevating the rights of minorities during the Civil Rights movement, too many churches and too many Christians stood in the way of that progress. In Christian’s efforts to forestall the Civil Rights movement, they became the instrument of the evil they had sworn to battle. As we stated above, they became the wrong kind of teacher to the world. They showed the world how to negotiate the sanctity of life with attitudes of racial superiority, refusing to acknowledge race based privilege and protecting systemic racism that oppressed minorities in every sector of society, especially the courts and industry. And in doing so, Christians in America left a gaping hole in the frontlines of the spiritual battle against evil. And evil came rushing in like a flood.
If you still aren't convinced, read this article on America’s crime rates by Lauren-Brooke Eisen. The purpose of this article is to show the difference between the perception of crime rates in America vs. the actual crime rates in America. The article was published in 2015, and the reason I show this article is because of what it reveals regarding the historic spike in violent crime here in the U.S. I don’t believe this meteoric climb beginning in the 1960’s is a coincidence as it correlates to both the Civil Rights movement and Roe v. Wade. I believe this is factual evidence that American Christian’s longstanding and shameful practice of negotiating the sanctity of life created a spiritual climate in America from which we are still suffering today.
Racism, abortion, and violence are all fruit from the same root…negotiating the sanctity of life. Too many Christians I know who believe that abortion is the most important moral issue of our day are also the same Christians who continue to be on the wrong side of history when it comes to social justice and racial equality. Do they realize that their callousness toward the harm of racism is still teaching secular society how to negotiate the sanctity of life, the very same attitude that leads to abortion? And do they realize that the sin of racism and the sin of indifference toward and denial of racism all render us ineffective on the frontlines of battling principalities and powers on high? Paul’s command in Ephesians 6 is clear: without our armor being in tact, we won’t be able to stand. James’ instruction in chapter 5 is equally clear: if the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much, is it not also true that the prayer of the unconfessed sinner no matter how fervent is seldom effectual?
Have Christians been historically and presently blaming the wrong people for the rise of abortion in our land…has it actually been us all along who laid the groundwork for this abomination? Did we embolden secular society’s proclivity for negotiating the sanctity of life? Did we render ourselves inept on the front lines of prayer in spiritual warfare through the sin of racism we have hidden in our hearts?
Pastor Fred