NECAC 1985 Brochure: Molech v. Childlikeness

[John C. Rankin]

In 1985, I wrote a brochure for the New England Christian Action Council (NECAC), as my early theology on the subject of human abortion is seen profiled, as well as strategic initiatives in place or contemplated..

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NECAC 1985 Brochure: Molech v. Childlikeness

A Biblical Agenda for Opposing Abortion

New England Christian Action Council

11 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA (617) 283-4575 or 546-9229

The Nature of Sin and Abortion

Sin tears lives apart. On the one hand it victimizes people, on the other hand we are individually and corporately responsible for it. Abortion does the same, killing the unborn child, violating the mother’s womb, and tearing apart the the lives of all others involved. Sin is a tearing apart of the order of God’s creation — abortion specifically tears apart the wholeness of sexual love and parenthood as God ordained it for marriage.

Molech

In Leviticus 20:1-5, the Lord judged those in Israel who sacrificed their children to the Canaanite idol Molech. The idol was a brazen statue, hollow inside to make it capable of being heated with fire. It had the form of a bull’s head, with outstretched arms to receive children to be sacrificed — usually male infants. These little ones may or may not have had their throats split first, but they would be rolled into Molech’s embrace and be incinerated. This was the sacrifice of worship which such a false god demanded.

For the Israelites who did this, they were turning away from the living God who had just delivered them out of Egypt’s slavery with “outstretched arm” [Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34 etc.], and turning to a bronze idol who was killing their children with outstretched arms. No wonder the judgment of Yahweh was severe.

In Leviticus 18:6-23, God prohibits a variety of sexual aberrations. In that context (v. 21), sacrifice to Molech is also prohibited. This is for two reasons. First, the killing of infant children is the height of sexual perversion in that it tears apart the fruit of sexual love. Second, the worship of Molech equals spiritual adultery. The Old Testament abounds with this parallel when people forsake Yahweh for a false god.

Molech and Abortion

A clear parallel can be drawn between the sacrifice of human children to Molech around 1300 B.C., and the sacrifice of unborn human children in abortion clinics, hospitals and doctor’s offices — the modern altars of Molech.

The Canaanites sacrificed their children to a false god and religion. Present day humankind sacrifice their offspring to the false god and religion of Humanism. Child sacrifice in ancient Canaan, Carthage, Greece and other places involved the slitting of the child’s throat. Modern abortion techniques such as dilatation and curettage, suction, dilatation and and evacuation likewise cut the child apart. Child sacrifice in the ancient world involved the children with fire. Saline abortions burn the child in the womb. Molech and Abortion are agents of sin.

The Nature of Redemption

Redemption is the opposite of sin, it is the answer to sin. It is a process that restores wholeness to broken lives, beginning now and aiming at eternity. It is God’s active love for us, surprisingly demonstrated in Christ as he conquered death through his resurrection. Redemption faces sin head on, giving hope in place of despair and strength in place of weakness, as it empowers Christians through the Holy Spirit to become true servants in a broken world. It is the essence of the Gospel and the opposite of abortion — the answer to abortion.

The Strength of Childlikeness

Abortion represents a strategy of Satan to tear apart the image of God in humanity, to attack the helpless, vulnerable and innocent in our midst. It is violent, manipulative and deceptive. It exalts the strong over the weak, it exalts darkness over light. As Jesus overcomes evil with servanthood and love, so must we.

A key strategy to Christians in opposing abortion is found in Psalm 8, where it reads: :You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained strength, because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” Here we see how the glory and strength of Yahweh is found on the lips of the least in our midst. His strategy for redemption throughout biblical history was to bring his power in the most unlikely places, among the weak and humble of this world. Thus God came to us through the womb of an unmarried Jewish teenager situated in economically adverse conditions. Joseph was not the biological father, and they lived on the outskirts of a hostile Roman Empire. All these factors updated into today’s world would lead abortion advocates to recommend Mary as a prime candidate for “therapeutic abortion.” And yet this is how God chose to come into our midst.

Jesus taught that we must become as children to enter the kingdom of God. On Palm Sunday, after the clearing the temple of money changers and after healing the blind and the lame, the children began shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David.” They recognized the Messiah, and it sparked a debate between Jesus and the religious leaders who were his foes and avengers. Jesus catalyzed the strength of the children’s praise to silence these opponents (see Mt. 21-22).

We are called to silence the foe and avengers of the Gospel in a like manner today. Specifically we must do this with regard to abortion. This “strength of childlikeness” reveals itself in the following characteristics:

  1. Implicit trust in God’s provision and power.
  2. An innate desire to learn.
  3. The freedom to ask heartfelt questions that are without malicious intent.
  4. The ability to call “a spade a spade,” once again without malicious intent.
  5. Openness of character, nothing to hide.
  6. Always looking for love and happiness, not seeking evil.
  7. Humility and confidence of identity.

The abortion mentality despises childlikeness in one form or another. It is proud and self serving even in the face of painful situations. Our mission is to be clothed with the opposite of a “holier than thou” attitude. It is to recognize and demonstrate the universal need to be children of God, and in exalting this strength of childlikeness, we can penetrate past pride and the hardening of sin, and touch the child that is in all of us. To touch the image of God, however shattered it may be, and encourage hope. On this basis of strength, we are best positioned to make a Christian appeal in a pluralistic society, to be effective in protecting the unborn and their families.

The New England Christian Action Council

The New England Christian Action Council is a specifically Christian ministry dedicated to address the evil of abortion and related issues with God’s redemptive love. The New England C.A.C. submits to the full authority of the Bible, in its conviction of truth and strategy for advancing the Gospel. The agenda is three-fold: 1) to educate Christians and society; 2) to work for legislative reform of literal abortion laws through various active endeavors; and 3) to support the work and mission of Crisis Pregnancy Centers and related ministries, including the ministry to women who have had abortions, and have now come to Christ for forgiveness.

This agenda is pursued in the following means:

  1. Teaching of the Seminar on Abortion and Political Spirituality.
  2. Films, printed material and other teaching and preaching opportunities.
  3. Public debates and forums, in local cities and on many college campuses.
  4. Personal contact with pro-abortion leaders, with a view to persuasion.
  5. Establishment of local C.A.C. chapters.
  6. Lobbying, whether one-on-one, or through letter writing with attendance at public legislative sessions.
  7. Interaction with hospitals, seeking to persuade them to be consistent with their healing mission, and not do abortions.
  8. Public marches to celebrate life, and picketing where and when appropriate to oppose the destruction of life.
  9. Counseling for people facing the dilemma of abortion in all contexts.

In all these avenues, the primacy of the Gospel is rigorously maintained. The supreme identity for all Christians is their relationship with Jesus. On this basis alone we are equipped to effectively protect the unborn, to share the justice and mercy of God in all aspects of life.

The Seminar on Abortion and Political Spirituality

This seminar, which has been taught more than 40 times across New England in 1984-85, is purposed to educate and mobilize Christians to effective action and ministry in countering abortion and related evils in the context of a pluralistic society. It is taught by the executive director, John C. Rankin. The sum of its content states that believers in Jesus Christ have a biblical and historical mandate to protect the unborn.

The seminar has four main sessions:

  1. A biblical basis for the sanctity of human life as found in the all-encompassing doctrines of creation, sin and redemption.
  2. A biblical examination of the redemptive process and how it applies to abortion, how it shapes our attitudes.
  3. A historical treatment from the early church to the present. Here the focus is on the political spirituality of William Wilberforce as he successfully opposed slavery by an active testimony of Christian faith. And it is also demonstrated in how the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision was anti-Christian in its assumptions and conclusions.
  4. A biblical definition of political spirituality in the present day, and how the Christian consensus can fashion a strategy opposing abortion that is philosophically and politically above reproach.

Your Involvement ….

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