Leave the side of evil
According to the results of a survey conducted
by the Levada Center, 52% of the Orthodox and 61% of the Moslems [interviewed
in Russia] do not regard abortion as murder. It is obvious that we are talking
here about people who merely identify themselves as Orthodox or
Moslems—participating little or not at all in the life of their respective
religious communities.
This
is a manifestation of what some sociologists call "poor faith." A
person does not deny that God exists, he counts himself with the religious
tradition that his forefathers were affiliated with—Orthodox or Moslem
respectively—but this tradition in no way influences his relationship towards
life, his ideas of right and wrong, or the decisions that he makes.
Abortion
is one of the issues over which the views of the Church and the views of
secular society are sharply divided. As it says in the document accepted by the
Russian Orthodox Church entitled, "Foundations of the Social Concepts of
the Russian Orthodox Church":
"Since
ancient times, the Church has looked upon the intentional interruption of
pregnancy (abortion) as a grave sin. The Canons equate abortion with murder.
Such an evaluation is based upon the conviction that the conception of a human
being is a gift of God; therefore from the moment of conception any
interference with the life of the future human person is a crime."
Actually,
this is not the position of the Orthodox Church alone—Catholics come out very
sharply against abortions. Even Pope Francis, who has gotten a reputation as a
"liberal" and "reformer" has recently emphasized that
"this cannot be a subject for any kind of supposed reform or
'modernization.' It is not 'progressive' at all to try to solve a problem by
way of the annihilation of a human life." Similar views are held by the
majority of Protestants. Even some unbelievers come out against the
"life-negating horror of abortions."
Why?
Contrary to what the advocates of abortions usually say, there is nothing
specifically religious in recognizing abortion to be murder. "You must not
deprive an innocent human being of life" is an evident moral truth known
to people even outside of Biblical revelation.
What is a human? Aristotle suggested a
self-evident definition early on: "a human is a living being belonging to
the human race."
Is
the child in the mother's womb a living being, and not part of the mother's
body? Yes.
Is it
a human being? Yes, and what kind? To what race does it belong, if not the
human race?
Is it
innocent? Some supporters of abortion declare it to be "an aggressor"
or "an unwanted tenant," which the mother has a right to kill or
"evict." But such logic is absurd—the child in the womb is not
undertaking any armed aggression, which it might have been permitted to
repulse, and he does not commit any crime deserving the death penalty. He is an
innocent human being, and to deprive him of life is criminal, not by virtue of
any specific church principles, but by virtue of the moral principle
self-evident to all: one must not kill innocent people.
The
unique proclamation of the Church here is not that abortion is murder—here the
Church simply bears witness to moral self-evidence. The Church proclaims the
forgiveness of sins. Christ is the “Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the
world” (John 1:29)—among which is the grave sin of abortion. Everyone who comes
to Him with repentance and faith obtains full forgiveness and the chance to
start life with a clean slate. Many abortionists—and other people involved in
this evil—have acted thus, and now come out in defense of life. The Church
denounces the sin not in order to torment people with a hopeless feeling of
guilt, but in order for them to repent, find forgiveness, and be saved.
“Mommy,
don't kill me!”
But
there is yet one more deep discrepancy between the secular and the church view
of sin. The holy Apostle Paul writes about the fact that those who approve of
sin are more guilty than those who commit it directly (cf. Rom. 1:32). This may
seem strange, but it is so. A woman who commits an abortion may do it under
heavy pressure from circumstances, when no one—neither the father of the child,
nor her relatives, nor the doctor—shows support for her, but, on the contrary,
urges her on to the sin in every possible way. Sin remains sin, and the person
needs repentance and forgiveness—but the extent of the guilt here is different.
It is
another whole story when a person in a completely comfortable situation and
without any pressure accepts this sin as being permissible. It is no longer a
manifestation of weakness in the face of severe trials—it is a conscious, free
choice of evil and sin. And this approval is a serious sin which one must
repent of—acknowledging that evil is evil and confessing that we stood on the
side of evil. We must resolutely stand on the side of our Lord Jesus Christ; we
must resolve to be Orthodox not in name only, but by a serious personal choice.
This is what the first step to salvation may look like: that we refuse to
consent to the evil that everyone around us regards as permissible.
21 / 12 / 2013
Other
worthwhile reads on the topic:
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/65319.htmhttp://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/62147.htm
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/66235.htm
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/66559.htm
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