Churches going “woke” need to wake up – Part 2 (Abortion)

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139: 13)

In part one of this series, I wrote about discovering that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) “advocates for the acceptance, full participation and liberation of all sexual orientations, gender identies and gender expressions.” Bibliotado News calls this stance “blasphemy,” and for good reason. Refuting the Biblical view of two genders – male and female – and allowing members of the LGBTQ+ community to hold leadership positions in the Church smacks of “woke” ideology rather than Biblical theology. 

As a former pastor of the ELCA, Tom Brock has seen the denomination embrace concepts far outside scriptural teaching. “‘Liberal’ is no longer the word for the ELCA; it has become radical,” said Brock. 

In an op-ed published by The Christian Post, Brock detailed what he saw evidenced in the ELCA before he moved to a doctrinally conservative branch of the Lutheran denomination. In just one example, Brock described the indoctrination of 31,000 ELCA youth at a 2018 gathering. During the event, the young participants were asked to publicly repeat an ELCA pastor’s statement, bolstering acceptance of secular genderism. 

“[Pastor] Nadia Bolz-Webber led the students to say after her, ‘I renounce the lie that queerness is anything other than beauty,'” Brock explained. 

In furtherance of their woke agenda, it’s not enough for the ELCA to ordain transgender or homosexual pastors. They actively support abortion – in both parishioner offerings and public sentiments. Brock explains, “The ELCA pays for abortion for any reason in the denomination’s healthcare plan, which is funded by offering dollars. That’s right, ‘your offering dollars at work’ can go to kill unborn children.”

We don’t have to take Brock’s word that this is true. Prior to the Supreme Court’s recent reversal of Roe v. Wade, this mainline division of the Lutheran Church, which represents approximately 3 million parishioners, spoke out against the leaked court document. In a May 17th tweet, the ELCA said that “abortion must be legal and accessible.” `

Contrary to Biblical teaching, while the ELCA acknowledges that a fetus is a human being, it calls this life a “neighbor” to the “pregnant person” and allows the ownness of fetal termination to rest on the mother alone – in conjunction with her community of “God, family, friends, doctors, and pastors.” Undoubtedly, considering God’s say in this decision is not to be taken literally. 

Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, who leads the ELCA, explains the Church’s stance by referring individuals to their denomination’s 1991 social teachings document regarding abortion.  

“In the social statement, this church holds both women and ‘developing life in the womb’ as neighbors. This Church declares that any person who has become unexpectedly pregnant has moral agency to discern what to do, and this decision-making usually happens in a community – not only the person who is pregnant but with God, family, partners, friends, doctors and pastors. While this Church longs for a future with fewer abortions every year, the social statement points out that outlawing all or nearly all abortions is not the way to do this. The ELCA opposes both ‘the total lack of regulation of abortion’ and ‘legislation that would outlaw abortion in all circumstances.”

Such a position could never be deemed Biblical as the Sixth Commandment tells us, “Thou shalt not kill.” God created life; in His creation, all life is sacred. 

• “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.” (Genesis 9:6)
• “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13)
• “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:12)
• “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.” (Proverbs 6:16)
• “They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters.” (Psalm 106:38)
• “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:18-19)

Considering the Christian tenet that the Ten Commandments were given to the world by God, how can the ELCA unilaterally replace such laws with their social statement? Was such a document created simply for their Church to become more palatable to the masses? Is social acceptance, then, more important than divine authority? One must, therefore, question all teachings by this Church if that is the case. 

Moreover, if a fetus is a “neighbor” to a “pregnant person,” does the denomination feel it’s okay to kill my next-door neighbor, as well? Did the ELCA forget that doing so disavows yet another of God’s commandments – the Second, to be precise? This divine law, after all, instructs me to love my neighbor as I would myself.

And what of Galatians 5:14, which says, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” If the ELCA supports a mother killing her unborn “neighbor,” how can the denomination disavow the murder of anyone else? Am I the only one who questions the logic of this concept? Is an unborn neighbor any less valuable than one who has been born?

Sadly, as appalling as this heresy is, woke ideology is not contained within the Lutheran Church. It seems it took the Supreme Court’s decision to end federally-funded abortions to find out just how radical some church ideals are. While the deaths of over 63 million innocent babies were deemed necessary over the past 49 years in America, representatives of five different religions don’t feel this is enough – at least not in the Sunshine State. 

In early August, a reverend from the United Church of Christ, three Jewish rabbis, an Episcopal priest, a minister from the Unitarian Universalist church, and a Buddhist lama all filed lawsuits against the state of Florida. Their legal actions all allege the same thing – that the new state law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy violates their religious freedom. While I’m still contemplating this action, I have to ask – what kind of message about the Church is this sending to secular society if our activities are no different than anyone else’s?

One must wonder, at this point, what the universal Church’s purpose is. For those members of the Christian faith, the Church used to exist to glorify God by spreading Christ’s gospel, following His example, and learning to serve our Creator with one’s whole being – at least that’s what I always believed. 

In today’s world, the Church has become little more than a social club – allowing congregants a chance to gather, reflect, perform “good deeds,” and punch their “God-clocks” by attending services. Following Biblical teaching has become taboo – not just in schools, the workplace, or the government. Somehow, somewhere, at some point along the great expanse of time, believing scriptural truth has become unacceptable, narrow-minded, bigoted, and misogynistic – even within the Church. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

And so I must caution anyone who cares more about societal acceptance than our Creator’s – including the woke Church. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” We can’t pick and choose what we want to believe and disavow, sue over, and ignore because we want to be accepted by the general public. That’s just not how God’s law works. 

Christians are called to be the salt and light of the world. Matthew 5:13 reminds us, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

There is no purpose in the Church’s existence if it prefers popularity over instruction. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” 

Modern theology should be no different than that in Christ’s time. As Christians, we must be different. We must follow God’s guidance and live for His purpose, not public acceptance.

I prefer to be salty by following God than flavorless by chasing the world. Anything else is too “woke” and far gone for me.