The sanctity of life should be the one issue that all Christians agree upon, but one celebrity pastor recently refused to condemn abortion when confronted about it by liberal commentators.
During an appearance on “The View,” the Rev. Carl Lentz from Hillsong Church in New York City waffled when asked if he considered abortion to be a sin.
“So, it’s not a sin in your church to have an abortion?” co-host Joy Behar asked Lentz.
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“God’s the judge; people have to live to their own convictions,” responded the religious leader — who pastors celebrities such as Justin Bieber.
He further suggested that Christian leaders need to know people and their individual background and story before calling something “sin” in their lives.
“That’s the kind of conversation we would have, finding out your story, where you’re from, what you believe. I mean, God’s the judge. People have to live with their own convictions,” Lentz said. “That’s such a broad question to me. I’m going higher. I want to sit with somebody and say, well, where do you believe…”
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Behar then asked, “So, it’s not an open-and-shut case with you?”
Lenz explained that he’d like to “know your name” before he starts “picking and choosing” what he thinks is “sin in your life.”
Watch Lentz’ interview here, with his abortion comments happening around 2:57:
No, “pastor,” you’re absolutely wrong on many levels.
Scripture is clear that the intentional killing of an innocent human is condemned by God. It’s also clear that God considers pre-born humans to be image-bearers of Him.
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Psalm 139:13 explains, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
Verse 16 goes on to say: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Job 3 describes miscarried babies as “infants who never saw the light,” and pregnant mothers are referred to several times as being “with child” (Matthew 1:18, Luke 2:5).
On the killing of humans, God is also clear: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind” (Genesis 9:6).
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If it needed to be any more clear, Exodus 20:13 is about as unambiguous as it gets: “Thou shall not murder.”
So, no, Carl Lentz, people don’t decide for themselves what “sin” is, or what constitutes a human being. God decides, and His position on this issue is clear.
In fact, giving this despicable moral cover to proponents of abortion is the same path as the pro-choice crowd, which attempts at every turn to dehumanize abortion victims by blurring the moral lines.
After backlash from Christians who firmly believe that the killing of innocent humans in the womb is an abomination that should be widely condemned by anyone proclaiming to spread God’s word, Lentz “clarified” his statements on Twitter.
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At a safe distance from liberals and “The View’s” cast and audience, Lentz explained that he did believe that abortion was sinful, but didn’t directly condemn it on “The View” in an effort to “help and love those that deal with the pain of regret from personal choices, rather than cast further shame and guilt on those already carrying so much…”
Thoughts addressing a recent interview: pic.twitter.com/WoAcFwy8UQ
— carl lentz (@carllentzNYC) November 7, 2017
Women who have had an abortion certainly deserve the love and grace that Christians are supposed to show to all people, but that doesn’t mean our religious leaders shouldn’t condemn the act itself.
Our society is already in a culture battle with Hollywood, liberals and Planned Parenthood over the worth of human life. We can’t have Christian leaders working against that worth.
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When it comes to the issue of “life,” there’s no room for waffling.
H/T PJ Media
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