It's A Moral Issue!

Today, after almost 250 years from the founding of the United States of America, we look back on our history and are shocked, ashamed and disgusted that there ever existed the institution of slavery where men, women and children of color were bought and sold.  They were considered to be mere chattel, property that could be used and disposed of at the slave owners discretion, simply because of the color of their skin.  In the Declaration of Independence, where it was declared that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the issue of slavery was ignored chiefly in order to secure the signatures of southern slave holders.  But the issue didn’t go away.  Like the proverbial can, it was just kicked down the road.

It would again surface during the senatorial Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858.  One of the issues debated was whether new states entering the union would be free states or slave-holding states.  Douglas argued that the residents of the potential states should decide for themselves.  Lincoln, however, treated the issue of slavery as a moral issue, that the institution was fundamentally morally wrong.  Lincoln would lose that election, but would go on to be president.

In his March 4th 1865 second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln said, “The Almighty has his own purposes. ‘Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.’ If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through his appointed time, he now wills to remove, and that he gives to both North and South this terrible war…”  It would take the 600,00 dead of the Civil War to finally inaugurate the steps that would end that terrible institution and move us closer to those ideals expressed in our founding documents.

In our day, the issue is abortion, which has progressively been pushed to center stage.  Pro-abortion advocates argue the so-called “sanctity” of the Roe decision precedent.  House Speaker Pelosi, the President and others would like to see that decision codified into permanent law.  Many precedents have remained unchallenged for years, but after almost 50 years, the Roe decision is still a contested issue.  And the reason is the same as in the days of slavery.  It’s a moral issue and no amount of Supreme Court decisions like Roe, or Congressional legislation can change that.

Imagine Americans 250 years from now looking back on our time.  I believe they will shocked, ashamed and disgusted that 60 million plus children in the womb were routinely and legally put to death.  I’m thankful that many Americans of all colors, creeds and political persuasions are becoming more informed by listening to the science, using ultrasound to see the images of human beings in the womb, getting counseling, and ultimately listening to what God says.  Lincoln did as he quoted from Scripture, “Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.”