Moral Dilemmas

By Kerby Anderson

J. Kerby Anderson presents a penetrating volume of solid, practical answers to some of the most perplexing issues facing our society today-issues such as abortion, euthanasia, cloning, capital punishment, genetic engineering, and the environment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: May 30, 1997
• ISBN: 9781418558093

Kerby Anderson

Kerby Anderson hosts the radio talk show Point of View and is the national director of Probe Ministries. The author of several books, including Making the Most of Your Money in Tough Times and A Biblical Point of View on Spiritual Warfare, he is a frequent guest on programs such as Prime Time America, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Focus on the Family, and The 700 Club. He is a visiting professor at Dallas Theological Seminary.

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MORAL

Dilemmas

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CONTEHPORARY ETHICAL ISSUES

J. KERBY ANDERSON

CHARLES R. SWINDOLL, GENERAL EDITOR

Moral_Dilemmasl_0001_002

MORAL_DILEMMASL

Swindoll Leadership Library

Copyright © 1998 by W Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published by W Publishing group, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.,

P. O. Box 14100, Nashville, Tennessee 37214.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations used in this book are from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV).

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.

Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Published in association with Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS):

General Editor: Charles Swindoll

Managing Editor: Roy B. Zuck

The theological opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily the official position of Dallas Theological Seminary.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Anderson, J. Kerby

Moral dilemmas: biblical perspectives on contemporary ethical issues /

J. Kerby Anderson : Charles R. Swindoll, general editor.

p. cm.— (Swindoll leadership library)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-8499-1446-9 (alk. paper)

1. Christian ethics. 2. Ethical problems. 3. Church and social problems.

4. Current events. 5. Moral conditions. I. Swindoll, Charles R. II. Title.

III. Series.

BJ1275.A46         1998                          98-15087

241’.6-dc21                                                            CIP

Printed in the United States of America

01 02 03 04 05 06 BVG 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

1

Abortion

2

Euthanasia

3

Genetic Engineering

4

Reproductive Technologies

5

Sexual Promiscuity

6

Crime and Punishment

7

Capital Punishment

8

Drug Abuse

9

Breakdown of the Family

10

Divorce

11

Pornography

12

Gambling

13

Homosexuality

14

Technology

15

Ecology and the Environment

16

Media

17

Government and Civil Disobedience

Endnotes

Bibliography

Scripture Index

Subject Index

Foreword

SOME THREE DECADES after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the apostle Peter penned a letter to a band of believers scattered throughout Asia Minor. This group of struggling saints found themselves increasingly at odds with a world that called evil good . . . wrong right . . . and perversion normalcy.

Peter reminded his readers of a different path—the path of righteousness— God had set before them. Yet this holy walk took them through a pagan landscape littered with twisted beliefs, fractured relationships, and wrecked lives. Their lives were to be different, which prompted the old fisherman-turned-apostle to write, Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us(1 Pet. 2:12).

Peter was not only concerned with the believers’ walk. He was also equally interested in their talk. These Christians were to be prepared with God’s answers for the key questions of their faith, which led him to urge his readers, But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Pet. 3:15).

Fast-forward nineteen centuries. The styles have changed, the pace of life has quickened, and our high-tech society has become much more complex and sophisticated. Nevertheless the world around us is still at odds with God’s standards, still questioning His authority, still opposing His plans. Not surprisingly, God’s people are still called to walk the walk and talk the talk . . . to be men and women of integrity who, as authentic Christians, can clearly articulate God’s answers to the questions being voiced by a society desperately seeking solutions.

All this explains why I’m excited about J. Kerby Anderson’s penetrating volume, Moral Dilemmas. This seasoned author provides solid, practical answers to some of the most vexing issues facing our society today—issues that call for a Christian response. His insightful writing cuts to the heart of such issues as abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, drug abuse, divorce, pornography, and homosexuality. With surgeon-like skill Anderson lays open the entire debate and clearly explains what God’s Word says on the subject. He does so in a way that anyone can understand. Best of all, his book equips believers with guidelines that enable us to maneuver our way through the ethical and moral land mines of our times.

Read slowly . . . underline freely. Take careful notes. You will return often to Kerby’s refreshing, reliable answers to the contemporary questions that are making the front pages of today’s newspapers.

—CHARLES R. SWINDOLL

General Editor

Acknowledgments

IT HAS BEEN SAID that the closest a man can come to childbirth is writing a book. The process of writing this book has been fulfilling and relatively free of pain. Perhaps after having so many published children, I’m learning how to give birth. No doubt it is also due to a few helpful midwives that made the process so delightful.

Writing a book is always the work of more than one person. Although I have written every word, I do want to acknowledge those who critiqued and encouraged.

First and foremost I want to thank my colleagues at Probe Ministries and Dallas Theological Seminary. While this book took less than a year to write, it was the culmination of twenty-two years of ministry. The opportunity to speak, broadcast, and write on many of these topics over the years helped hone the final results.

Second, I would like to thank my co-host and friend, Penna Dexter. Even though we no longer work together on a daily basis, she was eager to read and critique many of these chapters. If I close my eyes, I can see many places in this manuscript where Penna’s Flair Pen markings improved the final product.

Third, I would like to thank Kay Lyons. Years ago when I was editing and writing a book dealing with ethical issues, she gave critique and encouragement. When I was initially approached about this project, it was easy to say yes simply because I had Kay’s earlier endorsement ringing in my ears.

Fourth, I would like to thank my editor Roy B. Zuck, who spotted every errant jot and tittle. Thank you for your tireless service and critical editorial work.

Finally I want to acknowledge the support of my entire family, who suffered through the birth pangs of this book and have been such a support to me. Although this book probably took less time away from family than any I have written, they were encouraging and supportive when necessary. Thank you Susanne, Amy, Jonathan, and Catherine for your love and loyalty.

1

Abortion

ABORTION IS ONE of the most controversial moral dilemmas of our day. Women with an unplanned pregnancy often see abortion as their only solution to the crisis in their lives. Abortion affects millions of Americans. Social scientists estimate that abortion is the most frequently performed surgery on adults in America.¹ In fact, one out of three babies conceived in the United States is deliberately aborted.² Since about 40 percent of all pregnancies are unplanned,³ this means that well over two out of three unplanned pregnancies are terminated by abortion.⁴ There are 1.6 million abortions reported in this country every year, meaning that over 40 million abortions have taken place since abortion was legalized in 1973.

A HISTORY OF ABORTION

Contrary to popular belief, debate and polarization over abortion is not a recent phenomenon. The practice of abortion was common even in the ancient world. Many cultures (Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian, Hittite) considered abortion a serious crime. In this tradition was the portion of the Hippocratic Oath that stated, I will not give a woman a pessary to produce an abortion. Other cultures, such as that of Hippocrates’ own classical Greece, condoned the practice of abortion. Plato wrote that ill-conceived embryos should not be brought to birth, and both Plato and Aristotle thought that deformed children should be exposed and left to die.

The Jewish historian Josephus wrote against abortion: The Law has commanded to raise all children and prohibited women from aborting or destroying seed; a woman who does so shall be judged a murderess of children for she has caused a soul to be lost and the family of man to be diminished.⁵

The consensus of the early church was that abortion and infanticide were murder. The Didache (also known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) was a compilation of apostolic moral teachings from the end of the first century. It commanded, Do not murder a child by abortion or kill a newborn infant.⁶ The Epistle of Barnabas, an early second-century theological collection, also laid down a strong admonition against abortion and infanticide: You shall love your neighbor more than your own life. You shall not slay a child by abortion. You shall not kill that which has already been generated.⁷

Athenagoras, a second-century apologist, wrote in a letter to Emperor Marcus Aurelius: We say that women who induce abortions are murderers, and will have to give an account of it to God. . . . The fetus in the womb is a living being and therefore the object of God’s care.⁸

Clement of Alexandria wrote that our whole life can proceed according to God’s perfect plan only if we gain dominion over our desires, practicing continence from the beginning instead of destroying through perverse and pernicious arts human offspring, who are given birth by Divine Providence. Those who use abortifacient medicines to hide their fornication cause not only the outright murder of the fetus, but of the whole human race as well.⁹ Tertullian also wrote in his Apology that murder is forbidden once and for all. We may not destroy even the fetus in the womb.¹⁰

Augustine condemned abortion and criticized married couples who attempted to avoid having children: Sometimes this lustful cruelty or cruel lust comes to this, that they even procure poisons of sterility, and if these do not work, they extinguish and destroy the fetus in some way in the womb, preferring that their offspring die before it lives, or if it was already alive in the womb, to kill it before it was born.¹¹

Modern laws against abortion came about in the nineteenth century with the discovery of the human ovum in the 1820s. This led to the realization that a distinct human life was created through the fertilization of the ovum so that the woman was with child from the moment of conception.

These laws against abortion were in effect until 1967, when a few states began to liberalize their abortion laws. By the end of 1970 eighteen states had passed statutes that allowed abortion in exceptional circumstances. Soon there was a backlash to the liberalization of these laws, and it appeared as if many of the laws would be overturned. However, on January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade decision, which went even further than the most permissive abortion laws passed by the various states.

ABORTION PROCEDURES

Although most people are aware of the existence of abortion, many do not know how abortions are performed. Here are at least seven ways abortions are carried out.

Dilation and Curettage is commonly called D & C. The physician dilates the cervix with a series of instruments to allow the insertion of a curette—a loop-shaped knife—into the womb. The instrument is used to scrape the placenta from the uterus and then cut the baby apart. The pieces are then pulled through the cervix. The tiny body must then be reassembled by an attending nurse to make sure no parts remain in the womb to cause infection.

Suction Aspiration is used in 80 percent of the abortions up to the twelfth week of pregnancy. The mouth of the cervix is dilated. A hollow tube with a knifelike-edged tip is inserted into the womb. A suction force twenty-eight times stronger than a vacuum cleaner literally tears the developing baby and the placenta to pieces. These pieces are sucked into a container.

Saline Injection is also known as salt poisoning. A strong salt solution is injected through the mother’s abdominal wall into the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. The baby then breathes and swallows the solution causing internal poisoning and burning. In a few hours the unborn child dies from salt poisoning, dehydration, and hemorrhaging. The mother goes into labor and delivers a dead (or dying) baby.

Prostaglandin involves the use of prostaglandin hormones, which are injected into the womb or released in a vaginal suppository. This causes the uterus to contract and deliver the child prematurely. A saline solution is sometimes injected first, killing the baby before birth, in order to make the procedure less distressful for the mother and the medical staff.

Dilation and Evacuation, commonly called a D & E, is used after the twelfth week of pregnancy. The doctor dilates the mother’s cervix and uses forceps to reach into the uterus. He grasps the arms and legs, dismembers the body, and crushes the skull to remove it. The placenta and smaller pieces are removed by suction and sharp curetting.

Hysterotomy, similar to a Caesarean section, is performed in the last three months of pregnancy. This procedure involves opening the womb surgically and removing the baby. The purpose of this procedure, unlike that of a C-section, is to end the infant’s life.

Dilation and Extraction is also known as partial-birth abortion. The physician dilates the cervix and pulls the baby’s body out, except for the head. Leaving the head inside, the doctor inserts scissors in the skull of the baby and sucks out the brains. The head collapses and the baby is brought out to die.

BIBLICAL ARGUMENTS AGAINST ABORTION

Any student of the Bible knows that the Scriptures say nothing directly about abortion. So why do most Christians oppose abortion? What biblical principles can be used to come to a pro-life perspective on the issues? Is an unborn baby of equal value to a child that is born? These questions must be addressed.

First, what about the silence of the Bible on abortion? The answer is simple. Abortion was so unthinkable to an Israelite woman that there was no need even to mention it in the criminal code. Why was abortion an unthinkable act? First, children were viewed as a gift or heritage from the Lord (Ps. 127:3). Second, God opens and closes the womb and is sovereign over conception (Gen. 29:33; 30:22; 1 Sam. 1:19-20). Third, childlessness was seen as a curse (Deut. 25:6; Ruth 4:5). Barrenness would mean the extinction of the family name (see Jer. 11:19). Therefore abortion was so abhorrent to the Israelite mind that it was not necessary to have a specific prohibition in the Law to deal with it.

One of the key passages giving a biblical view of the sanctity of human life is Psalm 139, the inspired record of David’s praise for God’s sovereignty in his life. He began by acknowledging that God is omniscient and knew what David was doing (vv. 1-3). God was aware of David’s thoughts before he expressed them (v. 4). Wherever David might go, he could not escape from God, whether he traveled to heaven (v. 8) or ventured into Sheol (v. 9). God is in the remotest part of the sea (v. 9) and even in the darkness (vv. 11-12). David contemplated the origin of his life and confessed that God was there forming him in the womb (vv. 13-16).

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Here David wrote of God’s relationship with him while he was growing and developing before birth. The Bible does not speak of fetal life as mere biochemistry. This was not a piece of protoplasm that became David. This was David already being cared for by God while in the womb.

Verse 13 of Psalm 139 speaks of God as the Master Craftsman fashioning David into a living person. In verses 14-15 David reflected on the fact that he was a product of God’s creative work within his mother’s womb, and he praised God for how wonderfully God had woven him together. David drew a parallel between his development in the womb and Adam’s creation from the earth. Using figurative language in verse 15, he referred to his life before birth when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. This poetic allusion hearkens back to Genesis 2:7, which says that Adam was made from the dust of the earth.

David also noted that Your eyes saw my unformed body (NASB). This shows that God knew David even before he was known to others. The term translated unformed body derives from the verb to roll up. When David was forming as a fetus, God’s care and compassion were already extended to him. The reference to God’s eyes is an Old Testament figure of speech connoting divine oversight of God in the life of an individual or a group of people.

Other verses show divine involvement in the formation of the unborn baby. God is active in the event of conception (Gen. 29:31-35; 30:17-24; Ruth 4:13; 1 Sam. 1:19-20) and also in the formation of the human baby in the mother’s womb. Jeremiah 1:5 says, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. The word translated formed is used in Genesis 2:7-8 to describe God’s special creation of Adam. It is also used of a potter fashioning clay into a vase or other piece of pottery. In essence God fashioned Jeremiah in the womb for his prophetic ministry.

Similar verses describe how God called out various servants of God while they were still in their mother’s womb. God called Isaiah to serve: Before I was born the LORD called me (Isa. 49:1). God created Samson for his ministry and put his mother under the same dietary regimen that he would undergo: But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God before birth until the day of his death.’ Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: ‘O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born’ (Judg. 13:7-8).

Another significant passage is Psalm 51. It was written by David after his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and records his repentance. David confessed that his sinful act demonstrated the original sin that was within him. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Ps. 51:5). David concluded that from his conception he had a sin nature. This would imply that he carried the image of God from the moment of conception, including the marred image scarred from sin.

Human beings are created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27; 5:1; 9:6). Bearing the image of God is the essence of humanness. And though God’s image in man was marred at the Fall, it was not erased (1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9). Thus unborn babies are made in the image of God and therefore are fully human in God’s sight.

This verse also provides support for what is called the traducian view of the origin of the soul. According to this perspective human beings were potentially in Adam (Rom. 5:12; Heb. 7:9-10) and thus participated in his original sin. The soulish part of humans is transferred through conception. Therefore an unborn baby is fully human.

A key passage that points to the humanness of the unborn child is Luke 1:41-44. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.’

John the Baptist’s prenatal ability to recognize Mary by leaping for joy illustrates his mental and spiritual capacity. Also of note is the fact that the term used to describe John in his prenatal state is baby. The same Greek word is used for a baby inside the womb and outside the womb (cf. Luke 2:12, 16; 18:15; 2 Tim. 3:15).¹² Like Psalm 51:5, these verses also describe an unborn baby as a spiritual, rational, moral being (in essence a human being in the image of God).

Another argument against abortion can be found in the Old Testament legal code, specifically Exodus 21:22-25. If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

These verses seem to teach that if a woman gives birth prematurely but the baby is not injured then only a fine is appropriate. However, if the child dies then the law of retaliation (lex talionis) should be applied. In other words, killing an unborn baby carried the same penalty as killing a born baby. A baby inside the womb had the same legal status as a baby outside the womb.

Some commentators have come to a different conclusion because they believe Exodus 21:22-23 refers to a case of accidental miscarriage in which the baby dies. Since only a fine is levied, they argue that an unborn baby is merely potential life and does not carry the same legal status as a baby that has been born. This interpretation has at least two problems. First, the normal Hebrew word for miscarry is not used in this passage (see Gen. 31:38; Exod. 23:26; Job 2:10; Hos. 9:14). Most commentators now believe that the action described in Exodus 21:22 is a premature birth, not a miscarriage. Second, even if verses 22-25 do describe a miscarriage, the passage cannot be used to justify abortion. The injury was accidental, not intentional (as abortion would be). Also the action was a criminal offense and punishable by law.

OTHER ARGUMENTS AGAINST ABORTION

In addition to various biblical arguments against abortion, a number of other arguments speak against abortion. The medical arguments against abortion are compelling. For example, at conception the embryo is genetically distinct from the mother. To say that the developing baby is no different from the mother’s appendix is scientifically inaccurate. A developing embryo is genetically different from the mother. A developing embryo is also genetically different from the sperm and egg that created it. A human being has forty-six chromosomes (sometimes forty-seven chromosomes). A sperm and an egg each have twenty-three chromosomes. A trained geneticist can distinguish between the DNA of an embryo and the DNA of a sperm and egg. But that same geneticist cannot distinguish between the DNA of a developing embryo and the DNA of a full-grown human being.

Another set of medical arguments against abortion surrounds the definition of life and death. If one set of criteria has been used to define death, could those criteria also be used to define life? Death used to be defined by the cessation of heartbeat. A stopped heart was a clear sign of death. If the cessation of heartbeat could define death, could the onset of a heartbeat define life? The heart is formed by the eighteenth day in the womb. If heartbeat were used to define life, then nearly all abortions would be outlawed.

Physicians now use a more rigorous criterion for death: brain-wave activity. A flat EEG (electroencephalograph) is one of the most important criteria used to determine death. If the cessation of brain-wave activity can define death, could the onset of brain-wave activity define life? Individual brain waves are detected in the