Where Is the Evangelical Church?: A Plea to the Evangelical Church to Respond to the Plight of the Preborn

By Tim den Bok

This little book is a clarion call to the Evangelical Church of Canada to respond to the plight of the preborn. Drawing upon Scripture, the testimony of contemporary evangelical leaders, and church tradition, the author sets forth a case that the mass shedding of innocent blood, such as is the case with the legalized practice of abortion in Canada, is an emergency that calls for extraordinary action by the Church.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512790818

Tim den Bok

Tim den Bok is the co-founder and co-director of a Voice for the Pre-Born, a Canadian evangelical pro-life organization. He has been studying the abortion controversy for approximately 30 years. Tim works as a support worker with the mentally and physically handicapped. He and his wife, Sara, recently celebrated their silver anniversary. They have two children, Daniel and Leah. Tim is a member of the Nazarene Church of Canada. For more information about a Voice for the Pre-Born, visit: avoiceforthepreborn.com. Tim can be contacted at: [e-mail].

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Copyright © 2017 Tim den Bok.

Photograph by Leah den Bok

Cover design by Tim den Bok

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. www.Lockman.org"

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-9082-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9081-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909306

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/19/2017

To Francis Schaeffer for first bringing the plight of the preborn to my attention

The words of the wicked are, Lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

—Proverbs 12:6 New King James Version

Contents

Preface

Introduction

I The Problem

II There is Warrant for the Claim that the Plight of the Preborn is an Emergency that Calls for Extraordinary Action by the Church

A. Scripture

1. Lessons from the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

a. Our Neighbour Is Anyone in Need.

b. Having Pity for Our Neighbour Is Not Enough.

c. Emergencies Sometimes Arise that Require Extraordinary Action.

2. Innocent Blood Pollutes a Land.

3. God Hates the Shedding of Innocent Blood.

4. The Shedding of Much Innocent Blood Invites God’s Judgment.

5. Abortion Is an Attack on God’s Sovereignty.

6. God Commands Us to Defend the Defenceless.

7. Abortion Is an Attack on the Doctrine of the Sanctity of Life.

8. Lessons from the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.

a. A Standard that Jesus Will Use on the Day of Judgment Is Our Reaction to the Needs of Others

b. We Must Make Helping Those in Need a Priority.

c. We Should Treat Those in Need in the Same Way that We Would Treat Jesus.

9. Social Concern Is Part of the Church’s Mission.

10. The Metaphor of Salt Refers, at Least in Part, to the Christian’s Responsibility to Engage in Social Action.

11. Scripture Teaches that One of the Two Greatest Commandments Is to ‘Love Your Neighbour as Yourself’.

12. The Sixth Commandment Requires Not Only That We Not Murder but That We Defend Innocent Life.

B. Testimony of Contemporary Evangelical Leaders

1. Billy Graham

2. John Stott

3. R. C. Sproul

4. Charles Colson

5. Chuck Swindoll

6. James Dobson

7. Francis Schaeffer

8. Carl Henry

9. William Lane Craig

10. Norman Geisler

11. Harold O. J. Brown

12. C. Everett Koop

C. Church Tradition

III Explaining the Church’s Apathy

A. Pietism

B. Pessimism about the Future

C. Conformity

IV There is No Warrant for the Claim that the Plight of the Preborn is Not an Emergency That Calls for Extraordinary Action by the Church

A. Objections and Replies

Conclusion

Appendix

Endnotes

Preface

The great Irish statesman Edmund Burke (1729–97) once said, An event has happened, upon which it is difficult to speak, and impossible to be silent.¹ This sentiment aptly describes my attitude about the Evangelical Church of Canada’s apathy toward the preborn—one of the main themes of this book.

Why is it difficult for me to speak on this matter? I am acutely aware that in criticizing the Church, as I do several times in this book, I am criticizing nothing less than the bride of Christ herself. As an evangelical Christian, this is not a task from which I derive any pleasure. Why is it impossible for me to keep silent about this issue? Because I believe that, in response to this egregious indifference on the Church’s part, God has given