ABORTION & THE CHURCH - Three Part Series Exposing the Abortion Position of the Denominational Church
INTRODUCTION: Is the Church prolife? Not really. It is hard to comprehend that we have to ask that question. In times past, abortion was never sanctioned even in ‘dire circumstances’, but since 1973 it has become a quagmire of relevancy so that no one is offended; millions are dead, millions are suffering. And the denominational church stood silent in agreement.
PART ONE - Katherine Ragsdale and the Episcopal Church
We'll start off with the star of the show, the Episcopal Church and Katherine Hancock Ragsdale. She is a is an American Episcopal Priest and a defender of abortion at any time or gestation:
"Well Operation Save America came, they saw, they harassed, and they annoyed; but they did not close the clinic. The clinic stayed open, no patients were turned away, and the doors never closed. We remain victorious. And that victory is a good thing – but, make no mistake, even though OSA has gone home; our work is not done."
This excerpt is from her "abortion is a blessing" speech in Birmingham, Alabama dated July 21, 2007:
That particular sermon that was also on her blog was removed after 59 commenter's told her to repent.
From Source Watch: Katherine Hancock Ragsdale is an Episcopal priest and advocate who served for 17 years (8 as chair) on the national board of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. As chair, she led the Coalition through a mission, name and organizational change that doubled the size of both staff and budget. She also serves on the board of NARAL: Pro-Choice America, The White House Project, the Progressive Religious Partnership, as well as the bi-national advisory board of The Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence. She has testified before the United States Congress as well as numerous state legislatures, and is a widely sought speaker on public policy issues affecting women, professional ethics, and lesbian/gay rights. She serves as Vicar of St. David's Church in Pepperell, MA; and is the editor of Boundary Wars: Intimacy and Distance in Healing Relationships. [2009]
She's under the impression that abortion is in the Bible. The site that hosted this speech is Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom. It's quite eye opening on how someone who says she is a Minister can lead so many young girls that are participating members of the 'Church', as they are shown it.
Then onto 2020, eleven years since we started researching abortion in the church, Ms. Ragsdale hasn't skip a proabort beat. At all. Ms. Ragsdale has not been quiet about her beliefs, particularly "abortion is a blessing" and has been actively supporting abortionists for over 35 years. She has driven minor girls to abortion appointments behind their parent's back and without apology. We wonder how many pedophiles and child sex traffickers she has enabled in her many years of abortion philanthropy.
And this is a Christian? How can one discern a Christian woman any longer when the benchmark this low? This is a social justice gospel, and would be apparent that Jesus was not needed as a sacrifice for sins, just a prop to soothe the sensitive seeker into the grand doors.
While researching this project, we could not find any Position Papers or the like regarding abortion and the Episcopal Church, but we did find this: “In 1994, the 71st General Convention of the Episcopal Church reaffirmed that all human life is sacred from its inception until death and that all abortion is regarded as having a tragic dimension. “While we acknowledge that in this country it is the legal right of every woman to have a medically safe abortion,” the resolution stated, “as Christians we believe strongly that if this right is exercised, it should be used only in extreme situations. We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience.” Please refer to the first paragraph.
Emphatically oppose abortion? Have they met Ms. Ragsdale? The "extreme situation" is their true stance on abortion - even to minor girls - and the Episcopal priest herself:
“The Rev. Katherine Ragsdale, a member of RCRC’s (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice) Council of Governors, welcomed the gathering with assurances that the religious community is behind them. “You can’t sustain a movement on outrage,” she said. “We are here to support the [abortion] providers, politicians, women and activists, and let them know that we respect them for their work and their commitment.” Ragsdale, an Episcopal priest, added that a punk rock concert was held in Washington April 24 to enlist young people in the movement.”
Since our original research regarding Abortion and the Church, Ms. Ragsdale went on to bigger and better things with the blessing of her denomination:
The "Very" Rev. Dr. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, an Episcopal priest, is the President & CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF). Rev. Ragsdale was the Interim President and CEO of NAF from September 2018 – October 2019. Prior to joining NAF, she was the President and Dean of Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA, and Senior Fellow at the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Prior to assuming the presidency of EDS, Ragsdale was Executive Director of Political Research associates and Vicar of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Pepperell, MA. After leaving EDS, Ragsdale served as Managing Partner at RNL Associates LLC. [NAF]
"Using the word 'baby' is a manipulative lie.....a fetus is not a baby", and she goes on to call the baby a 'proleptic hope'. See the rest in the video below.
Friends, the Episcopal Church has not denounced Ms. Ragsdale's unhinged, radical abortion stance. How much more can the Church endure when there is no Jesus, no accountability, no love for all human people? Words are important. Manipulation of them when discussing the humanity of unborn life is criminal.
And speaking of criminal - From her own testimony to the Senate Committee one June 3, 2004: "I recall vividly a day when I left my home near Cambridge, Massachusetts, and drove to one of the economically challenged cities to the north of me to pick up a fifteen-year-old girl and drive her to Boston for an 8 a.m. appointment for an abortion. I didn't know the girl – I knew her school nurse. The nurse had called me a few days earlier to see if I knew where she might find money to give the girl for bus fare to and cab fare home from the hospital. I was stunned – a fifteen-year-old girl was going to have to get up at the crack of dawn and take multiple buses to the hospital alone? The nurse shared my concern but explained that the girl had no one to turn to. She feared for her safety if her father found out and there was no other relative close enough to help. There was no one to be with her. So I went....Then I took her inside and turned her over to some very kind nurses. I went downstairs to get a couple of prescriptions filled for her. I paid for the prescriptions after I was informed that they'd either need the girl's father's signature in order to charge them to his insurance, or the completion of a pile of forms that looked far too complex for any fifteen-year-old to have to deal with."
You can read Ms. Ragsdale's blog here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG_rSQEfT6M
PART TWO - The Compromising Church
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The founder of BlackGenocide.org, Reverend Dr. Clenard Childress, wrote, “The 2006 Census report tells us African-American birth rates are beneath the replacement rate at 1.97. You need 2.1 to replace the existing population.” Blacks are literally exterminating themselves, the government is allowing it and the Church is doing nothing about it. How can anyone NOT see this? Are we so deceived? [2011]
Rev. Childress addressed the deception of the black church regarding abortion when Obama was running for president and when he was elected. The Church of God in Christ saw a black man finally becoming president, Rev. Childress saw many more black unborn children losing their lives because of liberal politics. Obama signed away the lives of millions and the COGIC looked away, nodding in approval of an African-American president.
While there is no actual position on abortion in the COGIC that I could find, I did come across this bit – regarding the 2008 election, Rev. Dr. Clenard Childress writes, “Bishop Blake released the 'fowls of the air' himself by amending his insightful message with the age-old pro-abortion cliché: ‘I could never vote for a Republican because they don't do anything for the child once they are here.’ And continued to say, ‘…it was coming from the presiding Bishop of the largest Pentecostal Denomination in America, with a membership of over 6 million people, Saved, Sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost, it was somewhat disturbing. How could the leader of such a prestigious and historic denomination, give such a jaded reason for support of the party which promotes Planned Parenthood, and advocates for the most destructive device in the African American Community since our inception: Abortion! Abortion is a modern day holocaust directly responsible for over 16 million African American deaths since 1973!”
If you and/or your church is African-American and support Planned Parenthood in any way, then you also support Margaret Sanger who deemed the black population as ‘weeds’.
When Obama became president, Blake did the unthinkable leading many other black churches to do the exact same thing, some even blowing the shofar as if the Messiah had come. The Church of God in Christ was an on fire Pentecostal denomination, shaken by a perfect example of utter compromise. Bishop Blake suddenly became prolife AFTER birth when Obama became president. If you look at his videos you'll see a somewhat prolife Bishop. So what Blake did was ignore the Word of God for another man's agenda. Not uncommon, unfortunately. A little notoriety can make a person sway so far left you lose sight of them.
We cannot emphasize enough that a denomination backing a Democrat for any reason kills unborn people 100% of the time. That does not deter the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. They show up at ALL of the Democrat rallies and happily testifies for them on numerous bills keeping abortion accessible and legal:
"Faith traditions such as the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, and Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative Judaism support reproductive choice as the most responsible position a religious institution can take on this issue. In fact, all have official statements in support of reproductive choice as a matter of conscience, adopted by their governing bodies. Together, these religions represent over 20 million Americans. Religious and religiously-affiliated organizations from these and other traditions, as well as independent religious organizations such as Catholics for Choice, are also doing incredible work to combat the notion that all religious people or institutions are always anti-abortion."
Friends, there is no such thing as a 'prochoice' Christian. However, some church denominations are very pro-abortion while others use the 'exceptions' defense, and very few are totally prolife. The RCRC has always publicly endorsed Democrat extremists and represent many church denominations. Some are rogue, some are supported totally by their denomination. And if they are rogue, they should be held accountable to their denomination superintendents.
Democrats are often selling their campaigns to Planned Parenthood for their endorsement. It is a sad thing to see Democrats prostitute themselves to unborn people killers. And the Denominational Church is silent in approval.
PART THREE - The Denomination Abortion Position
The moral of this story is to trust God not your denomination, not your friends, not your partner/spouse…opinions without biblical fact can be a very human way of trying to be God. Humans are the highest form of God’s creative activity, and He is intentional in both their creation and destiny. We are made in His image, not as an afterthought. We are all known by God before the foundation of the world, born and unborn.
The excuse of the dire crisis pregnancy - 'exception rule' - is a very loose defense to abort. Can you look into the eyes of God one day and tell Him you trusted your doctor more than He? God alone can determine Life’s beginning and ending. We are entirely too human to decide such a thing; we are not perfect, though God is.
Here is a list of Denominational Church Abortion Position/Rule in no particular order:
Assemblies of God: “The legality of abortion in modern cultures is rooted in concepts of individual rights, autonomy, and privacy pushed far beyond scriptural teaching. We therefore expressly deny that this supposed legal “right” automatically confers upon the pregnant woman the moral right to abort her unborn child…..vague threats to the mother’s physical or emotional health must not become an excuse to place the child at risk. Any intervention required must have the intent of saving the mother’s life, not the prior intent of causing death to the child.”
Church of God, Cleveland TN: “BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no individual should ever consider abortion as an option EXCEPT in the gravest circumstances, after medical and religious consultation of the most serious nature.”
Evangelical Presbyterian: “The Church must serve as a therapeutic community to those who have experienced physical, emotional, or spiritual wounds from abortion or giving up a child for adoption…..Both individual Christians and the Church should oppose abortion and do everything in their power to provide supportive communities and alternatives to abortion.”
Southern Baptist: “Procreation is a gift from God, a precious trust reserved for marriage. At the moment of conception, a new being enters the universe, a human being, a being created in God's image. This human being deserves our protection, whatever the circumstances of conception.”
Episcopal Church: As I could not find any Position Papers or the like regarding abortion, I did find this bit…..“In 1994, the 71st General Convention of the Episcopal Church reaffirmed that all human life is sacred from its inception until death and that all abortion is regarded as having a tragic dimension. "While we acknowledge that in this country it is the legal right of every woman to have a medically safe abortion," the resolution stated, "as Christians we believe strongly that if this right is exercised, it should be used only in extreme situations. We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience."
“The Rev. Katherine Ragsdale, a member of RCRC's (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice) Council of Governors, welcomed the gathering with assurances that the religious community is behind them. "You can't sustain a movement on outrage," she said. "We are here to support the [abortion] providers, politicians, women and activists, and let them know that we respect them for their work and their commitment." Ragsdale, an Episcopal priest, added that a punk rock concert was held in Washington April 24 to enlist young people in the movement.”
Evangelical Lutheran: “A developing life in the womb does not have an absolute right to be born, nor does a pregnant woman have an absolute right to terminate a pregnancy. The concern for both the life of the woman and the developing life in her womb expresses a common commitment to life. This requires that we move beyond the usual "pro-life" versus "pro-choice" language in discussing abortion….. Abortion ought to be an option only of last resort. Therefore, as a church we seek to reduce the need to turn to abortion as the answer to unintended pregnancies.”
American Baptist Church: “American Baptists believe that ministry to persons in situations of crisis pregnancy and abortion is a concern that primarily rests within the local churches….. Many of our membership seek legal safeguards to protect unborn life. Many others advocate for and support family planning legislation, including legalized abortion as in the best interest of women in particular and society in general.”
Catholic Church: “The Catholic Church has always condemned abortion as a grave evil.” But there are rogues in the Catholic Church that advocate for so-called 'reproductive justice' that have not been sanctioned by the Church which included 'Catholics for Choice', Nuns on the Bus, etc.
United Church of Christ: “The United Church of Christ has affirmed and re-affirmed since 1971 that access to safe and legal abortion is consistent with a woman’s right to follow the dictates of her own faith and beliefs in determining when and if she should have children…..The United Church of Christ is one of the founding faith groups of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, formed in 1973 as the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights.”
Lutheran – Missouri Synod: “The sin of willfully aborting a child, except in those very rare situations where it may be necessary to save the life of the mother, is a sinful act, totally contrary to the will of God…..While the emotional arguments for abortion in these [rape & incest] situations might seem compelling, the fact of the matter is that it is wrong to take the life of one innocent victim (the unborn child), and further burden the life of the other victim of these horrible situations, the mother. It is indeed a strange logic that would have us kill an innocent unborn baby for the crime of his father.” Well said.
Judaism: “Reform Judaism understands the original position of the Talmud wherein is described the notion that an abortion should be performed only for the sake of the life of the mother, and even as late as the moment before the head of a baby emerges from the birth canal. However, Reform goes beyond this narrowly defined period and gives sanction to its members (and all others for that matter) to elect to terminate a pregnancy when confronting other circumstances: as a result of rape or incest; when through genetic testing, it is determined that the child to be born will have a disease that will cause death or severe disability, and the parents believe that the impending birth will be an impossible situation for them; and other circumstances.”
Church of God in Christ: While there is no actual position on abortion in the COGIC that I could find, I did come across this nugget – regarding the 2008 election, Rev. Dr. Clenard Childress writes, “Bishop Blake released the 'fowls of the air' himself by amending his insightful message with the age-old pro-abortion cliché: ‘I could never vote for a Republican because they don't do anything for the child once they are here.’ And continued to say, ‘…it was coming from the presiding Bishop of the largest Pentecostal Denomination in America, with a membership of over 6 million people, Saved, Sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost, it was somewhat disturbing. How could the leader of such a prestigious and historic denomination, give such a jaded reason for support of the party which promotes Planned Parenthood, and advocates for the most destructive device in the African American Community since our inception: Abortion! Abortion is a modern day holocaust directly responsible for over 16 million African American deaths since 1973!”
Mormon: “Human life is a sacred gift from God. Elective abortion for personal or social convenience is contrary to the will and the commandments of God. Church members who submit to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for such abortions may lose their membership in the Church…..Those who face such [rape & incest] circumstances should consider abortion only after consulting with their local Church leaders and receiving a confirmation through earnest prayer.”
In conclusion - Awareness and Discernment
This is not an exhaustive list. Be aware that there are satellite churches of these denominations that are more prolife or more pro-abortion than their denominational position papers articulate. It’s like trying to hit a moving target. The Church needs to put the issue of Life back in the pulpit. Growing up, most of us completely trusted our parents, friends, teachers, and Church. But more often than not, they coerce most abortions committed in the United States. Churches that promote or are quietly pro-abortion is the silent killer of the millennium. Imagine if the Church was the true sanctuary that it was in times past. What a different world we would be in now!
So many use the God of the Bible to perpetuate more abortions. In a prison interview, I heard Kermit Gosnell use the Bible to condone abortion and that life begins outside of the womb, at 'first breath'. NOTHING could be further from the truth. Jeremiah 1:5 makes it perfectly clear when life begins.
The exceptions ARE the rule of legal abortion. Abortion could have been illegal by now if it were not for people wanting to kill their babies conceived in rape, disabled or infirm unborn child up to the moment of birth in some states. And it is the exceptions rule that Churches and Democrats hold onto hardest. It keeps abortion alive and well.
Life begins at conception. But to God, it began when He spoke it. Every person, born and unborn, has a path in which to walk, a life to be lived, and an expected end. Literally everyone knows that a human baby is killed during an abortion. Who is to say who's born or aborted? We only have ONE God and those who choose abortion have made themselves 'god'.
Listen carefully to your Church and denomination. They are reflection of YOU.
