<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Like Ahrens, I am a \u2062pastor in Ohio. The members of my congregation have turned on their televisions and heard him reading from his Bible. They\u200d have heard him saying\u2062 that\u200c he counsels families and feels \u200bthat it is necessary\u2063 for them to be free to choose abortion. They have \u200dheard him teaching Christians who desire to obey the words of Jesus. \u2064They \u200chave been troubled by his message. I share their concern.<\/p>\n

As Ahrens \u2063mentions, Christians who value the Bible\u2063 and desire to do what \u200cit \u200csays approach their pastors with questions for which they seek advice and counsel. Pastors function\u200d in this role in \u2063much the same way that the disciples did in the bread and fish miracles\u2064 (Matthew 14:13-21,\u2064 15:32-39). In those miracles,\u200c Jesus took loaves and fish and blessed them with His word and prayer and then put that food back into the\u200d hands of the disciples so they could\u200d distribute it to those who were hungry. \u200dSimilarly, pastors take the words\u2063 and teachings from the\u200b mouth of Jesus as they are recorded in the Bible and then deliver \u200cthose words to hungry\u2063 souls. Christians come \u200cto pastors hoping to be led\u200c by the \u2064Bible\u2064 so they can live in this world in faith and with a good\u2064 conscience.<\/p>\n

A Misunderstanding of Hypocrisy<\/h2>\n
Ahrens claims that\u200d his counsel to Christians is\u200b that abortion is a personal decision that should be made from the privacy\u2063 of one\u2019s own \u200bconscience or from the safety of a pastor\u2019s office. \u2063To justify this point of view, \u200dAhrens reads\u200c from Matthew 7 and the Sermon on\u200c the Mount. This\u2062 sermon is \u200can extended teaching from Jesus to His followers \u2063that \u200cinstructs them in living a life of \u2064faith. \u200dThe sermon includes several little sermonettes that are well-known, including the Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, \u200dthe Lord\u2019s Prayer, and this teaching on judgment. <\/p>\n
In this particular passage, Jesus cautions His followers against judgment of\u2063 one another that comes from the hypocrisy of denying\u200b one\u2019s own sin while harping on the sins of others. Ahrens\u2019 intent\u2063 is to \u2064apply this passage to the conscience of the anti-abortion voter who would claim that abortion \u2064is wrong \u200band restrict abortion for everyone. According\u2063 to Ahrens, this\u2062 is hypocrisy and\u2062 judgment.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
God Loves\u2063 Children<\/h2>\n
It is\u200b judgment. But it\u2064 is judgment that comes \u200bnot from hatred of women nor a denial of hard cases. Rather it is judgment that comes from the love of children. God loves children.<\/strong> He calls them\u200c a\u2062 reward (Psalm 127:3) that \u2063He\u200d gives \u2063out of His abundance and grace\u200d (Genesis 33:5). Children are evidence\u2063 that God has blessed you and looked favorably upon you. Jesus \u2064himself loves children. When His disciples\u2062 tried to restrict the children from access to Him, \u200dHe rebuked them (Matthew\u2063 19:14). He \u2062warns that any who would mislead a child would be better off in a \u2063lake\u200b with a millstone around his neck\u2064 (Matthew 18:6). When a Christian votes against abortion, it\u2062 is\u2062 because she dearly loves what God loves.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\nAhrens does not acknowledge this love. Instead, he calls it judgment and hypocrisy. He does this because he has fallen for the sleight of hand that is played by \u200cthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/on-international-womens-day-leftists-make-transwomenarewomen-trend-on-twitter\/\" title=\"On International Women\u2019s Day, Leftists Make #TransWomenAreWomen Trend On Twitter\">pro-abortion lobby<\/a>. <\/p>\nWhile\u2062 Jesus loves\u200c children and while His Heavenly Father thinks of\u200b them as a reward, the pro-abortion lobby denies them their basic\u200b humanity. They\u200d refer to the humanity of the unborn as\u200d a religious opinion. They infer that one\u2019s religious opinions or convictions should not be made universal. This again is sleight of hand, as there are plenty of religious convictions that we make universal. For example, because of\u200b my faith,\u2062 I am opposed to child abuse, spousal abuse, theft, and murder. I believe there should be laws that restrict these things, as does every \u200cdecent member of society, religious or not. There are moral truths that should and do govern a society. This is one\u2062 of them.<\/p>\nThe commercial makes the \u200dstatement, \u201cGovernment should stay out of family decision-making.\u201d Again, this is true if the unborn child is something other than \u200da \u2064human being. However, if the child is \u200cindeed a\u2062 human being, then it is the government\u2019s duty to protect him \u2064or her. \u2062 <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlstb89e9-1926dc53f80e6699db53038838743c4e fdrlstb89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlstb89e9-1926dc53f80e6699db53038838743c4e\"><\/div>\nThe first nine verses of\u2062 Proverbs \u206331 are words of a \u200dking that he received from his mother to instruct him\u2063 in governing a nation. Verse 8 tells those who govern to speak up for those who are\u200b not able to\u200d speak for themselves. The unborn require a voice to\u200d speak \u200con their behalf. The children in the womb need an advocate. Christian voters in Ohio should \u200cuse the voice given to them through their vote to speak on behalf of the\u2062 unborn.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlstb89e9-3fff8367656b0779168de3a896bd2bf1 fdrlstb89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlstb89e9-3fff8367656b0779168de3a896bd2bf1\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n rnrn <\/p>\n<h2> How can biblical teachings about love for children influence the abortion conversation<\/h2>\n The \u2063Importance of Biblical Guidance in the Abortion\u2062 Debate<\/p>\nThe topic of abortion\u2064 has been a contentious issue for many years, and\u2064 it continues to be a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-block-bill-to-sanction-trillion-dollar-trade-between-china-and-the-taliban\/\" title=\"Democrats Block Bill To Sanction Trillion-Dollar Trade Between China and the Taliban\">hot button topic<\/a> in \u200bstates across the United States. Recently, Ohio\u200d has been at the center of this debate due to Issue One, a ballot initiative that\u2063 seeks to change the state’s constitution to allow for\u2062 abortion during all nine \u200dmonths of pregnancy. The support for this initiative, including the voice of Reverend Tim Ahrens of the First Congregational\u2063 United Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio, has sparked both controversy and concern.<\/p>\nIn TV ads, Rev. Ahrens can be seen quoting from the Gospel of Matthew, \u200bspecifically the \u2064verse that states, “Do not \u2062judge and you will not be judged.” He argues that families should \u2063have the freedom to make decisions about abortion without government interference. However, as a \u2063fellow pastor in Ohio, I must express my concern with his message and its implications.<\/p>\nChristians who \u200cturn to their pastors for guidance do so because they value the teachings of \u2063the Bible and desire to follow\u2062 its principles in their lives. Pastors have\u2063 a\u200c vital role in counseling congregants and offering advice based on the words and teachings of Jesus, as recorded in the Bible. They have the responsibility to deliver these teachings to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pastor-twists-the-bible-to-promote-ohios-pro-abortion-ballot-initiative-in-tv-ad\/\" title=\"Pastor distorts Bible to endorse Ohio's pro-abortion campaign on TV.\">hungry souls seeking spiritual guidance<\/a>.<\/p>\nAhrens suggests that Christians who oppose abortion and seek to restrict its practice for everyone are being hypocritical and \u200bjudgmental. He uses the Sermon on the\u200c Mount, particularly the passage on \u200bjudgment, to justify his viewpoint. However, it is crucial to note that \u2063this passage warns against hypocrisy, where individuals condemn others while denying their own sins. It does not advocate for the acceptance of all actions or \u2064undermine the importance of discernment.<\/p>\nIt is essential to recognize that the opposition to abortion is not rooted in hatred towards women or a denial \u200bof\u200b the difficulties faced by those in \u2063challenging circumstances. Rather, it stems from a deep love for\u200b children. The Bible consistently highlights God’s love for children, referring to them as a \u200breward and a blessing. Jesus Himself demonstrated His love and care \u200dfor children, rebuking His disciples when they tried to hinder them from approaching \u2064Him.<\/p>\nWhen Christians vote<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Columbus, Ohio pastor, Rev. Tim Ahrens, is featured in TV ads endorsing Ohio’s Issue One. This initiative, on the Nov. 7 ballot, aims to alter Ohio’s constitution, permitting abortion throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2521,"featured_media":2085013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2085012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2085012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2085013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2085012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2085012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2085012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}