Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
… First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
–Jesus in Matthew 7:3-5
When a culture goes awry, the Church must first look at itself and see how we can improve. On several key issues, we have work to do, and the recent Platform approved by the Republican National Convention gives us several examples where by the Church needs to strengthen its presence and cultural apologetic. Here in Part II of this series on the Platform we will look at the specific issue of the sanctity of life. (Click here to view the first blog in this series, focusing on the GOP, DNC, and FPIW’s views on marriage and family.)
Years ago, scholar Richard M. Weaver made popular the phrase “Ideas Have Consequences,” and when a culture abandons its underlying Christian worldview, there are practical political consequences. George Barna documents the decline of a Christian worldview in American culture as summarized here:
A new study is confirming that the amount of Americans with a biblical worldview is continuing to shrink. The latest release from the “American Worldview Inventory 2024” notes that the number of people with a biblical worldview has declined in each of the last five generations, with the percentage of adults with that view plunging from 12% to 4%.
That’s 4 percent. Incredible. One consequence of the decline of a Christian worldview is a lack of support for the pro-life cause, and the RNC Platform is a logical result of an underlying non-Christian worldview.
We cannot expect non-Christians to act like Christians, and so as part of its outreach mission to shepherd the culture, the Church needs to defend Christianity and the ethics that are innate within it, such as the pro-life issue. Here is one resource to defend the fundamentals of Christianity, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, and on the issue of the pre-born specifically, here is a free booklet from FPIW in order to equip yourself with logic and key arguments in order to engage an often godless culture. It’s called Pro-Life Logic: Tyranny, or Murder? We also offer our two-part series defending life here.
So what exactly happened at the RNC in 2024? Let’s look at a comparison of platforms:
Sanctity of Life
- Former GOP Platform (2016):
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- “[P]roud to be the party that protects human life and offers real solutions for women” and “strongly oppose[s] infanticide.”
- Includes specific support for: the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act; a human life constitutional amendment; a ban on abortion at 20 weeks, when unborn babies can feel pain; a ban on abortion based on sex or disability; a ban on dismemberment abortion “in which unborn babies are literally torn apart limb from limb”; abortion clinic safety regulations; a ban on human cloning, and creating or experimenting upon human embryos, including three-parent embryos; a ban on any sale of body parts; and a ban on the “use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood.”
- New GOP Platform (2024):
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- “We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).”
- DNC Platform (2016):
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- “Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion. We will repeal the Title X domestic gag rule and restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides vital preventive and reproductive health care for millions of people, especially low-income people, and people of color, and LGBTQ+ people, including in underserved areas.”
When it comes to the new RNC platform and the DNC platform, there is no contest. It remains far superior to the party that celebrates and encourages murdering innocent babies in the womb. The DNC’s strong endorsement for “safe and legal abortions” is disheartening.
- FPIW Platform:
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- We believe life is sacred and should be protected at every stage and at every opportunity. Government has an obligation to protect life from conception to natural death. We advocate on issues of life ranging from abortion to adoption to human euthanasia.
- “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” –Psalm 139:16 (NKJV)
The Republican platform’s current view again demonstrates the logical result of what happens when Christians are not involved and the Church goes silent and loses its power. Additionally, the GOP platform may have changed, but many people within the party have not. We will continue to raise our voices for the unborn.
The bottom line is: We, as the Church, the Body of Christ called to love a needy world, we have work to do. If you would like to join us in advancing biblical values in the education system, please consider becoming a Defender today:
- Want to Change Our Culture? 500,000 DEFENDER Prayer Warriors Are Needed.
- Want to be Heard in Olympia? 200,000 DEFENDER Activists for Political Power Are Needed.
- Want to Change Washington’s Laws? 450,000 DEFENDER Signers of Initiatives & Referendums Are Needed.
- Want Lasting Change? 1.7 Million DEFENDER Voters for Conservative Candidates Are Needed.
Join us! Please sign up to become a DEFENDER today.
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