Our outreach at UW Bothell a couple weeks ago was fruitful and reminded me how straightforwardly clear Scripture is:
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Romans 10:14-15
Talking about abortion sounds intimidating, but it’s really not. The Christian position is simple: we oppose the intentional taking of innocent human life. Shorter, God prohibits murder. This prompts a number of responses: “It’s not a human life; it’s a blob of tissue.” But the photography refutes this immediately. Here’s a fetus at just a few weeks, looking like a person, and her heart beats at 18 days. Fetus is the Latin word for baby, and a baby inside the womb is just as dependent on the mother as he is outside. All the fetus needs is three things: nourishment, protection, and time to grow into a fully mature person. Feed and don’t kill it and it will look like you one day. If you smash a bald eagle egg, you will go to jail and pay a lot of money. But if you want to smash a human egg, you will have an applauding audience. Washington is a human-egg-smashing sanctuary state.
Protesting abortion for the common good is really about the opportunity to talk about the ultimate good: to preach the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Abortion photography and the conversation leads quickly and naturally to, “Do you think God is against the intentional taking of human life?”; “Do you have spiritual beliefs?”; “Have you heard of the Christian faith and Jesus’ call to repent of our sins and be forgiven?”
It’s astonishing to be on college campuses and encounter the fact that most people have very little if any idea what the Bible says. If compared to mathematics, the level of knowledge would be below basic arithmetic, with many not able to count past ten. No wonder the apostle says, “How will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?” They have not heard. The faith that built the west is nearly unknown, and wonderfully the climate on college campuses among most students is really encouraging. You can’t judge them based on the “free speech zone” and woke gate-keepers who want to stifle free speech. Students are genuinely interested to engage. We just have to give them something to engage with – the Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life.