Mr. Talarico, Your Ignorance Is Showing

Texas State Rep James Talarico is at it again. In a recent podcast interview, self-proclaimed Christian* Talarico said, “The Bible is silent on abortion.”

We’ve heard this before. Back in 2016, a couple of my progressive friends shared this article, “Why I’m a Christian Who (Still) Supports Planned Parenthood.”  One particular line from the author Dan Wilkinson jumped off the screen: “I’m not God and, despite what many Christians claim, God doesn’t seem to have said anything that’s directly relevant to this topic” (abortion).  I had no qualm with the first part of that sentence, truly, but have a big problem with the second.

And now we have Senate hopeful James Talarico resurrecting this idea that the Bible has nothing to say about abortion. 

When justifying his position, Talarico says, “We Christians have to take Scripture as a whole…”

I’m not sure what Scripture James Talarico is referring to in defense of his pro-choice views. Scripture is pretty clear.  From Genesis to Revelation, God is adamantly pro-life.  Here is just a sampling of what God says:

1.  He created all things. 

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:11).

2.  God’s creation of all things includes each and every being, no matter what size. 

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:27)

“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14).

3.  Since the Holy God is the Maker of all things, we should not argue with Him about what He has made.  

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.  Does the clay say to the potter, What are You making?  Does Your work say, He has no hands?”  “This is what the Lord says—the Holy One of Israel and its Maker:  Concerning things to come, do you question Me about My children, or give Me orders about the work of My hands?” (Isaiah 45:9, 11)

4.  God knows intimately and has a distinct purpose for each and every life He creates. 

 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

5. As the Creator of each and every being, God is also the rightful Owner of each and every being.  

 “….a man’s life is not his own…”  (Jeremiah 10:23) 

“Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14). 

 As the saying goes in the Newman household, all means all…..so “all that is in it” includes what is in a mother’s womb.

6.  As the One who brings every life into being, God alone has the right to end a life. 

“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). 

“See now that I myself am He!  There is no god besides me.  I put to death and I bring to life” (Deuteronomy 32:39).  

“The Lord brings death and makes alive…”  (I Samuel 2:6)

 “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months…”  (Job 14:5)

7.  The life of each and every aborted child is precious to God. 

 “For He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.  He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.  He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in His sight” (Psalm 72:12-14).

8.  God sees the guilt of those who shed the blood of the innocent and will repay the guilty according to their deeds. 

“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood…” (Proverbs 6:16-17).  

“Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before Me, declares the Sovereign Lord”  (Jeremiah 2:22).  

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter  If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not He who weights the heart perceive it?  Does not He who guards your life know it?  Will He not repay each person according to what he has done?” (Proverbs 24:11-12)

9.  God is ready to cleanse the guilty and He delights in showing mercy.  

 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more”  (Isaiah 43:25).  

 “Who is a God like You, who pardons sin….You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy?” (Micah 7:18)  

 “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him!”  (Isaiah 30:18)

10.  The avenue through which we find God’s mercy is the blood of Jesus; it alone is sufficient to cleanse the guilt of those who have shed the blood of the unborn, along with all other guilt.  

“How much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God?”  (Hebrews 9:14)  

“In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…” (Ephesians 1:7)

It’s crystal clear: the Bible is not silent on abortion. And we should not be either.

 “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

*See Matthew 7:15-23.