S
sparkman
Guest
It seems paradoxical that the Seventh Day Adventist Church can claim that all Ten Commandments apply today, with a GREAT emphasis on the Saturday Sabbath, yet disregard the commandment in regards to murder by allowing elective abortions in their health care facilities. This has been a practice since 1970, two years before Roe versus Wade.
The external policy that they produce says that abortions are allowed in these cases (quoting a statement from their website):
{begin quote}
The Church does not serve as conscience for individuals; however, it should provide moral guidance. Abortions for reasons of birth control, gender selection, or convenience are not condoned by the Church. Women, at times however, may face exceptional circumstances that present serious moral or medical dilemmas, such as significant threats to the pregnant woman's life, serious jeopardy to her health, severe congenital defects carefully diagnosed in the fetus, and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. The final decision whether to terminate the pregnancy or not should be made by the pregnant woman after appropriate consultation. She should be aided in her decision by accurate information, biblical principles, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, these decisions are best made within the context of healthy family relationships.
{end quote}
Note that abortions are allowed in cases of severe congenital defects, and these defects would include such things as Down's Syndrome. I don't know about you, but I think a Down's Syndrome child is as worthy of life as anyone else, and that such children can be a blessing to the parents and family.
https://www.adventist.org/en/information/official-statements/guidelines/article/go/-/abortion/
The internal policy is that elective abortions are performed at their healthcare facilities, for any reason.
Here is a blog by an SDA who has written on this issue..he says that he used to do Bible studies with Catholics but can no longer do so with a straight face because Catholics would simply point out the inconsistency of clinging to the Fourth Commandment (Sabbath) on one hand while committing murder through abortion on the other hand.
https://adventlife.wordpress.com/20...ding-adventists-and-abortion-by-nic-samojluk/
Here's another article that explains SDA Ben Carson does not hold the position of the SDA church concerning abortion, and many SDAs don't like him due to this:
https://adventlife.wordpress.com/20...t-adventists-are-not-pro-lifeby-nic-samojluk/
Incidentally, I wonder if the de-valuing of life in the womb relates to the view that there is no life until the baby takes its first breath. Adventists believes that man is purely physical, with no spiritual component. This is part of why they believe in soul sleep and annihilationism. This belief is usually coupled with the idea that the life doesn't exist until the baby takes his first breath. This belief would make it easier to terminate the fetus.
Armstrongites, the group I belonged to as a new believer, borrows a lot of its doctrines from the SDAs. They hold a slightly different view of man's nature, but similarly believe that human life does not begin until the first breath, and that a stillborn baby would not be resurrected. However, they also believe abortion is a sin, so they are not consistent in their assertions.
The external policy that they produce says that abortions are allowed in these cases (quoting a statement from their website):
{begin quote}
The Church does not serve as conscience for individuals; however, it should provide moral guidance. Abortions for reasons of birth control, gender selection, or convenience are not condoned by the Church. Women, at times however, may face exceptional circumstances that present serious moral or medical dilemmas, such as significant threats to the pregnant woman's life, serious jeopardy to her health, severe congenital defects carefully diagnosed in the fetus, and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. The final decision whether to terminate the pregnancy or not should be made by the pregnant woman after appropriate consultation. She should be aided in her decision by accurate information, biblical principles, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, these decisions are best made within the context of healthy family relationships.
{end quote}
Note that abortions are allowed in cases of severe congenital defects, and these defects would include such things as Down's Syndrome. I don't know about you, but I think a Down's Syndrome child is as worthy of life as anyone else, and that such children can be a blessing to the parents and family.
https://www.adventist.org/en/information/official-statements/guidelines/article/go/-/abortion/
The internal policy is that elective abortions are performed at their healthcare facilities, for any reason.
Here is a blog by an SDA who has written on this issue..he says that he used to do Bible studies with Catholics but can no longer do so with a straight face because Catholics would simply point out the inconsistency of clinging to the Fourth Commandment (Sabbath) on one hand while committing murder through abortion on the other hand.
https://adventlife.wordpress.com/20...ding-adventists-and-abortion-by-nic-samojluk/
Here's another article that explains SDA Ben Carson does not hold the position of the SDA church concerning abortion, and many SDAs don't like him due to this:
https://adventlife.wordpress.com/20...t-adventists-are-not-pro-lifeby-nic-samojluk/
Incidentally, I wonder if the de-valuing of life in the womb relates to the view that there is no life until the baby takes its first breath. Adventists believes that man is purely physical, with no spiritual component. This is part of why they believe in soul sleep and annihilationism. This belief is usually coupled with the idea that the life doesn't exist until the baby takes his first breath. This belief would make it easier to terminate the fetus.
Armstrongites, the group I belonged to as a new believer, borrows a lot of its doctrines from the SDAs. They hold a slightly different view of man's nature, but similarly believe that human life does not begin until the first breath, and that a stillborn baby would not be resurrected. However, they also believe abortion is a sin, so they are not consistent in their assertions.
