Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the author and are not necessarily reflective of Live Action or Live Action News.
The Christian Scriptures have a very clear notion of moral obligation —the idea that we as human persons have a commitment for one another. We are inescapably accountable for one another. The question, “am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9; Jas 5:4–20) is continually affirmed as “yes” throughout Scripture. Integral to this notion of moral obligation, is our responsibility to intercede on behalf of the needy, the weak, and the oppressed (Isa 58:6–10). Furthermore, we violate our moral obligation to the “least of these” when we fail to intercede on their behalf. The Scriptures condemn and abhor tolerance of the perpetuation of injustice. This is to say that God condemns and abhors apathy to injustice. Tolerance, or apathy, is the abdication of moral obligation. It is compliance with evil. Although numerous instances in Scripture could be examined, two passages in the Pentateuch come to mind in illustrating our moral responsibility for one another and God’s condemnation of tolerance towards evil.
The first passage is located in Leviticus 20. In Leviticus 20:2, the Lord prescribes death by stoning for any individual who offers up his children as a sacrifice to the pagan god, Molech. Interestingly, the “people of the land” are given responsibility for carrying out this death penalty, thereby ensuring that the whole community plays a role in condemning the evil act (Lev 20:2). The Lord says of the individual who goes to sacrifice his children, “I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people” (Lev 20:3). Remarkably, this same fate is given to the individual who is aware of this evil and does not execute justice:
“And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech” (Lev 20:4–5).
The inaction of the man who closes his eyes is regarded as a refusal to condemn. The one who closes their eyes at this evil act is deemed complicit in the horrendous evil. Note that he himself is even said to follow Molech. He is charged to be his brother’s keeper, and his brother’s blood cries out against him (cf., Gen 4:10, Jas 5:4). This man is unable to say, “Behold we did not know this” (Prov 24:12). Leviticus 20:4–5 starkly illustrates that turning a blind eye to evil is compliance with evil itself.
READ: ‘Now choose life’: The Jewish case against abortion
The second passage is in Deuteronomy 21. When someone is found slain, lying in the open country, the elders of the nearest city are to come and kill a heifer for the purpose of atonement (Deut 21:1–9). They are to “wash their hands over the heifer” (Deut 21:6) and “testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed’” (Deut 21:7). In testifying that they did not kill the man nor witness the man’s killing, the elders testify that they are innocent of guilty blood. The clear implication is that if the elders had seen the killing or known about it, they would have had an obligation to intervene. If they had been witness and not acted, they would have been guilty of innocent blood.
What’s the point? God’s heart of justice has not receded. He has not relinquished us from our ties to one another. He has not released us from being our “brother’s keeper.” Our moral responsibility for one another has not been abrogated. Leviticus 20 and Deuteronomy 21 are particularly relevant for spurring the Church onto to recognize our moral responsibility for one another, especially in the case of abortion.
The modern day sacrament of abortion — legalized child murder — is our culture’s equivalent of sacrificing to Molech. The imperatives of moral responsibility — or moral action, are laid on the Church as they were laid on the covenant community of Israel. Scripture’s condemnation and God’s abhorrence to “turning a blind eye’ has not lessened in degree. The reality is that we are aware of the travesty of abortion. As John Piper once said, “We know they are killing children — All of us know.” We know that 2,363 children perish every day by the scalpel and syringe of Molech’s priests. Presently, Scripture’s teachings of moral obligation are urgently pressed onto us.
To clarify, the Church does not have responsibility to eradicate every injustice or evil in every age. That is not the Church’s mission, nor is it plausible. The government bears the sword for the purpose of punishing evil (Rom 13:4, 1 Pet 2:14). We ought not to place a yoke on the Church that it was not meant to bear. However, the Church does has an obligation to not close its eyes. The Church has an obligation not to turn away from the cries of our preborn neighbors coming from the blood-soaked ground. The Church has an obligation to provide a prophetic witness in speaking out against the abortion holocaust. Christians, then, ought to take steps to intercede on behalf of the preborn. This intercession of action will be costly to self — but in doing so, Christ is followed and his cross is borne.
In the Torah, if one sees a “brother’s donkey or… ox fallen down by the way” and ignores it, he is in the wrong (Deut 22:1–4). How much more, if we see our preborn neighbor lying in the throes of death and do not help them? (cf., Luke 10:29–37). Can we hide ourselves from our own flesh? (cf., Isa 58:7). We are our brother’s keeper, and our brother is the preborn. Let us fulfill our moral obligations and so love our preborn neighbors.
“Like” Live Action News on Facebook for more pro-life news and commentary!
