Abortion, Evil and Dehumanization

I have been reading “Lucifer Effect:  Understanding How Good People Turn Evil” by Philip Zimbardo and thought that you might be interested in this quote.

“Dehumanization is one of the central processes in the transformation of ordinary, normal people into indifferent or even wanton perpetrators of evil. Dehumanization is like a cortical cataract that clouds one’s thinking and fosters the perception that other people are less than human. It makes some people come to see those others as enemies deserving of torment, torture, and annihilation. Dehumanization is one of the central processes in the transformation of ordinary, normal people into indifferent or even wanton perpetrators of evil.[1].”

Dehumanization is one of the favorite tools of political propagandists who have embraced identity politics. They identify groups or sometimes create groups to divide; then they demonize and dehumanize the groups that stand against their ideology. All this is for the purpose of gaining power. This process always begins with name-calling and the branding of groups of people with derogatory labels.

This dehumanization is fostered by propaganda that portrays the others as an enemy of humanity, for example in the area of abortion, they often do this by comparing the unborn to something less than human. Their use of the word ‘fetus’ echoes this. Why not just call it a child? This method that makes the victims, the enemy, was used by the early abortionist to convince the masses that they had to destroy human life because the planet was being overrun by humans and that the masses would ultimately starve to death from a lack of resources.[2] On a smaller scale, the propagandists attempt to convince women that somehow their unborn child was going to steal their life and thus is an enemy of their freedom. In addition, they dehumanize infants in the womb by referring to them as just a bundle of cells comparing the unborn fetus to a ball of’ snot or a tadpole.

[1] “The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil” by Philip Zimbardo.

[2] The very opposite has turned out to be the truth. Fewer people are starving now than ever in the history of the world.

An Article for Believer’s on Abortion

A Call for Repentance

The Bible says that God created mankind in his image and no one images God more perfectly than an innocent baby born or unborn.  Jesus said their Angels always behold the face of the Father. In view of this, I must take the position that abortion is an attack on the image of God. The scriptures portrayed God as a God of life who hates death.  Therefore, I find it incredible that people who claim to be believers can believe that it is God’s will to put a new life to death.

It is obvious to a clear-thinking believer that the men and women that commit abortions are ideologically possessed and cannot be justified for any reason other than the life of the mother is clearly threatened by the pregnancy.  In the Christian world view, all life is sacred  and the taking of any life without justification is murder and reflects the spirit of Cain who was a murderer from the beginning.  I hereby define murder as an unjustified killing. Therefore, I must define the majority of abortions as premeditated murder.

Now, God has given the right to categorize all living creatures to man, except for human life which he specifically says was created in His image. To put human life in another category or downgrade it to a lesser form of life is stepping over the line that God has created, which is sin. No man has the authority to do this and that is exactly what men do when they start debating over when life begins and the right and wrong of abortion. Shortly after conception takes place the life of a human being is marked genetically as an individual and in the image of God and therefore it is a grave sin to destroy it.

Moreover, there is absolutely nothing in the Bible to justify the idea that the unborn child is something less or different than a child after its birth.  Before the birth of Jesus, Jesus is referred to as a child and John the Baptist responded when still a fetus to the voice of Mary when still in the womb, demonstrating that even a fetus has consciousness which is the main characteristic of God.

Some among us do not believe that an unborn fetus is a life, but if it’s not a life what is it? Science believes it’s a life and Christians from the beginning have considered it a life.  All the women I have known during their pregnancy talk as though it’s a life so you could say language makes it a life. In most states, if someone murders a pregnant woman, they are indicted for two murders. So, in most states, the law says that the unborn are people that have a right to live. Again, if it is not a life what is it? Just a blob of cells and flesh? If that is what it is, the only difference with an adult and the unborn is the size of the blob of cells, because it has all the same genetic makeup as an adult human being.  The only difference is its age and size.

When a people no longer can discern that abortion is contrary to nature and to the God of nature, there is something deeply wrong. To accept abortion, people must be ideologically possessed and demonically influenced. If God is to judge the world in righteousness and justice, there must be self-evident truths. His existence is self-evident and there are certain sins that are self-evident, otherwise, God could not be just in his judgment. I think it is evident that abortion is one of those truths that is self-evident because it is contrary to nature and to the God of nature. It is one of the things that God has written on the hearts of all men.

This also raises the question of corporate guilt. Do people who support abortion share in the guilt of those directly responsible for preforming abortion? The indication from Scripture is yes.  The apostle Paul says, “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Rom 1:28-32).  “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

Eph 5:11-14

If you are a believer and are practicing abortion or supporting it in any fashion, I would strongly suggest that you change your mind and repent.