Walgreens has confirmed that it will not carry abortion pills in twenty states. Critics are calling for boycotts against the pharmacy chain, and pro-abortion political leaders are voicing their outrage as well.
For example, Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker, the highest elected official in the state where Walgreens is headquartered, tweeted: “@Walgreens must rethink this policy. To all the other pharmacy providers, we’ll stand with you so you can provide this lifesaving care.”
Let’s be clear: not a single American state, no matter its abortion restrictions, has a law preventing medical treatment to save the life of a pregnant woman. How many abortions are necessary to save the life of the mother?
Consider the state of Florida as an example, since it records a reason for every abortion that occurs within its borders each year. In 2021, there were 79,817 abortions in the state. In 0.15 percent of the cases, the woman’s life was endangered by the pregnancy.
And, of course, except for the rare occasions when a baby survives the procedure, abortion is always fatal for the unborn child.
Perception can become reality
Why, then, is abortion so often called “lifesaving” care? Because “truth” has been weaponized in our culture as a means to predetermined social ends.
Sex change surgeries are now “gender-affirming care.” Euthanasia is “death with dignity.” To defend the unborn is to engage in a “war on women.” Those who support biblical marriage are “homophobic.” Those who believe women should not have to compete against biological men in sports are “transphobic.”
On the one hand, such euphemisms do not change the truth. Perception is not reality. An unborn human, no matter what abortion activists choose to call it, is still a human.
On the other hand, however, perception can become reality. When Americans support abortion in the guise of “lifesaving care,” millions of unborn children die as a result.
And when our secularized culture inundates us with messaging that reinterprets truth according to its chosen fictions, its fictions become true.
"Lower than they have ever been in American history"
Christians should not be surprised, since “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
The leader of these “spiritual forces of evil” is, of course, Satan himself, the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31). And he specializes in lies and deception: he “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
Satan is very good at his job: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). He has been especially busy in recent years, convincing millions of Americans that biblical truth and morality are outdated, irrelevant, and even dangerous.
Consequently, according to sociology professor Phil Zuckerman, religious belief, behavior, and belonging are “lower than they have ever been in American history.” He cites these key statistics:
- A 2022 Gallup survey reported that the percentage of people who believe in God has dropped from 98 percent in the 1950s to 81 percent today.
- Only about half of Americans believe in “God as described in the Bible.”
- Congregational membership is at an all-time low: a 2021 Gallup poll found that, for the first time ever, fewer than half of Americans were members of a church, synagogue, or mosque.
- About one in five adults say they have no religious affiliation, up from one in fifty in 1960.
Tuning one hundred pianos
What does this mean for you and me?
First, refuse to measure truth by popularity. The more Satan persuades our secular culture that the Bible is dangerous to society, the more dangerous society becomes to itself. The next time you find yourself on the wrong side of the crowd, remember that the crowd demanded the crucifixion of your Lord (John 19:15).
Second, stand for truth with compassionate courage. People who reject biblical truth are not enemies of the Lord but victims of the devil. The more sick people reject medical help, the more they need medical help.
Third, walk closer than ever with the One who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He promised us: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know thetruth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32, my emphases).
In The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer asked, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.”
Will you tune your soul to your fallen society or to your loving Savior today?
Publication date: March 6, 2023
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/SabdiZ
Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries. Denison Ministries includes DenisonForum.org, First15.org, ChristianParenting.org, and FoundationsWithJanet.org. Jim speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at Denison Forum. He is the chief author of The Daily Article and has written more than 30 books, including The Coming Tsunami, the Biblical Insight to Tough Questions series, and The Fifth Great Awakening.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
For more from the Denison Forum, please visit www.denisonforum.org.
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