We live in a very “pluralistic” society. What this “pluralism” means is that we live in a society where “the existence or toleration of a diversity of ethnic groups or differing cultures and views within a society” are often condoned and even praised. Another definition of “pluralism” is, a “Philosophy a theory or system that recognizes more than one ultimate principle.” As Christians, we believe the Bible is the Word of God. We believe, while there may be many misinterpretations of Scripture, there is only one true interpretation of Scripture. God is a God of order, and so He gives us His Word which is true, which does what it says, and which interprets itself. We also believe there is only one way to heaven and this by God’s grace, through faith, alone. Thus, because of our claims of an exclusive understanding of Scripture and an exclusive, only one way to get to heaven, we are hated by the rest of society and all non-Christian cultures.
Beginning this month and for the next three months (four all together), we will be looking at what we as Christians and even as Lutheran Christians, believe, teach and confess concerning God’s call to us, His call to us to life, faith, vocation and ministry. This month we concern ourselves with God’s call to us to life. Now, certainly, that phrase may at first sound a bit odd, God’s call to life, but think about your conception and birth in this way, we do not call ourselves into being, we do not determine that we are to be born. Although, scientifically speaking, and apart from God’s usual and designed plan, because of our nature and propensity to sin, God’s usual way of calling to life is through the means of conception. Fortunately for some couples and unfortunately for those who view life as something less than a gift from God, other means of conception are “possible,” such as invetro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, even cloning, but just because we as human beings can do something does not necessarily mean it is a good way to do it, nor that it is “mete, right and salutary,” nor that it should be done. Just because something is legal (prostitution in some states, abortion, gambling), does not mean it is good or should be done. Our conception (ideally, theologically) is a product of our parents’ love for each other and their sharing of that love in the bonds of holy matrimony. As a man and a woman, as a husband and a wife share their love in the safe bonds of marriage, conception brings about the beginning of life.
Contrary to what some in our society would espouse, such as the idea that an unborn baby is simply a mass of tissue, or that an unborn baby is somehow either less human or not human at all, Scripture as well as science and even common sense bears the fact that Life begins at conception. At conception, at the moment the egg is fertilized, it has all the necessary DNA, all the necessary genetic coding, to be a human being. It receives half this coding from the mother and half from the father. All that needs to be added for this baby to grow to term is nutrition. What is conceived in a human woman’s body is not any kind of animal, nor is it anything less than a human being. A woman will not give birth to a dog, or a horse, or a cow, but to a human being. And all the necessary DNA and genetic coding are present at conception, coding that determines hair color, eye color, shape of eyes, color of skin, shape of nose, etc., etc., etc.
Not only does God give us a body at conception, He also gives us a soul, at conception, as God said through Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV)). Of course we know that God does not live in time as you and I do, but God lives in the eternal present, which means that He already knows what will happen even before it does happen. God knows who we are and who we will be from the moment He gives us life and a soul at conception.
True we know, we believe, we confess, God knew us before our conception, God knew us before creation. David, speaking by the power of God says, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:16 (ESV)). And Titus attests to this fact that God knows us even before He began creating the world, “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” (Titus 1:2 (ESV)).
Therefore, as Christians, we believe, teach and confess that life is a gift from God, given to us at conception, at which time the Lord also gives us our eternal soul. Thus, we do not believe that life is an accident, that anyone chooses to be born, nor that any life is unwanted or anything less than a gift from God.
