Tag: Abortion

Embracing Your Continuous Existence

The author reflects on existence, beginning with personal memories and the concept of eternal life. They emphasize that, while physically dying is inevitable, individuals continue to exist. The blog urges readers to develop a perspective beyond death, fostering certainty about salvation and understanding their eternal nature amidst life’s challenges and aging.

If it were based on my memory (and it shouldn’t be), I didn’t begin to exist until 1967 when I magically appeared in kindergarten. I have some memories of pre-school years, but I think they are false memories created more by pictures than direct memory. I fully trust those who swear I was born in April of 1962, as much as I would like to deny it. I also trust both Scripture and science that tells me I began to exist 9 months before that. Before the date of my conception no element of me existed anywhere, unless you count the foreknowledge of God.

I have now been a pastor for 33+ years. I have done many, many funerals. Of the deceased that I could still see, they all looked pretty finished. It could be easily construed that the person that I knew was now non-existent. But Scripture, an internal sense that I am more than an animated body, and even the Near-Death Experiences (NDE) of others tell me that we are now eternal. You can and need to physically die, but you will continue to exist in another body in another place (Heaven or Sheol). That is what this blog has mainly been about since 2016.

In this article I would like you to think about two aspects of your existence: the beginning and the approach to your physical death.

We don’t have a lot of information about our beginning. Science tells us that when we were a fertilized egg that we already had a unique, human genetic structure. The Bible tells us that our genetics were not like the information God created in us. They were altered by what is known as our sinful nature. As a corrupted being we were already disqualified from eternal life with God. We were sinful not potentially sinful. (Psalm 51:5)

Did we have a spirit at that time? The Bible doesn’t inform us, but it seems like a fair inference that the advent of the body is accompanied by the advent of the spirit. Technically the term “soul” refers to the interaction of spirit and body. See more here:https://afterdeathsite.com/2024/03/26/your-body-soul-and-spirit/ If that is the case, many complete and eternal humans never live independently on this fallen Earth. They die naturally or are aborted before birth. We know nothing for certain about their fate, other than they continue to exist. We would like to think that God saves them all, but with the fact that we are sinful from conception, I can’t definitively say that.

At that time, we were so fragile and yet indestructible. We began to exist and will continue to exist. I have a second cousin who had an epileptic seizure while driving a big rig. He arrived at the ER DOA (Dead on arrival), or so the story goes. Doctors revived him, but he had an NDE. In his experience he met a person who identified himself as his “brother”. His impression was this meant his physical brother, but he knew of no brother that was deceased. When he told this story to his mom, she confirmed that she gave birth to a stillborn male child. They exist.

This is the real issue with abortion. A woman with an unplanned pregnancy has much on the line. Her rights to her own body and healthcare are only second to one thing: the right to live of another person. I guess it wouldn’t be that much of an issue if we could know that all unborn deaths resulted in a free pass to Heaven. Sinful Earth is highly overrated. But as a society we can’t even agree to what we are: just a smart animal, a being with a spirit that reincarnates, an eternal being or something else. Government should defend the life of all humans. That is how it is involved.

The weight of evidence is behind the idea that we are eternal beings. That said, we struggle to embrace this fact fully. It remains surreal because of our weak faith in God’s word and our dependence on experience to determine reality. Without an NDE, death seems like an impenetrable dark wall. We don’t even imagine beyond it. God exhorts us to think beyond death.

18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (ESV)

The goal of this blog is to help you do this.

As you daily move closer to your physical death, even when you are young, you need to develop a horizon of thought that goes beyond your death. It is very possible to be certain of your salvation because it is based on Jesus’ work and God’s grace to you. It is possible to move toward death with such certainty of what comes next that you are not afraid and even eager. This does not discount that value of your current life. Rather it clarifies it. You are here to complete God’s plan for you. (Ephesians 2:10)

With clarity about your eternal nature, you can even cope with aging and illness well. Illness is a part of the curse for all–including Christians. Our bodies need to eventually break down to the point that we can separate from them. We will have a Heavenly body (2 Corinthians 5:1) and eventually also a massively upgraded Earthly body (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). Aging stinks. I hate it. Falling ill is worse. But I don’t want to be stuck here permanently. I am willing to stick out the whole 120-year maximum lifespan if it means fruitful work for the Kingdom of God for me. That said, you don’t have to cling to life like it is all there is. You are eternal.

Are Those Who Die in the Womb Saved?

A pregnancy is a powerfully emotional experience.  If you really want a child, then the baby in the womb in precious and you feel connected to this child very early in the pregnancy.  If you didn’t want a child, the same connection can be felt, but sometimes the desire to be free of the upcoming responsibility can trump any recognition of the pregnancy being your child.

As we know, whether for human reasons or biological reasons, not every pregnancy results in a live birth.  Is the deceased child a person with an eternal existence?  If so, when does it start?  Even more important, what happens to them?

I will be up front.  The Bible doesn’t give us much information about these questions, so definitive answers are elusive.  The Bible teaches that a human is both a body and a soul.  These aspects of ourselves are separable.  Because of sin, our body dies and remains dead until the resurrection.  Our soul assumes a different body in Heaven or Sheol depending on the status of our relationship to Jesus.  Can a body and soul be separate at the beginning of life as well?  We don’t know, for sure.

The Bible speaks of us being “sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5)  This is an acknowledgment that sin is part of our nature and therefore a part of our genetics and body.  Does it automatically mean that we have a soul from conception?  It could, but it’s not clear.  The Bible also speaks of God knowing people in the womb (i.e. Jeremiah, John the Baptist).  You don’t need the Bible to tell you that being born doesn’t make you into a human.  You are a human before you are born.  But when?

Science tells us that the fertilized egg is genetically distinct from the parents.  It is not a “part” of the mother.  But science as a whole struggles with what consciousness is and what is the unique value of a human being.  We have no way to measure a soul.

To fill the void that the Bible leaves on this emotional question, the doctrine of the “Limbo of the Unborn” was created by the Roman Catholic church.  This is a place of comfort, but without the visible presence of God meant for those who die unbaptized.  Such a place is not found in Scripture, but it acknowledges our human conundrum.  We are born sinners.  We are not born saved.  But God is merciful.  That is His character. Still God operates strictly by His Law.  So what does He do?

I can share a bit of anecdotal evidence from a relative of mine.  He experienced an out-of-body experience following a truck accident.  In this experience he met someone in Heaven who identified himself as a biological brother.  The only problem is that he didn’t have a deceased biological brother to his knowledge.  He had arrived at the hospital as DOA (Dead on Arrival) but doctors were able to revive him.  Later, he relayed the experience to his mother.  She revealed that she had a miscarriage of a male child that she had never told to him.

Make of this what you want.  I personally don’t think that all of the unborn are saved.  The Bible shares that a relative few are saved among the living.  However, I also believe that God has His way to reach those who haven’t or can’t be reached by the power of the Gospel during their lives, however brief.  This thinly attested belief will have to do for now.