Sin

Babies Begin at Conception, The Truth about Planned Parenthood

By Natalie Hardt | March 2025

The term ‘abortion rights’ is well received because it has been sold under the guise of ‘pro-choice’, it should actually be considered ‘pro-abortion’. Beginning with the feminist movement and the passing of Roe v. Wade, abortion has been considered a political issue claiming it would be rare; however, it has become a common method of birth control and primarily among minority groups with the majority being African American women. Abortion is the most atrocious crime a nation can commit, the countries with the highest number of abortions are the United States, India, and China. With Americans continuing to be divided on this subject, more than ever people are viewing abortion as a moral issue not a political one.

God is Truth

No one can deny the world is not right; for believers/followers of Jesus Christ, it is clear abortion is another result of a fallen world. Human reason shows us the world was not created randomly or by chance; therefore, the human ‘cell’ did not just happen due to a big bang, unless of course God was behind it. The cell and its ability to regenerate is the deliberate result of a sovereign God for nothing happens without His ordainment, including the egg fertilization regardless of means (incest and rape). This can be difficult to comprehend with the human finite mind. While humans cannot understand many things, there is a lot and enough we do know, God says “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26) and have been mandated to continue in spreading the pattern of God’s image throughout the earth, to “be fruitful and multiple” (Gen 1:28). Beginning with Adam and Eve, God instructs them of their image bearing role, to have dominion and stewardship over the earth, “…fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature…” (Gen 2: 28 NIV). Genesis 1 and 2 record creation as “very good” 12 times, this sets the stage of man living out a purposeful and meaningful life that brings glory to God. Sin enters the world in Genesis 3 and now humans have a sinful nature, “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12; Psalm 14, 53). That being said, humans still possess an innate ability to know right from wrong, it comes down to our will and choices. A woman knows deep down in her soul that abortion is killing a baby. When a woman has an abortion, she thinks her problem has gone away, this is not the case. She will experience self-destructive behaviors including guilt, depression, drug and alcohol addiction, promiscuity, suicidal thoughts, and fearful someone will find out her secret.

PSALM of King David
For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)


America has been discarding God for decades and now has developed a culture of twisted truths where right is wrong and wrong is right. When Sin is not addressed, it spirals further into depravity, scripture says, “…just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness…” (Romans 1:28-29). American society has been filled with so many excuses at being their own ‘law’ with ‘this is my truth’ statements, this makes no sense for it is subjective and lacks an absolute standard. Throughout history and according to America’s Founding Fathers, the Bible was the standard, God is truth (John 4:16; 15:26; 16:13; Psalm 119:160, and more). How can we trust the Bible (refer to ‘Sinful Creatures in Need of a Good God’ and ‘Original Sin’ on this sight). America’s values and beliefs on abortion over the last 40 years has developed a society void of faith and family values. Family and the church need to speak louder than the world that advocates abhorrent values, abortion being one of them. We need a society that holds children as precious, blessing and a gift of God. Unlike America, Africa is one of many countries that is not abortion minded, they educate their children on the truth about abortion.

America’s stance has been that the early stages of a baby’s development is just a clump of cells, as opposed to the truth that: 5-8 weeks, the baby has a beating heart at 17 days, brain waves at 6 weeks, organs forming at 8 weeks, and responding to touch. It is at 9 weeks that she has fingerprints, genitals, toes and fingers formed. It is at 12-20 weeks that she can feel pain, kicks, grabs, sucks and cries in the womb.

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood is the most renown abortion center and most women are unaware of what they actually do. They assume their services are mostly STD testing and birth control, that cannot be further from the truth. They are surprised to learn that Planned Parenthood now provides hormone therapy (gender transitioning) to minors. Most of Planned Parenthood’s services and profits come from performing surgical and abortion pill (mifepristone) abortions. Many do not know the following procedures: abortion pill (5-10wks) $350-$600; suction D&C (5-14wks) $320-$600; dilation and evacuation (15-24wks) $500-$2000; and third trimester abortions (25wks-birth) $4000-$1500. Planned Parenthood receives federal funding and has most locations in lower income neighborhoods and primarily black neighborhoods, all planned by its founder Margaret Sanger. Margaret Sanger was a proponent of eugenics, she believed black women reproduced many babies and wanted to control the black population. She thought them inferior and unfit to procreate. Margaret Sanger had a connection to the Ku Klux Klan and spoke at the ‘Women’s Auxiliary’ rally in New Jersey to promote birth control. Adolf Hitler was actually influenced by Margaret Sanger’s eugenics views, and as we know tried to wipe out the Jewish people.

Abortion Statistics

The highest number of abortion is 1,032,100 in 2023. Women having abortions are not due to rape or incest which accounts for <.05%. Statistics show abortion as result of it would “dramatically change my life” at 74% (Finer, Frohwirth, Dauphinee, Singh, & Moore, 2005, pp. 113). In the 1970s and 1980s when fetal alcohol syndrome was recognized, alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) was considered a medical reason suggesting ATOD acceptable in terminating pregnancies (Roberts, Avalos, Sinkford & Foster, 2012); with 1 out of 20 women claiming ATOD as the reason (Roberts, 2012). During this time, cautions surrounding alcohol consumption and its effects on pregnancy may have resulted in many women assuming something wrong with their baby after learning they were pregnant after having consumed alcohol (Roberts, 2012). Other and more recent data show “more than 1 in 8 U.S. women” living in poverty, and “76% of abortions occur[ing] among women at or below 200% of the federal poverty level” (Oberman, 2018, pp. 666). It is worthy to note an increase in contraception is likely responsible for the 13% decline of abortions from 2008 to 2011 (Jones & Jerman, 2017).

Historical Scholars and Theologians

What do theologians, scholars and philosophers Tertullian, Augustine, Plato and Aristotle say on the subject? First, Plato believed in controlling the population and eugenics (breeding for improvement to humans), and Aristotle believed that unhealthy children (deformities) shall be disposed (Czachorowski, 2018). Jerome and Augustine could not distinguish when the fetus went from “formatus” to “informatus”, the ensoulment of the embryo. Tertullian believed body and soul happened simultaneously at conception, while Aristotle believed 40 days after conception is when the soul indwelled the embryo for males and 90 days for females (Czacorowski, 2018). Tertullian held the seed as the potential person with the seed as “…a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in its seed” (Cazcorowski, 2014, pp. 569). Finally, Aquinas as cited in Czacorowski (2014) said “…the soul endowed with a mind was created by God at the moment of conception, and so at the moment of the first formation of the human embryo” (Czacorowski, 2014, pp. 569-570). Czacorowski (2014) goes on to note that while science cannot confirm the “sequential substantial changes” in the fetal stage, modern philosophy does subscribe to the natural sciences that the ovum, the first stage when sperm and egg come together, contains the genetic code” and “…directs the entire psycho-physical development of the human being” (Czacorowski, 2014, pp. 570).

God is Love, Love is Freedom, God is Freedom

God of the Bible is a God of freedom. He gives humans a will to choose, including the ability to love or reject Him. Rather than women running to Planned Parenthood, women can run to churches and other outreach organizations for help. There are ministries that walk with women before, during and after birth of their baby; including, SIDEWALKS4LIFE.COM; ABORT73.COM; ABORTIONDOC.ORG; LIVINGWATERS.COM; ABORTIONPROCEDURES.COM; TINYHANDSBOOK.COM; ABORTIONNO.ORG; HH76.ORG; and ABORTIONWORKER.COM. There are misconceptions about pro-life organizations, thinking they can somehow force a woman to have a baby or judge and shame her, this is not true. These organizations do not convince nor coerce but rather provide women with education on the life already growing within her and the God that has blessed her and loves her. No matter her choice, the church or pro-life ministry will continue to be there for her.


References
Collinson, S. W., (2005). Making Disciples and the Christian Faith. Evangelical Review of Theology, 29(3), 240–250. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=18750450&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Czachorowski, M., (2018). Abortion in The Universal Encyclopedia of Philosophy, volume 7. Studia Gilsoniana 7, no. 4: pages 567-578. Retrieved From http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.desklight-d3998022-9494-40a6-bb41-9232cc491178.

Finer LB, Frohwirth LF, Dauphinee LA, Singh S, & Moore AM. (2005). Reasons U.S. women have abortions: quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health, 37(3), 110–118. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=106545873&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Jones, R. K., & Jerman, J., (2017). Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2014. Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health, 49(1), 17–27. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1363/psrh.12015.

McQuilkin, R., & Copan, P. (2014). An introduction to biblical ethics: Walking in the way of wisdom (3rd ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. ISBN-13: 9780830828180.

Mihindukulasuriya, P. (2014). How Jesus Inaugurated the Kingdom on the Cross: a Kingdom Perspective of the Atonement. Evangelical Review of Theology, 38(3), 196–213. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rlh&AN=96993783&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Oberman, M. (2018). Motherhood, Abortion and the Medicalization of Poverty. The Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics 46: 665-671. doi: 10.1177/1073110518804221.

Roberts S., Avalos, L., Sinkford, D., Foster, D., (2012). Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use as Reasons for Abortion. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press Vol 47, No. 6, pp. 640-648. doi:10.1093/alcalc/ags095.

ORIGINAL SIN

April 2025

SIN IS THE “PRIVATION OF THE GOOD”

(Stillwaggon, 2014, pp. 67)

The very reason humans cannot see their true state of depravity that leads to eternal suffering, death and destruction is because of their inability to understand and comprehend who God is, who they are, and the true destructiveness of sin.                                                                                

The Fall has left humanity depleted of grace; however, what remains is an innate ability and basic knowledge of good and evil (McQuilkin & Copan, 2014). There is an ‘ah ha’ moment and a revealing of sorts when a believer becomes cognizant and humbly aware of how blissfully Ignorant they have lived their life up to that point. The believer has been given ‘new’ eyes and ears.

A true believer cannot love God and the world (Matt 6), and will experience the following:

1. Battle between flesh (selfishness) and spirit (other-centered) as the flesh desires to have what it wants and what it wants is sinful pleasures all the time.

2. Heart and mind continually undergoes a process of transformation as they grow to become more Christ-like, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 ESV).

3. Hold a Christian worldview that sees the world differently than before; truly for what it is, dark, unjust, unfair, cruel, idolatrous, and deceiving with its ruler, Satan (enemy, devil, prince of this world).

4. Expect to be rejected by friends and family; Jesus was hated, expect the same (John 15:18).

Original sin results in the chasm that separates the human race from God, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross bridges that gap so that believers may enter in relationship with God the Father. Good can only come from good; therefore, God being love, good, holy, and unique to anything that ever was, is, and will be, only creates goodness out of His goodness (Bird, 2013). In Matthew it is confirmed that “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7: 18 NIV). We can establish that the Creator God made Adam and Eve “good”, in addition to blessing them with some of God’s divine attributes (Bird, 2013). Additionally, God through His love bestows freedom on His creation. With freedom comes risk; consequently, it turns out that Adam and Eve’s freedom results in rebellion against God and in turn causes humanity and the world to spiral down in a state of depravation. The door of the knowledge of good and evil opens and affects not only Adam and Eve individually, but also humanity on a whole referred to as Original Sin (Highfield, 2008). Through the coercion of the serpent in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve desire to be more like God, “…when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4 NIV). The Old Testament clearly presents Original Sin and humanity’s propensity to sin, as Bird says, “there is a clear solidarity between Adam and his progeny so that what is true of the primal representative is true of those whom he represented” (Bird, 2013, p. 681). Examples of this are seen from sin going from eating the fruit, to Cain killing Able, to sacrificing of children to Baal, to the crucifixion of the Messiah.

This corrupt nature of man is not something added nor present in the beginning, but rather was something taken away and became unreachable within the being of the human. In Romans, Apostle Paul addresses the human essence by comparing how humanity was first “in Adam” and then has been redeemed by the “second Adam” in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12). It is through Jesus that God gifts to humanity the means of bringing His creation back to a state of goodness and holiness so that creation can have a relationship with Him again. The Gospel further illustrates how humanity can find its way from its depravation in mind, body and soul to becoming healthy again and fully human.

When studying the Old Testament and the New Testament, we learn that humans were meant to be healthy. In Psalm 8: 4-6, the psalmist refers to humans as lower than angels and yet were “crowned” with “glory and honor”; and in the New Testament, Hebrews goes on to specifically state that it is through Jesus of whom shared in our humanness while living on earth that shows humanity how to find their back to this state of glory and honor, “shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who hold the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV). Back in Genesis 3, it is evident the evil serpent knew exactly how to entice and appeal to Adam and Eve’s desirous nature located in the lower part of the soul (Berkhof). Again, it is because of what human beings lack that has sickened their nature. The New Testament is filled with numerous incidents where Jesus heals the physical, mental, and spiritual infirmities of people. As Matthew puts it, Jesus healed “those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them” (Matthew 4:23-24 NIV).

Sin attacks in every way possible. Thomas Aquinas held that Adam and Eve had original justice until Genesis 3, “Desire as a fundamental aspect of material existence manifests itself in a more complex manner in Aquinas’ account of beings’ natural desire toward their teleological perfection” (Stillwaggon,2014, p. 65). This is essential in that it shows how desire was “guided by divine intellect, also known original justice” (Stillwaggon, 2014, p. 67); therefore, simply put, “original sin just is the due lack of original justice, the lack of justice that ought to be present by Adam’s will” (Houck, 2016, p. 77). Houck goes on to explain that because something is lacking in human nature, does not mean human beings are not responsible, but rather the responsibility rests on the human will (Houck, 2016). Through classical theology, we learn sin derives from humanity’s lower soul (Berkof). These are characteristics such as ‘self-centeredness’ as opposed to the Godly attribute of ‘other-centeredness’, and ‘enslavement’ as opposed to the Godly attribute of ‘freedom’ (Bird, 2013). As cited in Bird (2013), Kevin Vanhoozer says, “evangelicals need to recapture a passion for biblical formation: a desire to be formed, reformed and transformed by the truth and power of the gospel” (Bird, 2013, p. 31). Desire is not bad until it is rooted in sin; therefore, as written in Romans 8 and Galatians 5, and as Bird (2013) states, human beings can “live obediently to God, to deprive flesh and desire of their power in sin” (Bird, 2013, p.155). Sin is the devil’s thoughts becoming our thoughts; what begins as a thought amounts to nothing until it takes root and becomes a stronghold . Biblical examples of how people overcome their sinfulness, include Moses, King David, Daniel, and Apostle Paul (Daniel 3, Psalm 3, Ephesians 5, 6). For instance, Moses was a murderer and had a temper that eventually resulted in not being allowed to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:9-11).

God is the only God and the Creator of all things, as John shows with his words that tie back to Genesis, The Word (Jesus) was present during creation, “through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:3-4 NIV). The concept of humanity from its potential to actual can only be achieved through God of whom is “pure actual” (Highfield, 2008). When Apostle Paul states that through Adam, one man, sin came into the world (Romans 5:12) suggest that although human behavior, if left to our fallen nature, a result of the fall, “we are still agents with intentionality and continue to be referred beyond ourselves to something more wherein lies our final destiny and definitive identity” (Novello, 2009, P. 187). The fact that humans feel guilt is also indicative that our human nature is lacking (Novello, 2009). These feelings of guilt are necessary in that it shows human beings that they are not right by God (Novello, 2009). And we can see how this guilt is able to transform as Isaiah puts it when confronted with feelings of his guilt, “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, see this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:6-7 NIV). Prior to that moment for Isaiah, in verse 5, he becomes aware of his fallen state as a human being and does not think himself worthy to live or even be in the presence of God. In the New Testament, Apostle Paul continually calls himself a “wretched man” (Romans 7:24, 25). Apostle Paul is a great example in the New Testament of being given grace and mercy, and only through Jesus Christ is being restored back to God. When Jesus was on earth, He spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven, and when that comes to its full realization, all of humanity that believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior will be redeemed.

The Gospel is the good news found in Jesus Christ, where one finds salvation by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because of sin through Adam and Eve, all are sinners from birth, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of humanity had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time (Genesis 6:5 NIV). Humanity goes from seeing sin when confronted with God’s Law in Exodus and Deuteronomy to gaining some understanding of the human beings’ purpose through Jesus. Guilt is part of the process in dealing with sin resulting in further knowledge of our need of a Savior. As Apostle Paul says, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do.” (Romans 7:14-15 NIV). Paul acknowledges that humanity lacks the essence of things Godly such as divine nature that is good and holy. Through the Holy Spirit, humanity has been given a path to regain the privation of the good that has been made hidden because of Original Sin (Bird, 2013). It is through our second Adam, Jesus Christ, that humanity has been given hope; therefore, humanity must cling to God through faith and be thankful for His grace and mercy. This then leads to repentance so as to cleanse our sinful human nature so that we may share in everlasting life with God.

References:
Bird, M. F., (2013). Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing.  Retrieved from: http://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/harpercollins/2013/evangelical-theology_a-biblical-and-systematic-introduction_ebook_1e.php

Berkhof, L.. Man in the State of Sin in Part Two: The Doctrine of Man in Relation to God. Systematic Theology. Retrieved by: https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/berkhof/systematic_theology.html

Highfield, R. (2008). Great is the Lord: Theology for the praise of God. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. Retrieved from: https://lc-ugrad3.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/externalLinks/externalLinks.html?operation=redirectToExternalLink&externalLink=http%3A%2F%2Fgcumedia.com%2Fdigital-resources%2Fwm-b-eerdmans-publishing-co%2F2008%2Fgreat-is-the-lord_theology-for-the-praise-of-god_ebook_1e.php

Houck, D. W. (2016). Natura Humana Relieta est Christo: Thomas Aquinas on the Effects of Original Sin. Archa Verbi, (13), 68-102. Retrieved from: https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=123947781&site=eds-live&scope=site

Hybels, B., Mittelberg, M. (1994). Becoming a contagious Christian. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN-13: 9780310210085. Retrieved from http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/harpercollins/1996/becoming-a-contagious-christian_ebook_1e.php

Lamoureux, D. O. (2016). Beyond the Cosmic Fall and Natural Evil. Perspectives On Science & Christian Faith, 68(1), 44-59. Retrieved from: https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=113835293&site=eds-live&scope=site

Novello, H. L. (2009). Lack of Personal, Social and Cosmic Integration: Original Sin from an Eschatological Perspective. Pacifica, 22(2), 171-197. Retrieved from: https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=58618677&site=eds-live&scope=site

Stillwaggon, J. (2014). The Problem of Propagation: Original Sin as Inherited Discourse. Studies In Philosophy & Education, 33(1), 61-73. doi:10.1007/s11217-013-9362-7. Retrieved from: https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=93447361&site=eds-live&scope=site c