Thursday, May 21, 2009

Why is Evangelical Left Defending Obama Abortion Stance

Discarded signs are littered before the securi...

Discarded signs are littered before the security fencing after Pro-Life & pro-aborts held rallies outside Supreme Court. Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife



"Tragically, some on the Evangelical Left are more infatuated with the failed promises of an endless welfare state than with affirming Christianity's historic defense of all human life." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President

WASHINGTON, May 21 /Christian Newswire/ -- Increasingly, Evangelical voices are defending or excusing the Obama Administration's opposition to any restrictions on abortion.

Most recently, Evangelical Left ethicist Glen Stassen of Fuller Seminary has asserted that wider welfare state spending under Obama is more pro-life than proposed legal restrictions on abortion. Stassen implied that abortion rates fell under President Clinton and were higher under President Bush for this reason.

Other liberal evangelicals have specifically defended Obama's nomination of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, despite her strong abortion rights stance.

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"Stassen's analysis distorts data and ignores increased social spending under the Bush Administration.

"Tragically, some on the Evangelical Left are more infatuated with the failed promises of an endless welfare state than with affirming Christianity's historic defense of all human life.

"Like Roman Catholics and most other orthodox Christians, evangelicals are historically pro-life. How embarrassing that some prominent evangelicals are shedding venerable Christian teachings to justify their latest political calculations.

"The Evangelical Left has attempted to move evangelicals away from pro-life advocacy and instead to emphasize more liberal issues like global warming, 'hate crimes', pacifism, and welfare state expansion.

"Essentially, the new Evangelical Left repeats the errors of the old Religious Left, wanting to minimize core Christian teaching in favor of prudential political causes on which Christians may disagree."

www.TheIRD.org