Theological Paper

     Greetings to you in the name of Christ Jesus.  I had an amazing weekend with the Kyle clan.  Erin's parents were in town for the weekend.  We went to the Cardinal's game yesterday, it was perfect weather out for it, and the Cards won.  I think I survived with a passing grade, and they definitely are cool in my book.  Of course, they raised Erin and I think she is pretty neat.  I also got to see some old college friends who were in town for the game today.  We spent a good half hour reminiscing about the old days in Seward.  Memories from freshman year made us laugh and feel old all at the same time.  Aaron Sailor, one of the two guys, gets a special shout out because he told me he was still a faithful blog follower, which made my day.  All of you who read this do mean a lot to me, hence why I take the time to keep writing, but it put it in a more personal perspective to hear him tell me he still reads it.  Thank you for that Aaron.
    Speaking of thinking Erin is pretty neat, we celebrated our six month anniversary today.  It has actual been longer since we met and first started talking, but we made up an "official date" to go by.  She has been wanting to learn to play the guitar for quite some time and since her birthday is not until October and we only have a short time together left, I took her to pick out a guitar.  She picked out a good starter one that fit her well and is already working on learning to play it.  Today we were running errands and she told me she wanted to go to Golf Galaxy.  We went and she told me to pick out the wedge I have been wanting for some time now and she got it for me.  I got the Titleist Vokey Spin-milled 54 degree wedge.  She is definitely a keeper.  The funny part was she found it funny that when she said she wanted to go to Golf Galaxy I never questioned why.  I told her a golf or hunting store will never be questioned simply visited as quickly as possible.  She did not find it as funny as I did when we got back out to the car and I told her to get in back so my wedge could be buckled in up front.  We also went out for dinner this evening and it was a great day together.  I cannot believe it has been six months already, but only because it has been such an amazing six months.
      I told you I would post my theological paper on here when it was done.  It was done on Thursday, but I just have not had time to put it up yet.  However, here it is.  Again, the issue is trying to show that a fetus is a human being, only this time was all theological reasons.  I have not gotten either one back yet or graded so if I do and they are wrong, I will let you know.  Otherwise enjoy:

           The entire argument for the abortion controversy comes down to one issue, if the fetus is a human being, then abortion is murder, but if the fetus is not a human being then abortion is not murder.  When looking at God’s Word in the scriptures it is almost undeniable that a fetus is a human being.  There are multiple examples of the fetus being a human being, and there are multiple ways the Bible speaks of this idea.  This makes it very hard to see the fetus as anything other than a life given by God to the parents. 

             The first way the Bible talks about life before birth is through the idea that God actually forms the fetus in the womb of the mother.  The most well known scripture that speaks this way is in Psalm 139:13 which reads, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”  The imagery of God “knitting” us together inside the womb actually works quite well.  We know it takes a sperm cell to fertilize an ovum cell, but we still do not know exactly how these two cells coming together is able to begin a new life that will develop and grow into an infant that will grow and develop into an adult.  I am six feet tall and weigh 280 pounds, and yet at the point of conception I was a single cell that only a microscope could see.  God “knits” that single cell into a living being that is able to grow and develop into the man I am today.  Another place the Bible speaks this way is in Isaiah 44:2 where he says, “This is what the Lord says- he who made you, who formed you in the womb.”  Again in Isaiah 49:5 he says, “And now the Lord says- he who formed me in the womb to be his servant.” Isaiah is stating that the Lord expressed to him, that it is God’s work that is able to form the fetus which starts as a single cell, into the fetus that will be the infant that is born.  The fetus is formed by God and is a living human being in the womb.  The other well known Bible verse that fits in this category is Jeremiah 1:5 which reads, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”  This shows us God knew us before He formed us.  Even as a single cell fetus, that does not look like a human and is much smaller than a human, God knew us and knew He would continue to form us in the womb.  So these verses show us that God is the one who forms the fetus in the womb, making it a human being well before it is actually born. 

            However, this still does not answer the question of exactly at what point is the fetus a human being.  The second way the Bible speaks about this topic is by connecting the life of the child to starting at conception.  In Genesis 29 and 30, when Jacob is having his twelve sons through Leah and Rachel, each time a new son is born it uses the same phrase of “she conceived and gave birth to a son.”  Each time a new child is born, it always includes conception, showing that the life of the child began at conception.  This same phrase is used throughout the Bible.  Isaiah 8:3 again includes “she conceived and gave birth to a son,” when Isaiah made love to the prophetess.  In Hosea 1 it is Gomer who conceives and gives birth to a son.  And this is true for daughters too.  In Hosea 1, Gomer again conceives and gives birth to a daughter.  Then of course the most obvious use of this phrase is when Jesus is born of the Virgin Mary.  In Isaiah 7, he prophesies that the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son.  Then in Matthew 1, the angel who comes to Joseph tells him what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  Then Matthew writes that this was so in order to fulfill Isaiah 7.  In Luke 1, the angel tells Mary she will conceive and give birth to a son.  Even Jesus, who was born of a virgin, is still conceived showing that life truly begins at the point of conception. So we know God is the one who forms us in the womb starting at conception.  We are His precious creatures that He gives to our parents as a blessed gift.  With this being the way the Bible speaks about life before birth, it makes is clear a fetus is indeed a human being.  

     Happy Mother's Day to all mothers.  I especially thank my mom for successfully raising four children, (including me which is saying a lot).  You may drive us crazy at times, but it is only because you do everything you can to make sure we are safe, healthy, and in the true faith.   

      My prayers are with all pregnant woman who are not sure about being a mother and also to all woman desiring but struggling to be mothers.  Put your trust in the Lord at all times and know He is in control of all things. 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

We pray a prayer of thanksgiving for all the wonderful mothers who have raised us and taught us to live in your faith.  We pray that You be with all woman who are mothers of unborn children.  Please be with them, give them Your strength to bring their child safely into this world, letting them put their trust in You knowing that with You all things are possible.  We also pray that You be with all woman who wish to be a mother and are having difficulties.  Keep their hearts bold in You, that they know it is Your timing and will that is best.  Give them comfort and peace as they continue to cling to You as the giver of all life.  Keep us all in the one true faith that we may live our lives in a way that is pleasing in Your sight.  Through the name of Your Son we pray. Amen.  

Genetic Paper

      Greetings to you all in the name of Jesus.  Now that all the rush and excitement of last week has settled I am back to trying to finish this quarter.  I am down to two and a half papers and three finals.  I am trying to get the papers done this week and then finish the finals next week.  The last day of classes is next Thursday, which means I am officially homework free for a year and three months next Friday!!! This weekend is kind of a big deal as I will meet Erin's parents for the first time.  Nervous is not the word I would use to describe how I feel, but in the back of my mind I do realize this is kind of important to make a good impression.  I think it will be a great weekend though.  We are going to the Cardinals game on Saturday so I'm praying for nice weather.
      I am still talking to both my supervisor and the president of the congregation about my housing situation In South Dakota.  Since for the first week all three of us, retiring pastor, my supervisor, and myself, will be at the church we cannot all fit into two houses.  Then even after the retiring pastor moves out, they are going to remodel the parsonage.  So I think the latest I heard was I will be living with the president for two weeks, in an apartment for a month, and then finally able to move into the varsonage (vicar house) for the rest of the year.  It is kind of a hassle but I really do not mind and am just excited to be there.  I am however going to try to enjoy every moment with Erin that I can while we are still together.  We have two months together before we start our two years of long distance.  The first year while I am on vicarage, she will be on clinics in Memphis and Arizona, and then finishing classes in St. Louis.  Then when she graduates she will go back to Pennsylvania to work for a year while I finish fourth year here at the seminary.  It will be long and rough, but I have no doubt we can make it.
     My thought for the day is a bit more controversial then I tend to like to talk about.  For our Genetic Science in Christian Perspective class, our paper for the class has two halves.  The first half is to argue for why a fetus is a human being using only non-theological reasons.  The second half is to argue for why a fetus is a human being using only theological reasons.  I have the first half done and will post it on here.  I am not trying to start any blog wars or major debates, I am simply letting you read the paper I wrote for class.  I also want to point out that while I do believe abortion is killing a human being, I do not hate woman who have them or doctors who do them.  I am willing to tell them what they are doing is wrong, but I am a sinner too and try my hardest to show everyone the love of Christ.  This means that I would not walk up to any doctors who perform abortions and tell them they are wrong.  I would want to ask him or her questions, build a relationship with him or her, and then try to show him or her that I do not approve their actions because it is harmful for their eternal salvation.  I truly believe hate or anger does not give the Spirit a fair chance to work through you, but it is important to remember that it is the Spirit working through you.  Just show everyone the love Christ showed as He is our example and pray that the Spirit does indeed work through your actions.
     Before I post the paper, I want to highly recommend the book I used for most of my arguments for this paper.  The book is titled The Unaborted Socrates.  It is a book written by a philosopher who wrote it as if Socrates had come back to present day and used logic and the Socratic Method to bring a doctor, philosopher, and psychologist to the main issues at hand with abortion through dialogue.  I found this book phenomenal and read the entire thing in one evening.  If you are interested in this topic that is so prevalent in our society, I again encourage you to find a copy of this book and read it.  It is a very quick read.  With that said I will post my paper on here and hope it makes sense to you.  It could only be 800 words so it is fairly blunt and to the point at some places that I would have liked to more fully flush out.  Again, this one is the non-theological one trying to use logic and science to show that a fetus is a human being.  When I finish the theological half of the paper I will post it on here too.

             The topic of abortion is so highly controversial because one side says it is murder, while the other side says it is not.  The entire argument for this controversy comes down to one issue, and that is whether or not the fetus is a human being.  If the fetus is a human being, then abortion is murder, but if the fetus is merely property and not a human being then abortion is not murder. 

              This topic, even though it comes down to one main issue, is still so highly controversial because this issue of what exactly a fetus is, is not an easily proven issue.  There are many arguments for both sides that try to prove that it either is or it is not a human being.  In order to try to answer this core issue one must look at these arguments and decide what the truth of this issue is. 

            I do not want to bring theological arguments into this article because I want this article to purely look at the scientific and logical understandings of the fetus.  It is much easier to look at the reasons for why a fetus is not a human being. 

            The first argument for a fetus not being a human being is because some claim that it is part of the mother.  If this is true, then the fetus is the property of the mother with which she may do what she pleases.  It would be no different then if she wanted to remove a wart from her body.  However, if a fetus is part of a mother, then the fetus’s parts are the mother’s parts.  This means once the fetus develops feet the mother now has four feet.  Also, if it was part of the mother, the DNA would match the mother’s DNA.  However, the fetus has its own genetic code in its DNA, which means it is its own individual part, not part of the mother.  These two logical reasons prove the fetus is not part of the mother. 

            The second argument for a fetus not being a human is that it is a potential human.  A fetus starts out as a tiny group of cells that is not developed.  For the first portion of its existence it does not even look anything like a human.  However, a child is not fully developed compared to an adult, so how developed must one be before it is a human being?  Where do prematurely born babies fit into this category?   Also, even as an adult, a human being is still just a group of cells, just billions more in larger form.  Additionally, is not potential energy still energy that is just not being used?  So if a fetus is a potential human, does this not mean that the fetus is still a human that is not being used?  How is a potential human not a human?  Others include in this category that the baby must be able to live on its own in order to be a human.  If you give birth to a fetus prior to viability, it cannot survive outside the mother and therefore must not be a human being.  All the same though there are many infants and adults who cannot live on their own with medical or parental support.  Does this mean that a person whose lungs have collapsed or who has a fake heart valve and could not survive without medical technology are merely potential humans because they are not living completely on their own? 

            The third argument is asking the tough question of when does a human become a human.  Even if it is as a fetus, at what point during its time in the womb does it become an actual human.  Is it when it looks like a human in form?  However, there are many babies born without arms or legs or the definite form of a “normal healthy” adult.  Is it when it is viable? Again the argument above refutes that by the use of adults who are not viable.  Is it at conception?  This is when the sperm cell and the ovum cell come together and the new cell has its own unique genetic code. 

            My final point of this article is that the exact moment that a human becomes a unique, individual, actual human being has not been answered scientifically to an exact point.  However, because it is not answerable to an exact point, is it not better to be over protective and claim it is a living human too early versus too late?  If we cannot be a hundred percent certain that a fetus is a human from conception, is it not better to say it is and protect its life versus saying it is not and kill it?  

My prayer is one day every person realizes that a fetus is a human being that should be brought to life.  We live in a present evil age where sin flourishes, but we cling to our faith knowing one day in the new creation sin, death, and the Devil will be no more.  While we live in this present evil age, we try to live a life in the faith and through our faith that is an example to others and stands up for those who cannot protect themselves, including fetuses.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
Every child is a blessing from You, please help to remind us of the wonderful gifts they are.  Please be with and protect all children still in the womb, and help those who are considering abortion to hear Your word and know what precious blessing you have given them.  Please be with all women who have had an abortion.  Let them know the fullness of Your forgiveness, that they may know through Christ all sins are forgiven. Remind us all that through You all things are possible, even the end of abortions.  Use Your faithful children to be beacons of Your light in this dark world and let all we do be for Your names sake.  In the name of Christ who died and rose to make death no longer an enemy, Amen.  

South Dakota!!!!

For all of those who were not able to watch the live stream, I got my vicarage placement today.  The joke of our class for the past few weeks has been that there was one vicarage in South Dakota and I am now the butt of that joke.  However, in all honesty, I could not be more excited.  I have heard great things about the church and the supervisor I will be working under.  The Lord has blessed me in so many ways to bring me this far and I have no doubt He will continue to lead me and work through me in the wonderful land of South Dakota.  I will be at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Brookings, South Dakota.  Bring on the hunting, fishing, winter snow, and faithful people of God and His church.  All prayers are appreciated as I finish out this quarter, work through the summer, and begin my first year in the ministry next fall.  He is good, He is good indeed, Praise Him name. Amen.