wfn.org | The being and nature of the unborn child was subject of luncheon

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #5974 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

25-June-2000
GA00027
	The being and nature of the unborn child was subject of luncheon
	
	by Nancy Rodman

LONG BEACH, June 25 -- In a paper read at the annual Presbyterians Pro-Life
General Assembly luncheon, Scottish theologian Thomas F. Torrance
underscored the importance of the incarnation to the understanding of and
regard for the unborn child, and related theological understanding of life
to recent findings of scientific research.

	The human embryo is already genetically complete from the moment of
conception, a fact, Torrance wrote, that can be explained only by "a
controlling source of information [that] bears upon the human nature and
life of the developing embryo from the beginning."

	  Because Jesus was made one of us and one with us, Torrance maintained,
the virgin birth of Jesus is an essential part of the gospel of salvation. 
It is this understanding that led the theologians of the early church to
trace "the root of redemption not only to the death and resurrection of
Christ, but to his very conception and birth."  Because of the virgin birth,
the fetus is sanctified by Jesus as an embryonic person.

	 "The doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus and its redemptive significance
must be recovered for a proper understanding of the redemptive life and
mission of Christ," Torrance wrote.  "Moreover," he continued, "the virgin
birth is crucial to our grasp of the nature and status in Christ's eyes of
the unborn child."  Without proper thought for the unborn child, he
asserted, there can be no appreciation of Jesus' relation as the incarnate
creator to every human being.

	Moving from theology to scientific research, Torrance noted findings that
show evidence of consciousness in the fetus.  In the light of scientific and
theological evidence, he asked, "is not abortion an act of murder and a
grave sin against the Lord Jesus?"

	Torrance's paper concluded with a reflection on Jesus weeping for Jerusalem
and likening abortion, particularly in Christian countries, to a holocaust. 
 "Can we not allow the tears that continue to flow from the compassionate
pleading eyes of the Lord Jesus, the Redeemer's tears, [to] quench the 
flames of holocaust?"

	A condensed version of the paper, "The Being and Nature of the Unborn
Child," was read in Torrance's absence by the Rev. Gerrit Dawson, pastor of
First Presbyterian Church, Lenoir, N.C.  Torrance was unable to travel from
Scotland to the United States because of poor health.

	Torrance is a retired Professor of Christian Dogmatics at the University of
Edinburgh, a former moderator of the Church of Scotland, and a recipient of
the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

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