Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue

by R. C. Sproul

Publisher:

Reformation Trust

, 2010

ISBN: 9781567692099

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Overview

In Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue, Dr. R.C. Sproul employs his unique perspective as a highly experienced pastor-theologian and a trained philosopher to provide well-considered and compassionate answers to the difficult questions that attend termination of pregnancy. Dr. Sproul strives for a factual, well-reasoned approach informed by careful biblical scholarship. He considers both sides of this issue in terms of biblical teaching, civil law, and natural law. This edition has been updated to reflect developments in the issue of abortion.

For more from Dr. Sproul, check out the Crossway R.C. Sproul Collection (6 vols.).

Foreword by Dr. George Grant
Discussion questions
Background on the issue of when life begins
List of pro-life resources
Bibliographical references and index

Top Highlights

“At the heart of the abortion issue rests one overarching question: Is abortion a form of murder? In other words, does abortion involve the willful destruction of a living human person?” (Page 6)

“What is a fetus? The question is objective, not subjective. To determine the status of a fetus is not a matter of personal, arbitrary caprice. The fetus is either alive or not alive. The fetus is either human or not human. The fetus is either a person or not a person. What I think the fetus is does not determine which of these it actually is.” (Page 9)

“When we turn to the Bible, we discover that it offers no explicit statement that life begins at a certain point or that there is human life before birth. However, Scripture assumes a continuity of life from before the time of birth to after the time of birth. The same language and the same personal pronouns are used indiscriminately for both stages. Further, God’s involvement in the life of the person extends back to conception (and even before conception).” (Page 46)

“The abortion debate is not over whether or not murder should be legalized; it is a debate over whether or not abortion is a kind of murder.” (Page 7)

“More women have died from abortions in the United States since abortion was legalized than in the preceding times of illegal abortion. This is due not to the incompetence of the physicians but to the huge increase in the number of abortions performed.” (Pages 104–105)

This is an important book for all Christians interested in bringing their beliefs to bear upon the world around them. Abortion is one of the most critical issues of our day, and R.C. Sproul looks at it through the lenses of theology, philosophy, and reason. This book is refreshingly free of hyperbole, and yet does not compromise the truth.

—Jim Daly, president, Focus on the Family

R.C. Sproul’s rapier logic will put to flight rationalistic defenders of abortion. Those torn between conflicting claims about the humanity of the unborn, the role of government, and the rights of women will find this book particularly instructive.

—Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief, WORLD magazine

R.C. Sproul covers the issues candidly and objectively—without the emotion and demagoguery that so often pervade the abortion debate. You are the jury; you decide the verdict.

—John MacArthur, pastor-teacher, Grace Community Church

R.C. Sproul (1939-2017) was a respected teacher, theologian, and pastor. He is the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries where he serves as executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.

Sproul held degrees from Westminster College, Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary, Free University of Amsterdam, and Whitefield Theological Seminary. OVer his career, he taught at several colleges and seminaries including Reformed Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary, and served as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, in Sanford, Florida. Sproul’s teaching can be heard regularly on the “Renewing Your Mind” radio broadcast which plays in over 40 countries.

Sproul wrote over 70 books and numerous articles including the classic The Holiness of God, exegetical works in the R.C. Sproul Exposition Collection, and several theological articles in Tabletalk magazine.