While pro-lifers and abolitionists claim to have the exact same goal, there are clear differences. Jeff Durbin of the Apologia Church calls himself the latter — and for good reason.
“There’s a difference, and this is what everyone who identifies as pro-life needs to hear. When you see, hear, the terminology ‘pro-life,’ it’s just ‘for life.’ ‘I’m for life, not for choice, not pro-abortion, I’m for life,’” Durbin explains. “So there’s nothing bad about the terminology, and we’re not decrying like the typical person who’s a Christian in the pew saying, ‘I’m pro-life.’”
“They just think, ‘We’re trying to abolish abortion, we’re trying to end this thing at this injustice.’ They don’t know what’s going on. Many of them in the background, many pastors are ignorant of this as well. There’s a difference between the pro-life establishment, the pro-life industry, and the average Christian who says ‘I’m pro-life,’” he continues.
Durbin tells Deace that the pro-life establishment and the pro-life industry are “the greatest [enemies] to the abolition of abortion right now in our nation.”
“Those in the establishment are proud. They brag on the fact that they are not approaching this issue from a Christian standpoint,” he explains.
“They’re approaching it from a biological standpoint. In other words, they’ll say things like, ‘If we could just prove to the world that what’s in the womb is human from fertilization, we could just show these mothers the baby and the heartbeat and the baby moving around, then they won’t want to kill these babies anymore.’”
“If we assume their motivations are good, they are thinking this is a question of a critical mass of evidence, and you guys would say this is actually a question of authority,” Deace comments.
“It’s a question of authority, it’s a question of worldview, and ultimately, I would say, it’s a sin issue,” Durbin responds. “We are in a place as a nation where people love the idea of a mother being able to execute her child in the womb at will, that she has the freedom to do that, that it’s a moral right; it is a noble thing; it is a good thing.”
“So the problem ultimately with abortion in our nation, according to the Christian worldview, according to the word of God, it’s a problem of sin; it’s not a problem of a lack of evidence or a lack of light,” he continues.
While Durbin acknowledges that the coercion of women to get abortions is of course a massive problem, he believes the pro-life establishment’s position on abortion is keeping that alive “by not giving equal protection to the child.”
“So the issue is sin. The issue is rebellion. Child sacrifice is a very serious sin that’s existed throughout the history of humanity. I mean, at times, people were taking their children and throwing them into the fire so they would have blessings and financial prosperity,” he explains, adding, “it’s as old as the hills.”
“The establishment says, ‘We can’t approach this issue with the word of God, with the authority of Christ. We can’t call people to repentance and faith. We can’t make this about the gospel,’” he continues. “So, the abolitionists say, ‘The Christian message here is that first and foremost this is sin against God. God demands justice for these children.’ God’s standards are very clear here.”
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