In a column originally published in Charisma News, our friend Kevin McGary, founder and president of Every Black Life Matters, dismantles Rev. Al Sharpton's exegesis of the biblical support for the right-to-life. The column is reposted here with the kind permission of the author.
No, Rev. Sharpton, We Haven't 'Hijacked the Bible and Jesus' After All
In a recent interview on MSNBC, Al Sharpton attempted to wax profound by asserting, "The pro-life movement has hijacked the Bible and Jesus."
Really, Al? His claim raises a serious question: "Have the Bible and Jesus been hijacked, or are we finally seeing aspects of Scripture being faithfully applied?"
Sharpton, controversial and hyperbolic at times, is true to form when he launches into ideologically partisan, racist screeds asserting the Bible and Jesus are being distorted and misquoted by "right-wing" (Trump-supporting) activists. But really: Has the pro-life movement distorted or misquoted Jesus and the Bible? Let's investigate.
Start with Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV), which reports God's actual words: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." No complex interpretation is needed there—God declared he not only intricately and perfectly "forms" every individual while in the womb, but even before that, He "knows" us and gives us His ordained purpose and destiny. Furthermore, God cherishes His highest creative work and expressly forbids the murder of any human being in the Sixth Commandment.
If Al Sharpton deserved the title "reverend," then he should credit those two fundamental truths of the Judeo-Christian worldview. It should be obvious that we devalue God's creation and arrogantly dismiss and usurp His perfect and ordained will by deciding to unjustly kill His highest creation.
Turn next to Proverbs 6:16-19, which confirms that God literally hates "hands that shed innocent blood." If we are faithfully committed to aligning with God by rejecting everything He hates, wouldn't that mean we would reject the shedding of the innocent blood of babies via abortion? Sharpton's assertion that the Bible is being "distorted" (by "right-wing" activists) on this issue is ridiculous. But never forget: A person who asserts a pretty obviously erroneous or self-contradictory statement as the truth is an intentional deceiver. And anyone who claims to be Christian but changes a fundamental Bible truth is accursed. (Gal. 1:6-9).
Many progressives like Sharpton attempt to deflect inconvenient truths about God by quickly shifting to claims about Jesus' directions to "take care of the poor." Let's confirm what Jesus actually said about that.
In the New Testament, Jesus is nowhere quoted as saying, "take care of the poor." However, Jesus, in several conversations and a parable, implied it was a good deed to care for the poor. One of Jesus' two commandments was "love your neighbor," and it would include helping the poor. Still, Jesus' best-known example involved a case not of a poor man but of a person in a different ethnic group who had suffered a violent robbery.
Now, do Sharpton and progressives themselves actually care for the poor? Generally, we define "the poor" as those who suffer severe lack, with seemingly limited or no capacity to improve their condition (due to infirmities, lack of skill sets, education, drugs and so forth), and are also overlooked by society. With that in mind, unborn babies should be viewed as the poorest of the poor! Those already born have the opportunity to be seen and to ask others for help. Through the compassion and philanthropic generosity of others, humans outside the womb have the potential to improve their condition. Unborn babies, by contrast, are unseen, are wholly dependent, cannot cry out and cannot garner compassion or generosity from others to improve their condition. Unborn babies can only hope the mother will give them the life God ordained.
Any person genuinely committed to "the poor," for principled consistency, must acknowledge an unwavering commitment to unborn babies in the womb (the poorest of the poor). Sharpton is purely ideological, so it's doubtful he'd ever become principled on this issue. His supposed "caring for the poor," while dismissing the true "poorest of the poor," is corrupt and pathetic!.
As an ordained minister, he should know and understand the aforementioned biblical truths. As a longtime activist, he certainly knows Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, asserted her basis and rationale for starting abortion clinics was to eliminate "the unfit" and "exterminate the Negro population." He knows she was a eugenicist and grotesque racist who hated Blacks. Sharpton is not stupid, so he must know up to 90% of Sanger's "clinics" are within walking distance of Black urban areas (in support of her vision to "exterminate Negros"). Since Blacks are a relatively small percentage of the population (child-bearing aged Black women account for only approximately 3.5% demographic), locating abortion facilities near Black neighborhoods confirms the disproportional strategic targeting of Blacks for "extermination." Since Sharpton knows these facts yet fully supports the evil scheme of abortion while casting aspersions on "right-wing" pro-lifers, he is, by definition, a racist.
What can overcome these facts to change my mind? Sincere, decent people cannot ignore these accurate descriptions of Sharpton's views and actions. It's baffling how he can remain a popular public figure with the stature and platform to bring about good while he chooses to be ideologically rigid against the right to life. His words and action show his subservience as he bows to his real god, the god of progressive culture. Sharpton is proud of who he is, and we should all begin to view him just as he consistently displays what he is: as ridiculous, pathetic and racist!
Kevin McGary is an entrepreneur, author and keynote speaker. He serves as president of Every Black Life Matters, chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation of California, and is an executive with the Douglass Leadership Institute and the Northstar Leadership PAC. As a professional, Kevin has worked the past 35 years in information technology expertise: cybersecurity, enterprise applications, application development automation and enterprise job scheduling/utilities. Committed to developing innovative and new approaches to today's sociopolitical issues, and with the assistance of elected officials and a myriad of community activists, he lectures and provides workshops about today's most perplexing issues.
Every Black Life Matters is an organization dedicated to being principled and consistent. We seek to mitigate bitter division and hate and pursue ways to unify America. To that end, we will continue to call out unprincipled racist provocateurs seeking to continue the division in America instead of seeking unity along with us. Sharpton is one of many, so as we combat racists like him, will you stand with us? Will you help support our many efforts to unify America? Please join us in partnership at everyblm.com.
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