Paul the Poke

Chief Justice John Roberts has confirmed the leaked “Opinion of the Court” from Justice Samuel Alito is authentic. The majority first draft by Justice Alito sets the stage for each individual state to make a decision on abortion. Currently, the vote appears to be 5 (Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett) to 3 (Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan). Chief Justice John Roberts’ vote has yet to be determined as of the posting of this article.

A fence has been erected around the Supreme Court. Protests from both sides of the issue were taking place throughout the day at the Court.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Justice Alito.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.” -Justice Alito

For those who want to read the complete “Opinion of the Court”, click on the link below.

Click to access scotus-initial-draft.pdf

For the original breaking story, see the link from Politico.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473

See the YouTube link below for additional analysis.

This topic is an absolute lightning rod. This is an adult conversation. Passions are running hot. Please keep all comments to be thoughtful, respectful and considerate of others even if one disagrees with another. To brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ, be mindful of Who we are representing. We are held to a higher standard.

For those who disagree, file your complaint with the good Lord. He can handle your opinion. You are free to launch your protest. He knows it before you utter your dissent. Keep in mind, His standards are fixed. He is not interested in redefining standards to meet your needs or moral platitudes.

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What does God think about the act of taking a life inside the womb of a mother? In the 20th and 21st century, this act is called abortion.

In our modern day enlightened culture, we would like to think abortion is a new and progressive issue. It may surprise many that this practice of taking life from the womb, as well as life from the mother, was occurring approximately 2,750 years ago as documented by the prophet Amos and by an unknown author (Jewish tradition suspects the prophet Jeremiah) in 2 Kings. We can’t hide what God says. There is nothing new under the sun.

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These are the words inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.

2 Kings 8:11-12 Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep. “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.”

We will start with and focus on the Hebrew word for evil. It is ra’. The word means bad, adversity, or evil. The first time this word occurs is in the book of Genesis.

Genesis 2:9b The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil was the bearer of the forbidden fruit. In essence, God is explaining to humanity. If you want to know about evil, you will experience evil. God’s instructions to Adam were direct and to the point.

God’s way: to trust in God’s provision is everlasting life. And don’t forget, humanity was created eternal. Or humanity’s way: to know good and evil is death. And so it was, a simple choice.

Life or death?

Genesis 2:17 …but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

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So going back to our verses from 2 Kings 8:11-12. There were four acts of evil Elisha told Hazael he would commit.

1. set fire to their fortresses
2. kill their young men with the sword
3. dash their little ones to pieces
4. rip open their pregnant women

Taking life from the womb of a pregnant woman is evil. Taking the life of the mother is evil. Dashing and cutting babies to pieces is evil. It is murderous.

Exodus 20:13 You shall not murder.

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These are the words inspired by the Holy Spirit of God to the prophet Amos.

Amos 1:13 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.

The Ammonites are clearly repeat offenders of taking the lives of pregnant women and taking life inside the womb.

Pasha or transgressions can also be translated as rebellious acts.

The transgressions or rebellious acts are defined by God: because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead.

God has consequences for Ammonites. And because of these events, God promises fire, a tempest wind storm (this could be translated as a whirlwind or tornado), and leadership into exile in Amos 1:14-15.

Scripture is clear. God does not approve of the act of taking life inside the womb of a mother. And God does not approve of taking the life of the mother. He is pro life.

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As far as sin goes, there is no sliding scale of severity with God. Abortion is no worse of an iniquity than any other sin. It is humanity who has redefined, ordered and prioritized which sins are worse, not God.

Remember that death, disease, pains, suffering, hard labor and environmental changes came into being because a forbidden piece of fruit was eaten. God takes any sin seriously to the point of death. As God sees it, sin is sin.

James 2:10-11 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Let’s be real. We are all sinners with many different issues. The end result of sin is the same, death.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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The topic of abortion has brought a tremendous amount of pain, suffering and regret to many including unborn victims, moms, dads, grandparents, families and friends. The topic Roe v Wade has been polarizing and divisive for close to 50 years in the United States. It is ripping and tearing the fabric of our society.

To the body of Christ, this is an encouragement for us to offer the grace of Jesus we have been afforded in spite of our sins. Believers in Jesus are accurately accused of pointing fingers in judgment and condescension to those who are suffering in matters regarding the issue of abortion (as well as many others). Please be considerate and sensitive to the hurts of others.

Grace, mercy, and forgiveness…

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Life or Death?

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

This entry was posted on May 3, 2022 at 8:46 PM and is filed under #PaulthePoke, Culture, Trend Update with tags 2 Kings 8, abortion, Amos 1, Chief Justice John Roberts, death, evil, Fall of Man, first draft, Genesis, God, James 2, Jesus Christ, John 3:16, Justice Samuel Alito, life, Opinion of the Court, ra, Roe v Wade, sin, states rights, Supreme Court, Tree of Good and Evil. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.