Is there a need to teach about current moral issues in our society and culture from the church pulpit? I think the answer is yes. I believe there is a need to educate the congregation to hold a firm stance on issues of same-sex marriage and abortion, as these two issues seem to be the hot-potato of our current culture.
But taking a step back, rather than being frontal with why same-sex marriage is wrong or why abortion shouldn't be permitted, I think a much more dire issue that must be discussed is why we hold such a worldview. Because in the end, it all boils down to what worldview we hold.
A person's worldview is what will inform the person to take a certain stance on the issues mentioned above. So what worldview does a Christian person hold, to make him/her go against the moral revolution that is accepting of same-sex marriage and abortion? I believe it comes down to how one sees humans through a biblical worldview.
Is a human being made in the image of God"”made with a soul to think, feel, and act like no other living being? Or made through evolution, "somehow" formed from what was originally a molecule in the primordial soup? If we humans are made in the image of God, there is no question to why protecting human life (against abortion) and the ability to create human life (which is only possible through heterosexual intercourse) is extremely important. On the other hand, if we come from a chemical evolution, then what differentiates us from a tree out in the forest, or a rat in the sewers of NY subway?
It is the biblical worldview that gives true value to a human being"”and it is this worldview that should be taught from the pulpit.
Reverend Joseph Choi is a senior chaplain of the Spiritual Care Department at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, CA. He also serves as a chaplain for the U.S. Army Reserves, and as the English ministry pastor at Sanctification Presbyterian Church in Gardena, CA.
