Minister’s message: Our horror at the killing of babies

Infanticide – the killing of babies – has probably been practiced since the dawn of civilization, writes the Rev James Gatherer. That most of us look upon it with horror is because we have been brought up in a land where Judeo-Christian values have had a strong influence for one and a half thousand years.

The Lord Jesus lived in the Roman Empire where, like the Greek Empire before it, the disposal of unwanted babies was commonplace. Both Plato and Aristotle recommended infanticide as a form of birth control and Tacitus, one of Rome’s greatest politicians, thought the Jewish abhorrence of it as another one of their ‘sinister and revolting practices’.

The modern accepted belief that every life is of equal value and that every human being has a right to live a life worth living did not come from the Greeks or the Romans where slavery and infanticide were normal; it is not the product of the Enlightenment or the Modern world; nor was it discovered by scientists. Its roots lie with the ancient Israelites who believed that human beings were made in the image of God who created them male and female in equality.

The story of creation presents Adam as becoming human when God breathes his Spirit into his body. This Judeo-Christian belief – that every life is sacred – has been proclaimed in our land for 1500 years. We have been brought up to accept it as true – this is partly why we have been shocked at the recent events in the Middle East as, indeed, have peoples across the world regardless of their religious beliefs. Once again we have been reminded that we live in a violent, uncertain world, where it is often the most vulnerable that suffer first and most.

Most of us seek a life worth living and long for it. We hurt when we don’t have it. The Lord Jesus promised that those who seek and ask and knock will find what they are looking for if they look to him and believe in him.

Our two Sunday services, 9.30 am in the Hall and 11.00 am in the Church, are times and places where the teachings and promises of the Lord Jesus are remembered with gladness and hope A welcome for everyone is always there at our community church whatever your story.

The Peace of the Lord Jesus be with you …

James Gatherer