For almost 50 years Christians of all stripes and denominations as well as politically conservative Americans have been speaking, writing, and lobbying for the overthrow of legalized abortion here in the States. Last week a huge advancement legally as well as a significant symbolic step took place last week with the Supreme Courts’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
For many, such a reversal seemed unlikely if not impossible. The right to abortion seemed woven into the fabric of American life and the legal definition of the right to privacy. But here we are. The legality of abortion has been put on the shoulders of individual states. Local politics matter now more than ever.
My family and I have decided to make June 24 a kind of family holiday to commemorate and celebrate the overturning of such an unjust judgment as Roe v. Wade and to offer thanks and gratitude to the Lord for His mercy in this way and in the saving of so many lives.
When such a momentous change took place I couldn’t help but hope that other seemingly unlikely or impossible changes could also come about. One of those of course is the hope that the English-speaking church would return to a single text of Scripture as a united rule of faith and practice.
Certainly, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Baptists differ on church governance but they can all share the same English text of Scripture. We may differ on the efficacy of the communion elements or the mode of baptism but we can agree on a standard sacred text. We may even disagree on the nature and scope of the creation account in Genesis and even the role of free will in light of divine sovereignty, but we can all hold to, read from, teach from, and evangelize from one English text of Scripture.
In this way we could be united as a Church by the Spirit around the words of our Savior in a way the Church has never enjoyed in the modern and post-modern eras. And why not? What does the proliferation of versions provide that such unity in the word of God does not overshadow?
Roe v. Wade seemed unconquerable, and so does the continual commercialization of and experimentation on the Scriptures. But that is not the case, which is why we must all continue in the work and remain faithful. Perhaps in my lifetime a new family holiday will be in order and that for the reuniting of God’s people around God’s word by the power of God’s Spirit.
N.B. – Don’t forget that we have book deals going on all 4th of July weekend. Check out this post for more details.
Standard Sacred Text.com 