Jesus v. Abortion

by Charles K Bellinger

Overview

There are three main positions that people adopt within the abortion debate: pro-life, muddled middle, and pro-choice. Jesus v. Abortion critiques the pro-choice and muddled middle positions, employing several unusual angles: (1) The question ""What would Jesus say about abortion if he were here today?"" is given very substantial treatment. (2) The abortion debate is usually conducted using moral and metaphysical arguments; this book adds in anthropological insights regarding the function of violence in human culture. (3) Rights language is employed by both sides of the debate, to opposite ends; this book leads the reader to ask deep questions about the concept of ""rights."" (4) The use of historical analogies in the abortion debate goes both directions, in the sense that both sides accuse the other of being similar to the defenders of slavery; this book contains what is probably the most sophisticated and sustained analysis of the meaning and legitimacy of such analogies. (5) Many important thinkers are brought into this conversation, such as Soren Kierkegaard, Eric Voegelin, Julien Benda, Simone Weil, Kenneth Burke, Richard Weaver, Rene Girard, Philip Rieff, Giorgio Agamben, Chantal Delsol, Paul Kahn, and David Bentley Hart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498235051
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	06/16/2016
Series:	Theopolitical Visions , #19
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Charles K. Bellinger is Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. He is the author of The Genealogy of Violence: Reflections on Creation, Freedom, and Evil (2001), The Trinitarian Self: The Key to the Puzzle of Violence (2008), and The Joker Is Satan, and So Are We: And Other Essays on Violence and Christian Faith (2010).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: "The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him" 1

Part 1 Understanding Violence (and Human Rights) 11

1 Why Are Human Beings Violent? Examining the Question and Some Answers 13

2 "They hated me without a cause": Violence as Resistance to Growth in Selfhood 26

3 "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself": Violence as Crowd Phenomenon 39

4 "You shall love God … and your neighbor as yourself": Violence as a Rejection of Balanced Consciousness 52

Part 2 Arguments: Superficial and Deep 67

5 "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor?": Jesus and the Lawyer's Question 69

6 "Those who want to save their life will lose it": Kierkegaard vs. Individualism 86

7 "Whoever welcomes one such child": Maternity on Leave 101

8 "Will he find faith on the earth?": Eric Voegelin vs. Deicide and Homicide 112

9 "I desire mercy, not sacrifice": René Girard on Contemporary Scapegoats 126

10 "Why do you not notice the log in your own eye?": The Deepest Irony of Nominalism 139

Part 3 Historical Reenactments 153

11 "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them": Everyone Struggles against Tyranny-That's Our Problem 155

12 "I have the power to crucify you": Justice Blackmun = Pontius Pilate 170

13 "Many gave false testimony": Pro-Choice Historical Revisionism 181

14 "All who do evil hate the light": The Grand Inquisitor of Philadelphia 198

15 "You are descendants of those who murdered the prophets": The Slavery/Shoah Analogy 209

16 "We would not have taken part with them": Attempted Refutations of the Analogy 223

17 "The blood of all the prophets will be charged against this generation": Analogies and Reenactments 237

18 "Whoever is not against us is for us": Beverly Mitchell, Paul Kahn, Simone Weil, Philip Rieff, Chantal Delsol, Giorgio Agamben, Julien Benda 261

Part 4 The Way Forward 283

19 "There was a man who had two sons": Pro-life Conversion Stories 285

20 "You must be born again": Saula of Tarsus 297

21 "Be wise as serpents, but gentle as doves": Win the Person, Not the Argument 308

Bibliography 323

Index 337

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Dr. Bellinger's powerful pro-life case delivers a wake-up call to both Church and nation. He brings a formidable philosophical, historical, and theological intelligence to the retrieval of a lost wisdom, compassion, and spiritual maturity. A culture that is officially pro-choice, yet actually imprisoned in nihilism, Gnosticism, and nominalism, is shown an alternative beyond its foundational violence and functional Godlessness. Jesus v. Abortion offers a liberating perspective to feminists, doctors, jurists, legislators, and liberal Christians—also to millions of women who are either marching, dawdling, or else being dragged towards abortion."
—Scott Cowdell, Research Professor in Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia; Canon Theologian, Canberra-Goulburn Anglican Diocese

"In clear, straightforward prose, Bellinger boldly proposes that Christians cast off their fear of referring to Jesus when discussing abortion. His wide-ranging historical and anthropological sources demonstrate how abortion conforms to the patterns of violence that Jesus revealed both by his words and by his death. Jesus v. Abortion should inject both honesty and anthropological acumen into the debate."
—Bernadette Waterman Ward, Associate Professor of English, University of Dallas

"Bellinger has written a book on abortion unlike any other. It is truly a revelation from beginning to end, starting with his observation that few thinkers on either side of the moral debate on this issue have permitted themselves to refer to what Jesus tells us on the subject. Intended for both pro-choice and pro-life thinkers alike, the text exhorts both sides to face the contradictions and weaknesses in their usual positions, while suggesting a new starting place for the discussion: a profound analysis of the anthropological roots of violence itself. Bellinger demonstrates that it is our reliance on often confused and blurry uses of 'rights language' that has short-circuited any investigation of this singular aspect of the human condition—and obscured the truth that lies at the heart of the debate. Using a surprising breadth of sources, both scholarly and personal, Bellinger provides the reader with fresh insights into what is certainly one of the most urgent issues of our age."
—Deborah Savage, Codirector, Siena Symposium for Women, Family, and Culture; Professor of Philosophy and Theology, St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity

Editorial Reviews

"Dr. Bellinger's powerful pro-life case delivers a wake-up call to both Church and nation. He brings a formidable philosophical, historical, and theological intelligence to the retrieval of a lost wisdom, compassion, and spiritual maturity. A culture that is officially pro-choice, yet actually imprisoned in nihilism, Gnosticism, and nominalism, is shown an alternative beyond its foundational violence and functional Godlessness. Jesus v. Abortion offers a liberating perspective to feminists, doctors, jurists, legislators, and liberal Christians—also to millions of women who are either marching, dawdling, or else being dragged towards abortion."
—Scott Cowdell, Research Professor in Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia; Canon Theologian, Canberra-Goulburn Anglican Diocese

"In clear, straightforward prose, Bellinger boldly proposes that Christians cast off their fear of referring to Jesus when discussing abortion. His wide-ranging historical and anthropological sources demonstrate how abortion conforms to the patterns of violence that Jesus revealed both by his words and by his death. Jesus v. Abortion should inject both honesty and anthropological acumen into the debate."
—Bernadette Waterman Ward, Associate Professor of English, University of Dallas

"Bellinger has written a book on abortion unlike any other. It is truly a revelation from beginning to end, starting with his observation that few thinkers on either side of the moral debate on this issue have permitted themselves to refer to what Jesus tells us on the subject. Intended for both pro-choice and pro-life thinkers alike, the text exhorts both sides to face the contradictions and weaknesses in their usual positions, while suggesting a new starting place for the discussion: a profound analysis of the anthropological roots of violence itself. Bellinger demonstrates that it is our reliance on often confused and blurry uses of 'rights language' that has short-circuited any investigation of this singular aspect of the human condition—and obscured the truth that lies at the heart of the debate. Using a surprising breadth of sources, both scholarly and personal, Bellinger provides the reader with fresh insights into what is certainly one of the most urgent issues of our age."
—Deborah Savage, Codirector, Siena Symposium for Women, Family, and Culture; Professor of Philosophy and Theology, St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity

From the Publisher