Volume 2 Number 2 January 24, 2007

MarketFaith Ministries is an equipping ministry which is focused on helping Christians become more effective
in living out their faith in the midst of the increasingly diverse worldview environment of modern society.
Introduction

Greetings and salutations as we get fully cranked into the new year. What an exciting time to be a Christian! Not that ev-
erything is going our way. In fact, a lot of things are not. But the beauty of the situation is that this presents us with many
unique opportunities to share the gospel with those who are opposing us. But if we are going to be effective, it is absolute-
ly necessary for us to get a handle on worldview. It is our deepest prayer that this newsletter, along with other Market-
Faith Ministry resources, is providing you with valuable tools to help you become more effective.

Over the last couple of issues I have shared with you some resources that we are currently developing. Let me give you
an update.

First, the audio version of Total Freedom is completed. You can order this two CD set for only $9.95 from the secure order
form at the MarketFaith Ministries website.

Secondly, we have the bugs worked out of the autorun CD worldview training program. There are still a few issues to
work out to get it up on the website, but it will be there very soon and we will send you a special notification when it is up.
(Continued on page 2)

Worldview and Abortion

The whole idea of worldview seems so philosophical. Even
the word itself seems to take you into that arena. And cer-
tainly the philosophical element is there. You can get into
some really deep discussions about the topic if you want to.
But there is really nothing more practical than the real world
expressions of worldview. What people believe in the core
of their being will be expressed concretely, and blatantly, in
everyday life. It determines the way we think and the way
we act.
This week marks the 34th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade
decision that legalized abortion. While many have argued
that this was purely a legal decision based on a lack of evi-
dence that an embryo is an actual human life, it is actually
based on a worldview assumption. The practical outcome of
this decision is that during the last 34 years, over 42 million
pre-born babies have been put to death.
In this article, we want to take a look at how a person’s
worldview plays into decisions like this so that we can more
clearly understand the practical implications of worldview
and make more informed decisions about how we should
personally respond.
When specifically thinking about abortion, there are three
questions that we need to deal with. We need to under-
stand:
1. When does life start?
2. Who has the right to end another’s life? and
3. What is the value of human life?
Let’s look at question one. Whereas there used to be more
confusion in scientific circles about the moment life starts,
there is now a pretty strong consensus in the scientific com-
munity that life begins when a sperm and ovum come to-
gether. At that point, a new (Continued on page 2)

Contact MarketFaith Ministries

312 Anton Dr. Toll Free: 888-883-0656
Tallahassee, FL 32312 info@marketfaith.org Phone: 850-383-9756
http://www.marketfaith.org Fax: 850-514-4571

1
(Introduction - Continued from page 1)
Finally, we are continuing to make great progress on the next book, Worldview Witnessing. We are looking to publish and
release it in the early spring. I believe it will be a tremendous and practical resource to help Christians become more ef-
fective in their ability to witness to people with other belief systems.

We would like to get some feedback from you. Tell us what you think about this newsletter and the resources that are on
the website. Also, let us know what would you like to know about the implications of worldview. We want to do all we can
to make worldview practical for you and your witness.

Also, would you please take a moment to forward this issue of Worldview Made Practical to all of your Christian friends
and encourage them to sign up. It is free, of course, and this will be a great gift to give. Subscription information is found
below, or people can go to http://www.marketfaith.org and sign up directly on the website.

(Worldview and Abortion - Continued from page 1)

individual is created which is unique from its mother. But this fact alone is not sufficient to put aside the arguments of
abortion proponents. To many in the “abortion on demand” community, the certainty of the presence of life is not the
most important factor. Rather, they are more concerned with the relative value of the life itself versus the need, or desire,
of the mother to have control over her own body.

As for question two, abortion proponents also have ways to finesse this issue. Very few would probably be proponents
of killing already born individuals. But they manage to put pre-born children into a different category. They assert that the
preborn do not yet have any kind of quality of life - as if the so called “quality of life” is somehow more important than life
itself.

But it is question number three that gets us to the real point. This is the one that directs us straight to the issue of world-
view. The question becomes, where does the value of life come from? While as Christians we believe that there is an
objective answer to this question, people who come from other worldviews will answer this question in entirely different
ways. And, of course, the way that the question is answered will determine the way that life is treated in the real world.

Let’s start by identifying how the different worldviews deal with the topic of the value of life, and we will begin to see why
there are varying positions on abortion.

Naturalism
The Naturalistic worldview does not acknowledge the existence of the supernatural. It’s defining element is that every-
thing which exists is the result of eternal evolutionary processes. There is no creator God who did anything intentionally,
so there is no transcendent meaning in any part of the natural order.

As a result, whatever meaning that individuals experience about anything in this life, is believed to be self created. This,
of necessity, also applies to the human individual. There is no inherent meaning to the life of human beings. We are sim-
ply the top of the food chain. Humans are nothing more than the animal creature which has managed to evolve a more
complex brain than any other animal.

When applied to the topic of abortion, this means that an embryo is nothing more than a mass of tissue with no inherent
value. If value is assigned to it, it is simply the arbitrary meaning that an individual or group gives it based on personal or
group needs. So, if killing the embryo does not cause problems for the individual or for society, there is nothing wrong
with it.

Animism
Animism asserts that humans are physical beings with a spiritual core. When a human’s body dies, the spirit enters the
spirit world and lives its life in that realm. But there is a connection between the material and spiritual world. Humans and
spirits live in a symbiotic relationship with one another. Humans perform sacrifices and give offerings to care for the
needs of the spirits residing in the spirit world, and the spirits respond by taking care of the needs of the humans in the
material world. If a person does not take care of the needs of a particular spirit, that spirit will cause bad things to hap-
pen to the human until they correct the problem.

Typically, individual humans are responsible to care for the spirits of their own family or clan. There is not really a partic-
ular interest in the people who have no connection with them.

As it relates to abortion, again, the primary interest also relates to the spirits of one’s own group. Typically there is not a
full fledged theological doctrine related to abortion, though many would understand a fetus to be a living spirit. If a group
decides that abortion is acceptable, family members would still be responsible to ceremonially take care of the needs of
that spirit in the other life. (Continued on page 3)
2
(Worldview and Abortion - Continued from page 2)
It gets a bit more complex, though, as it relates to individuals and spirits who are not connected to a person’s own group.
There generally would not be any deep concern about outsiders unless they somehow had the power to inflict problems
into one’s own life or group.

Far Eastern Thought

In Far Eastern Thought, all of life is understood to be connected at its core, and every individual life form is on a path to-
ward unity. Typically the journey toward unity progresses through many reincarnations – each one hopefully taking the life
closer to “oneness with the ultimate impersonal One.”

As a result, the life force, in every form, is considered the most important and sacred element of reality. Since parts of the
life force exist in every form of life, it is the goal of the adherents of Far Eastern Thought to preserve life to the highest de-
gree possible so that each one can live out its destiny in its current incarnation. This plays out in slightly different ways in
the various expressions of Far Eastern Thought, but this is the general principle.

As a result, abortion would typically be looked on as highly undesirable. An embryo is understood to be a life force that is
in the process of entering into a new incarnation based on its previous existences, and should be allowed to fulfill its desti-
ny in its current place.

Theism
In general, Theistic worldviews understand an individual to be a creation of God, and therefore of great value. There are,
though, a wide variety of expressions of Theism which are conveyed in a wide variety of views related to abortion.

Some believe that personhood begins at conception, while others see its beginning at the birth of a child. This results,
then, in a variety of ways abortion is viewed. Most theistic groups have some kind of holy book or a prophet that is consid-

ered authoritative in matters of morality. Some of them may

provide justification for abortion under certain circumstanc-
es while others see it simply as wrong. You must consult
each one individually to determine its particular viewpoint.
Relational Revelation
Relational Revelation is, of course, the form of Theism
which represents Biblical Christianity. The Bible clearly
teaches that human life is of highest value, and that each
person is individually created by God in his own image. We
also understand that life begins at conception and that it is
not the place of any person to take the life of an innocent
human being.
Subscription Information
If you would like to receive Worldview Made Practical as a
free email subscription, simply go to www.marketfaith.org
and click on the sign up link.
Past Issues of Worldview Made Practical are available
free of charge in .pdf (Acrobat) format in the archives at
http://www.marketfaith.org.

As a result, Relational Revelation understands an embryo PERMISSION TO REPRINT: If you wish to reprint this
to be a human life, and the taking of that life by abortion is month’s article in your own print or electronic newsletter,
understood to be the taking of innocent life – murder. please include the following paragraph:

Summary Reprinted from Worldview Made Practical; a free e-zine

As can clearly be seen, there are many different views
about abortion, and the different understandings are based
on the presuppositions of the various worldviews. There is
no belief about abortion that is just out there on its own. All
of them start with a set of worldview beliefs and emerge
from there.
produced by MarketFaith Ministries featuring practical
teaching and life tools to help Christians become more ef-
fective in their faith life. Discover MarketFaith Ministries at
www.marketfaith.org.

What is clear, though, is that the various views literally con-
tradict one another. It is not possible for abortion to be ac-
ceptable and not acceptable at the same time. And even
for various views that agree with one another on the ac-
ceptability of the practice, their reasons for it literally con-
tradict one another. The fact is, something is the Truth
about the essential nature of a preborn. It is either a viable
human being or it is not. Either is has intrinsic value or it
does not.
(Continued on page 4)
Support MarketFaith Ministries
The purpose of MarketFaith Ministries is to equip the Body
of Christ to become more effective by sharing the practical
applications of worldview. We are involved in developing
training and resource materials for that very purpose. If
you would like to partner with us in this effort, you may
send your tax deductible contribution to MarketFaith Minis-
tries, 321 Anton Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312.

3
(Worldview and Abortion - Continued from page 3)

Relational Revelation (our Christian faith) teaches us that abortion is the taking of innocent human life – a life that God
created in his image to achieve a particular purpose in his economy. We can have confidence that this is the Truth be-
cause the worldview represented by Relational Revelation matches up most closely with reality as we experience it in
this life.

Hopefully it has become abundantly clear that understanding worldview is not merely some abstract academic pursuit. It
has practical implications to every part of our life and witness. What we believe does matter and is expressed in daily
life. And in the case of abortion, the implications of that fact literally relate to life and death.

Coming in February - What is Theism?

Find these books along

with other great world-
view resources at
www.marketfaith.org