SOUTH CAROLINA CHRISTIAN ACTION COUNCIL
A STATEMENT ON ABORTION
We re-affirm the mission statement of the South Carolina Christian Action Council and include here an edited version of the same.
We, the Christian denominational bodies convening together in the South Carolina Christian Action Council, believe and confess:
- Christ’s Church is one body. Christian denominations, congregations, and individuals must work together if we are to accomplish God’s mission.
In order to put these shared beliefs into action, we have established the South Carolina Christian Action Council as:
- A servant of our member denominations, affirming our common heritage.
- An enabler promoting and strengthening cooperative efforts of churches and individual Christians, identifying common issues and concerns, developing avenues for cooperative efforts, and translating consensus into action.
As the cooperative interchurch agency of its member bodies, the South Carolina Christian Action Council provides:
- Communication among member churches and groups, enabling action on common concern.
It is in this spirit of cooperation that we have undertaken a study of the issue of abortion. We are mindful of the struggles and diverse opinions which our member bodies have experienced with their own denominations and we affirm their search for the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, calling each to its own unique and specific mission.
A careful study of the official positions of the denominations represented by the member bodies of the South Carolina Christian Action Council leads us to the conclusion that all our members firmly support the biblical assertion of the sacred nature of human life. There is diversity, however, surrounding such questions as: when life begins; how the church and the law of the state should respond to the struggle surrounding the claims of the pregnant woman and the claims of the unborn; morality versus legality; interpretation of scripture regarding abortion; and absolute restrictions on abortions and exceptions to these restrictions.
In accord with our mission statement, the South Carolina Christian Action Council has always sought consensus, agreement, cooperation and respect in issuing policy statements. We have been guided by, responsible to, and respectful of the policies of our member bodies. So we have been in this present issue. We respond positively to this comment by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at the end of its own struggle and search on this same topic:
The church ought to be able to maintain within its fellowship those who, on the basis of a study of Scripture and prayerful decision, come to diverse conclusions and actions.
We all sin and fall short of God’s purpose for us. In caring, compassionate love, we who have experienced God’s amazing grace are called to be instruments of healing, comfort, and support to all who are struggling through traumatic experiences. Together we become God’s redeemed, forgiven, community—the church.
The Board of the South Carolina Christian Action Council comes finally to this conclusion:
1. As with our member denominations, we strongly affirm the Biblical understanding of the sacredness of human life, created in the image of God [“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, NRSV).], and recipients of Christ’s promise [“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, NRSV).]
2. We acknowledge the struggle and support the search by each of our member denominations for a stand which it can take in regard to the issues of abortion and the sanctity of life. We respect the statement each denomination makes as being its own understanding of the leading of God’s Holy Spirit and an appropriate interpretation of scripture.
3. We recognize the strong consensus among the statements of our member denominations which call us to create ways for concerted action.
4. We direct the President of the South Carolina Christian Action Council to appoint a special committee to pursue networking with the national movement called “Common Ground Network for Life and Choice,” through which the various advocates in this debate may find ways to understand each other and work together toward those common goals which they express. We encourage all our member bodies to join each other in this search for a common ground.
5. Likewise we invite our member bodies to join us in expressing our love for all those experiencing pregnancy, in the struggles jointly with those with problematic pregnancies, and in using our energies against the forces within society that lead to undesired pregnancies.
Approved by the Board of Directors
South Carolina Christian Action Council
June 27, 1996
Note: Member Bodies not in support of this statement: Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston and South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC voted to defund the Council in November 1997).
Statement on Abortion, 1996 Page 1 of 2