Some blogs, including Evangelical Outpost, have recently addressed Greg Boyd’s surprising January 11th comments with regards to abortion. While I am pleased to consider Greg a friend of mine, it will come as a surprise to no one that I am opposed to his notion of seeking a political compromise on first-term abortion.
However, if you don’t know him, there are a few things that you should keep in mind about Greg before leaping to incorrect conclusions. First, he is an extremely intelligent, intellectually honest man with a truly open mind. If he has made erroneous statements about biology or brain death, that is because he simply doesn’t know the facts. Nor do I have any reason to believe that he would be up on the latest science, as science has never been a particular interest of his. I wouldn’t expect him to make precisely accurate statements on astrophysics either.
Second, for all that he regularly finds himself in intellectual and theological controversies, Greg is a uniter by instinct. He is not what most people consider to be pro-choice, instead, I would interpret his words as attempting to help reduce the number of abortions by finding a limit that reasonable minds on both sides of the issue could agree on. Indeed, you’ll never sell NARAL, NOW or Planned Parenthood on outlawing second- and third-trimester abortion and a compromise such as Greg has suggested would save an awful lot of unborn children. From a sheerly practical, life-saving perspective, the compromise concept has a lot to offer.
Third, Greg is relatively apolitical. He’s read my novels – one is even dedicated to him – but I doubt he’s ever read even one of my columns. He may not even remember that I write one. I doubt he realizes that compromise is simply not a possibility, not because the pro-lifers will never go for it, but because the pro-abortion forces can’t. Eliminating second- and third-trimester abortions would put a large number of abortion clinics out of business and give immense momentum to the pro-life movement, and since the passionate abortionettes realize this they’ll never be able to give an inch on the matter. They wouldn’t even back down on partial-birth abortion, you may recall.
In any event, Greg is a good man and has been used by God to lead thousands of men and women to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He has been a large and positive influence on many lives, including mine, and I will absolutely stand by him even though I have little regard for this particular idea of his.