Why The Planned Parenthood Video Should NOT Surprise Anyone, And Why It SHOULD Appall Everyone

Let’s get right to it.

1.)  Not Surprised

I don’t think we should be surprised by the two undercover Planned Parenthood videos that have been released. When I first viewed the videos, I was speechless. What we see being discussed casually over a salad and wine is absolutely deplorable. Is it illegal? Yes!  Is it amoral? Absolutely! Have we lost our minds as a society? Most certainly! But, is it surprising? I don’t think so.

Let’s talk worldview

Worldview is everywhere. A worldview is the lens in which you process the world. It is how one thinks about where the world came from, our purpose in life, and what happens when our life ends. Worldview is like a pair of glasses that we put on to help us see the world correctly. Those glasses are a filter that serves you us interpret the world around us.

Worldview boils down to 2 basic lenses.

• God Centered Lens (found in the Bible)

• Man Centered Lens (found in self, peers, teachers, social media, news, billboards, etc…)

When our lenses are found in man’s opinions, and not God’s truths, we go wayward. All of this begins… well, in the beginning.

First of all, how did the universe get here?

The God centered lens tells us that there is a Creator and He created out of nothing. The universe and all of life was created by… God

The Man centered lens tells us that creation was random. All that is, exists by chance. There was an explosion, followed by an evolution, and… here we are.  The universe and all life was created by… chance.

Why does man exist?

A God centered view: He created you and me. But is that all there is? Consider, we were created by God for a purpose. We were intentionally created by the Creator and life has meaning and purpose.

A Man centered view: If the universe exists randomly and we have evolved by chance, what then, is our purpose? We are a result  of chance.  And, if we are a result of chance, what does that do to the meaning of life?

And this brings us to the Planned Parenthood video where they are discussing the sale of body parts over lunch. If life exists randomly, what does that do for our purpose in living? What does that do to our view of life itself? And this is why we should not be surprised by the video. The lens we wear will determine if life is created by God and thus has value, or if we exists by a random event and thus life lacks any meaningful value.

If man is random, then there are no absolutes. No absolute of right and wrong.  My friend, ideas have consequences! The lens in which you view this world affects everything.

See to it that no one takes you captive by  philosophy and  empty deceit, according to  human tradition, according to the  elemental spirits  of the world, and not according to Christ.

(Colossians 2:8 ESV)

So, we should not be surprised by the videos. They are the consequences of a worldview.  And yet…

2.) We should ALL be Appalled.

I was among the 2.5 million plus viewers of the Planned Parenthood video. I sat in my office…. aghast at what I was watching and hearing. The casual nature of the conversation. The sipping of wine while discussing…..

“We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that,” says Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical research, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, “so I’m not gonna crush that part, I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.” She talks about how the abortion doctors are trained in their use of the ultrasound to ensure that forceps don’t damage organs that are to be sold. When asked for the “price range,” Nucatola replies: “I would say it’s probably anywhere from $30 to $100” per specimen, depending on the facility.

As a society, we have lost our way. When culture values the sale of organs from a baby more than it values the baby who gives those organs, we are a culture adrift at sea. What argument can be made to justify the above paragraph?

Sadly, those arguments are being made.

Indeed, all should be appalled. Not just the pro-life crowd, but those who are pro-choice as well. To my pro-choice friends who are seeking to protect the rights of women and a woman’s rights to choose what she wants to do with her own body…consider the above paragraph. Is this really what you signed up for? The abortions being referenced over a business lunch, have turned the woman’s body into a manufacturing plant. She produces a commodity that is to be sold to the highest bidder. Sadly, some will be more offended by the previous sentence than with Nucatola’s comments above.

Pro- choicers…This is the ultimate lowering of the very woman you are seeking to dignify.

What is our hope in the midst of such evil?

With a God centered Lens… Our hope is found outside of us, in a Savior,  Jesus Christ, who came to die for our sins. He died, so that we might be forgiven! He came and died for sinners, like me and like you. Outside of Christ, I would be putting on my man centered worldview. But for the grace of God, there go I. It is hard to imagine what my evil heart could manufacture had not Christ redeemed me. Our hope is found in the person of Jesus, His mercy and grace.

With a man centered lens… My ideas and my goodness is the solution for evil, I will save myself. I will be good enough and, after all, God loves me. It will all end okay for me… This lens tells us that we need to be a better people / society. The problem is, the man centered lens, has no measure on what being a better society means. We need to step back and honestly assess where the man centered lens has brought us today. The cry for “no absolute truth” is an idea that is not without its consequences!

Good news….. His offer of salvation stands, yet today.

The God centered lens shown in God’s Word tells us that we can repent of our sins and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins!

Surprised by the video? No.  Appalled? Yes!

In this crazy world, thanks be to God for the hope that can be found in Christ!