Holy Abortion? A Theological Critique of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

by Michael J. Gorman, Ann Loar Brooks

Overview

Four mainline Protestant denominations (the ECUSA, PCUSA, UCC, and UMC) are affiliated with RCRC. In this important new book, the authors carefully examine the literature and liturgical aids produced by RCRC, demonstrating how its theology radically contradicts the statements on abortion issued by its affiliated churches.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592441853
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	03/13/2003
Pages:	88
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Michael J. Gorman is Dean of the Ecumenical Institute of Theology and Professor of New Testament and Early Church History at St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ann Loar Brooks is an educator and writer with a master's degree from the Ecumenical Institute of Theology.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In the abortion debate, the different sides often hurl accusations at one another that lack adequate backing. That is why this book is so important. Michael Gorman and Ann Brooks have read what the other side actually says, and the results startle. At least the results should startle anyone who cares about the protection of life. Hopefully 'Holy Abortion? A Theological Critique of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice' will be a wake-up call for all who have let the stridency about this issue lull them into indifference. Christians simply cannot give up our commitments to the care of unborn life. This book makes radically clear why that is the case."

Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School


"In 'Holy Abortion,' authors Gorman and Brooks have explicated the position of the RCRC with astonishing patience and fairness, and ably shown its inconsistency with mainline positions. This book will be invaluable not only to current church leaders, but also to future generations of scholars, who will struggle to understand how the church of Jesus Christ could have descended into this bizarre embrace of death as an emblem of freedom."

Frederica Mathewes-Green. Author, NPR Commentator


"Members of mainline Protestant denominations listed as supporters of RCRC will be surprised and troubled to read the careful documentation here of that organization's pieties and liturgical texts. In addition to the theological mish-mash, they will learn that their own Church's official statements - abortion only as a last resort - do not comport with the 'god and goddess of Choice' that the authors find preeminent."

Gabriel Fackre, Abbott Professor of Christian Theology Emeritus, Andover Newton Theological School


"This careful and fair-minded study reveals the yawning gulf that separates the United Methodist Church's teaching on abortion from the operative theology of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Regardless of which side of the abortion debate readers find themselves on, they will want to consider the evidence of this book very carefully before deciding whether the RCPC truly represents their views and the views of their denomination."

Kendall Soulen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Wesley Theological Seminary

Editorial Reviews

"In the abortion debate, the different sides often hurl accusations at one another that lack adequate backing. That is why this book is so important. Michael Gorman and Ann Brooks have read what the other side actually says, and the results startle. At least the results should startle anyone who cares about the protection of life. Hopefully 'Holy Abortion? A Theological Critique of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice' will be a wake-up call for all who have let the stridency about this issue lull them into indifference. Christians simply cannot give up our commitments to the care of unborn life. This book makes radically clear why that is the case."

Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School


"In 'Holy Abortion,' authors Gorman and Brooks have explicated the position of the RCRC with astonishing patience and fairness, and ably shown its inconsistency with mainline positions. This book will be invaluable not only to current church leaders, but also to future generations of scholars, who will struggle to understand how the church of Jesus Christ could have descended into this bizarre embrace of death as an emblem of freedom."

Frederica Mathewes-Green. Author, NPR Commentator


"Members of mainline Protestant denominations listed as supporters of RCRC will be surprised and troubled to read the careful documentation here of that organization's pieties and liturgical texts. In addition to the theological mish-mash, they will learn that their own Church's official statements - abortion only as a last resort - do not comport with the 'god and goddess of Choice' that the authors find preeminent."

Gabriel Fackre, Abbott Professor of Christian Theology Emeritus, Andover Newton Theological School


"This careful and fair-minded study reveals the yawning gulf that separates the United Methodist Church's teaching on abortion from the operative theology of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Regardless of which side of the abortion debate readers find themselves on, they will want to consider the evidence of this book very carefully before deciding whether the RCPC truly represents their views and the views of their denomination."

Kendall Soulen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Wesley Theological Seminary

From the Publisher