Commentary

Rev. Devon Thomas: God of love gives women a choice

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House candidate and Vermont pastor Rev. Devon Thomas

By Rev. Devon Thomas
This Independence Day, millions of women across the country no longer have the right to choose to have an abortion. I don’t think I am alone in feeling that this is not a moment where I feel our individual independence is being protected and honored by the institutions of our country.

I say this as a Christian minister of three progressive churches. I recognize that the Catholic Diocese of Vermont speaks for a lot of faith communities in our state, but I would argue that many, if not most, congregations in Vermont feel as I do about the Supreme Court ruling. I am saddened, angered and ashamed that so many women and people of color in our country have been robbed of what the vast majority of Americans have said needs to be a human right.

The freedom of choice is something we often argue over in this country. Choices of speech, or of gun ownership and choices of religion are all honored, but for women, our country now has ruled that they do NOT have the choice to control what is going on in their bodies, or even to determine what is best for themselves, their families and children.

As I have been listening to the arguments supporting this ruling, a lot of folks have brought up God as the one women should turn to now that our national government is incapable of helping. And while I agree that God is always a source of help, I disagree that a God of love would leave anyone without choice when it comes to bringing a human life into this world.

Having a child is a massive undertaking. As a father of two, I had no idea what women have to go through with pregnancy until I saw my wife go through it. Bringing a child into this world requires a massive amount of physical and financial strain, and parents need support to feed, cloth, watch over and provide for their children all the time. This commitment of time and resources is not something many in our country have access to, and unfortunately people can get pregnant by accident!

Women should have the ability to choose to have an abortion, or NOT to have an abortion, being pro-choice in not being anti-life. We should be living in a country where all women are safely able to be supported in having children. A lot of anti-abortion activists have been saying that now we can focus on supporting children. This makes no sense because the reason women need the choice of an abortion is because we do not support children. If the state cannot guarantee the security of a child’s life, as evident in the increasing number of impoverished and homeless families that include children, and the increasing cycle of school shootings that target defenseless children, it is not moral for the state to force women to have children.

As a minister I recognize most women do not have abortions because it is convenient for them. We need to stop assuming abortions are choices of convenience. For most people abortions are last choice options, and I would argue that the reason we see most abortions happening among disadvantaged communities is because these are our neighbors with the least amount of choice.

The Bible tells us to support our neighbors in times of struggle. “Bear one another’s burdens and, in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ (Gal 6:2).” By taking away a woman’s right to choose, we are basically telling women they can’t decide or look out for themselves, and that is not what a good neighbor does.

The author is a Democratic candidate running for State Representative in Georgia and Fairfax. He is also a minister serving three churches in the area.

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24 replies »

  1. What a confused jumble of nonsense. It is not a Christian act to destroy a life. Period. Government does not have the responsibility to “guarantee the security of a child’s life”. Women are NOT being forced to have babies.

    There is a wide range of options available to prevent pregnancy before, during and after sexual intercourse that do not involve abortion. In Vermont, despite your suggestions to the contrary, there is no possibility that a woman’s “right” to abortion will be denied. The law allows abortion, abhorrent as it is.

    Bear one another’s burdens is a biblical quote. Well done. How that relates to flushing your “burden” away is confusing, however.

    • Mr. Thomas, You admit to leading three “Progressive Churches”. I challenge you to watch the previous abortion video! Once you have done that, please explain to our readers and your church members how exactly is that a “Godly” act??

  3. Is the Rev. Devon Thomas aware of and does he believe in the Ten Commandments? Is he aware of the Commandment……Thou shall not kill?

    If he is indeed a Christian, he would be calling for the end of infanticide or the killing of babies just before birth, which is going on this country……..A God of Love loves all especially helpless babies, a reality that the Rev. Thomas has somehow missed.

    May God have mercy on Rev. Thomas’ soul and lead him into the light.

  4. Psalm 139:13-16 ESV /.The Bible contradicts Mr. Thomas

    For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

  6. OOOOH Dear Mr Devin You call yourself a Christian a teacher of Gods word but you dont believe in what Gods word says. King David in Psalm 139 clearly states how precious life is..Luke 1:41,Luke 2:12,16 and Luke 18:15. they clearly state how precious children and life are. There are many scriptures in the bible pretaining to children. You have taken scripture for your own use as far as carrying burdens thats NOT what it means at all. You say your a Pastor you have twisted scripture for your own way for what to gain votes???. To state that many congregations in the state of Vt. agree with you is an utter lie. I will attest to the FACT that many DO NOT agree with you. What an insult to the churches and to our God. Life is precious. abortions are murder to a human being..You being a father would you consider murdering your child?? We have a freedom of choice. no one has to become pregnant their are to many avenues these days to allude that problem. Rape ,incest are very hard to imagine though it happens all the time. Their are avenues to take and so much help for the woman going through this hard time. Adoption is one of them. You are opening with your congregation from your so called 3 churches a large can of night crawlers. You WILL be accountable for your teachings to the people you are preaching to. YOUR judgement day will come when YOU will stand before the Lord and explain that one to him and many other things I have heard you preach. To also bring peoples color into this is beyond meaning. What does that have to do with anything. We are all the same people. We alll have the chance to make our own choices in what we say or do. Being a democrat does not excuse you before God and neither does being a man of color. God loves us all. May be thats where you should spend your time in scripture. Maybe you should look at the simplest of scripture and preach on that. Gods 10 commandment. There not I think you should do this. There his COMMANDMENTS. One is THOU SHALL NOT KILL!!!!!! I pray sir you will get right with God and repent and read your bible and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in all things. I feel sorry for you and the people you teach Gods word to..

  7. “Minister” of three progressive churches” tells me all I need to know. Instead of peddling “choice” to women of all colors, how about preaching what God has to say about relationships and marriage? If women aren’t sleeping around, they won’t get pregnant – simple as that. And why do the ones pushing abortion “rights” always conveniently forget that TWO bodies are involved: the baby and the mother? The baby, once conceived and right through birth has no rights as a human made in God’s image. This is not “reproductive healthcare”. It is murder.

  8. GOD PLEASE HELP ………………….
    this lost man and the members of the three churches he leads. They need to HEAR AND BELIEVE THE TRUTH …… THEY NEED TO BE SET FREE …..

  10. Firstly, thanks to the Chronicle for allowing an opposing viewpoint to be printed.
    Secondly, will the anti abortionists be around when a 12 year old who is raped and becomes pregnant to assist her or is that simply God’s will?

    • That is a horrible scenario. That is certainly not God’s will but an act of pure evil. In those cases the young girls right to make that decision should be protected and pray that she is given the utmost love and compassion by those surrounding her. And the miscreants that commit such acts be brought to justice and made to pay dearly

    • Why are the arguments for unrestricted abortion as a right always use extreme examples that do not reflect reality. A girl who is raped can be prescribed the morning after pill. Indeed, it is standard practice to offer emergency contraception to all rape victims.

      statistics do not support the idea that abortion is a “one-off” difficult decision for a woman in crisis. Less than 1% of abortions are declared to be for rape or incest. Over 90% are done for “no particular reason”

      75% of the women who have their first abortion this year will go on to have at least one other and 15% will go on to have 3 or more additional abortions.

      15% of viable pregnancies in the US end in elective abortion.

      This is a business. A nasty business couched in apocalyptic language to cover the barbarity of it.

    • The “anti-abortionists” as you call us are already here and ready to help. That is a straw man argument and as old as the hills. The percentage difference of rape victims vs abortion used as birth control is big and heavily slanted to abortion as birth control. Ask yourself why the government is so dead set against pregnancy resource centers? They smear them, lie openly about them and do nothing to help women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy other than to offer abortion as the choice. Women (and men too) often experience PTSD-like symptoms after abortion. It isn’t easy, it isn’t pretty and it’s a forever decision. Part of Marxist govt’s plan to tear down the family unit. Just part of the plan, along with all the rest of the demented crap being shoved in our faces lately.

  12. So many anti abortion comments on an opinion that there are situations where an abortion might be appropriate. I recently saw a post that raised some questions worthy of consideration no matter what your (religious) beliefs are. The following is my recollection:

    Can a 12 year old become pregnant? In denial, didn’t know it happened? Did she dare tell her parents until the morning after pill was not an option? Will she be forced to give birth?

    Talk about adoption of an unwanted child. At what age can a person adopt? Not a teenager (but you want to force her to give birth.) Don’t people wanting to adopt have to prove that they are financially capable of supporting a child as well as meeting any other criteria the agency might impose? Remember that there are no such requirements for a person giving birth.

    There are lots of factors to consider. Should there be reasonable restrictions imposed? I believe so. But consider what the results are when forcing your beliefs on everyone else.

    • The REAL QUESTION you left out that needs to be answered:

      IS A BABY IN THE WOMB OF A WOMAN A HUMAN LIFE that should have the same RIGHTS as ALL other human beings? That is the RIGHT to LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

      IF you believed this, your solutions to various situations of pregnancy would not include murder. Do you really believe victimizing the baby with death in theses situations solves anything? It’s just more victimization. Taking a human life will ALWAYS have lasting consequences. You may not choose to acknowledge them, or they may not be seen easily, but they are there.

      Yes, there are very difficult cases of pregnancies, but life is filled with all sorts of situations with pains and difficulties. Choosing to murder another human being is NEVER a solution to ANY situation.

  13. God gives free will. God gives a choice between Life and Death but He tells us which choice to pick and why. Choose Life so that you and your descendants might live In Vermont over 100,000 babies have been aborted since 1973 The descendants of these babies never had a chance to live. As a State Vermont is reaping what it sowed. Death. Vermont is dying. Most people do not see the connection. Does Rev. Thomas know that the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sangers wanted more children from the fit and less children from the unfit. Margaret Sanger saw blacks as other groups as unfit. She knew Black people would be suspicious of birth control so she enlisted the help of the black clergy to promote birth control as a way to eliminate the “unfit”. Even today Planned Parenthood has more abortion clinics in black neighborhoods than white. This is a continuing effort to eliminate the “unfit”. and it continues to work. Pro-abortion people are hysterical that blacks wont be able to access abortions. What phony compassion.

  14. Devon calls himself a Christian minister . Devon quotes Scripture as having authority ( even though THAT passage has ZERO to do with a woman’s choice)

    Devon , when , in your life , did you come to a saving knowledge of Christ? A knowledge that Christ died for YOUR sins and that you need to RECEIVE Him , as the WOrd says in John 1 ” Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

    Can you tell us when that was ?

    Because , according to the Bible , the one you quoted from , there are NO instances of a woman taking the life of her child and, that being OK in the eyes of God. None.

    Free will does NOT give us the right to kill people or babies.

    HEre’s what the WORD says about the unborn : Psalm 139

    For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
    14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
    15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
    16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
    17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
    18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

    Given your poor view on the lives of the unborn I would say, according to the witness of the Scriptures that, you might be an apostate and a cloud without water.

  15. Here’s where Progressive Christianity started :

    Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “DID GOD REALLY SAY, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

    The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

    “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

  16. This “minister” is doing the devil’s work; certainly not the work of Jesus. Imagine Jesus saying it is okay to support killing the very innocent babies He created? The very symbol Jesus used to come to Earth as? Hello? Jesus was a human fetus once while at the same time fully God. How in the world does this false minister explain that??