- The Washington Times - Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Mayor Pete Buttigieg ought to crack open the Bible, turn to Psalm 139, and read how God formed humans “fearfully and wonderfully” — and after, take a second look at his views on abortion and repent, said his brother-in-law, Rhyan Glezman, an evangelical pastor from Michigan, on Fox News.

Good advice. It is a curiosity how a self-declaring Christian can still stand strong on the side of abortion rights.

This is what Buttigieg said a few days ago on a “Breakfast Club” radio interview: “Right now, [conservatives] hold everybody in line with this one piece of doctrine about abortion, which is obviously a tough issue for a lot of people to think through morally. Then again, there’s a lot of parts of the Bible that talk about how life begins with breath. So even that is something we can interpret differently.”

OK. But not Christians.

Christians don’t interpret the Bible to believe life begins at “breath.”

Actually, Christians don’t generally try to “interpret” the Bible but rather understand the words as they’re written, as God intended them to be understood — as truths from Him, not as recommendations, and certainly not as starting points for how to comfortably apply only those principles that fit the modern mold.

But let’s say for the moment that the South Bend, Indiana, mayor is right, that he’s got a point, that life does begin at “breath.”

A baby in the womb relies on the mother’s umbilical cord to deliver oxygen-dense blood, and on the mother’s own exhalations to breathe out carbon dioxide. In essence, the baby’s breathing — with assistance. It’s assisted living. It’s assisted breathing. And you don’t assist the non-living with breathing.

As Glezman told Tucker Carlson on Fox: “[What’s] alarming is that there are Christians who would stand, like Mayor Pete would, and say that God condones, that God says that abortion is OK according to Scripture. That’s just absurd and outlandish to me.”

Yes, it is.

Absurd, outlandish and an utter lie.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.

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