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Let the Little Children Come to Me

Caring for those in need after Roe’s fall 

Chelsea Sobolik

In July, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization1https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf case that reversed the precedents set in landmark abortion cases Roe v. Wade2https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18 and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.3https://www.oyez.org/cases/1991/91-744 The issue of abortion has now been sent back to the states and will be governed at a local level. Some states have passed robust laws that protect the preborn, and sadly, laws in other states offer little to no protection for the little ones in the womb. 

At the time of publication, abortions are restricted or banned in at least 17 states, with a number of states expected to take steps to restrict abortion.4https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html While we are grateful for each and every life saved from abortion, the reality is, there will be even more women and children in need of support than before. For decades, churches, Christians, and faith-based pregnancy resource centers have been on the frontlines of serving women. Pro-life work today is built on the shoulders of the faithful over the years. Yet, the Church must be ready to meet the increased need in this new moment. 

Scriptural Basis for Caring for the Vulnerable

The Bible is clear that those whom God saves are to work out their salvation with good works (Phil. 2:12). Our good works stem from changed hearts that are called to love the Lord with all we have, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:34-40). One of the biblical directives Christians are given is to care for the vulnerable and the fatherless. Throughout Scripture, we see numerous instances of God protecting orphans and urging his followers to do the same (James 1:27; Psa. 68:5-6). 

The Word is also clear that every person is made in the image of God, including the preborn (Gen. 1:27; Luke 1:41), which means we are to defend every individual’s right to life. And in addition to protecting vulnerable little ones in the womb, we must also care for their mothers, fathers, and families. That commitment of care should extend well beyond a child’s birth. Two of the ways we can care for children is through adoption and foster care.

Adoption

The Bible tells us that those who trust in Christ are adopted in God’s family as his children. Our spiritual adoption is one of the realities that propels us to love our neighbor and is the foundation for our understanding of earthly adoption (Rom. 8). 

Adoption is good and beautiful, but in a fallen world, it is always born out of loss. 

All parties involved in an adoption experience loss. The birth mother makes an incredibly difficult decision to develop an adoption plan for her child and walks through the loss of not parenting her child, even if it’s in her and her child’s best interest. For an adoptee, even if they were adopted as an infant, their story began with loss, because there was a break in the natural order of the family. And for adoptive parents, there’s typically an extensive financial, emotional, and time commitment to building their family through adoption.

Foster Care

Conversations around adoption and foster care need to make it clear that these two things are separate. Making an adoption plan is not the same thing as a child entering into foster care. There are currently 407,493 children in the U.S. foster care system.5https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/afcarsreport28.pdf The goal of foster care is reunification, but approximately one-fourth of children and youth in foster care are eligible for adoption, meaning there’s no chance that they’ll be reunified with their biological family. 

Almost every community across the United States is in desperate need for more families to open up their homes and become foster families. Children enter foster care through no fault of their own. For many of these children, circumstances do not change, and they age out of the foster care system without a family or a support system. While there have been policy changes that focus more on prevention and keeping families (safely) together, one of the greatest needs is for more Christian families to open their hearts and homes to children in foster care.

How Churches Can Engage

The mission of Lifeline Children’s Services is to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children.6https://lifelinechild.org/ In Psalm 68, David tells us that God sets the lonely in families. We want the children we serve to have forever families, but more than that, we want them to know the truth of the gospel. 

To that end, the programs that Lifeline offers are meant to connect vulnerable children, women, and families to the local church and local body of believers. We want people to receive practical resources and support, but also to hear the good news of the gospel and have access to a community of Christians. Lifeline has a number of programs that local churches can utilize to minister to children and families in their communities. If you are a pastor, ministry leader, or church member who has a desire for your church to engage, I encourage you to prayerfully consider how the Lord has equipped your church to minister to the needs of your community.

How Individuals Can Engage

Each one of us can make a difference in the lives of others. While not all of us are called to adopt or foster, we are all commanded to care for vulnerable children in some capacity (James 1:27). While different seasons of life might mean that engagement changes, we should seek God’s wisdom on how to care for our local communities. 

To love our neighbor, we must first know our neighbor. We must go beyond our screens and social media accounts to the embodied people in our neighborhoods, cities, and communities. We can make a huge difference in the lives of others just by showing up. Presence is deeply powerful. Look someone in the eye, get to know their name, their story, and seek to care for that person holistically. 

Below are a few practical ways to get involved in caring for the vulnerable in a post-Roe world.

Volunteer your time, talent, or treasure: We’re all called to steward our time, talent, and treasure for the good of others and the glory of God. Consider volunteering your time to serve at your local pregnancy resource center or church-based program, or mentor a woman facing an unexpected pregnancy or a youth in foster care. 

If you’re gifted in a particular area, you could use your gifting to serve vulnerable people in your area. For example, if you’re financially savvy, you could volunteer with a program like Heritage Builders that helps older youth in foster care as they reach the age at which they must transition to independent living.7https://lifelinechild.org/heritage-builders/ Heritage Builders provides one-on-one relationships, provides life-readiness training and connects youth to practical resources. Additionally, you can use your treasure to support organizations that are doing gospel-centered work. 

Each one of us has varying levels of resources to invest in the Kingdom of God. May we invest wisely.

Consider providing respite care: Some aren’t called to full-time foster parenting, and others are not in a season that will allow for it. But maybe you could consider providing respite care for children and families. Respite care is short-term care for children that allows families who are experiencing social isolation to have access to a support system in the local church. Providing respite care can look like a few hours one afternoon, a weekend, or a few weeks. Respite care is not intended to be long-term, out-of-home care for vulnerable children.

Support those who are adopting or fostering: Families who adopt or foster need support, care, and encouragement. While these journeys are beautiful and restorative, they can also be difficult and exhausting. You can provide practical support and encouragement to these families. It can be as simple as bringing a meal to them in the midst of a particularly busy season, remembering to regularly check in on them, or learning trauma-informed practices to be better equipped to interact with them and their families. Trauma-informed care recognizes the effects of trauma on a child and helps us understand the paths for recovery from that trauma. You can also support vulnerable children, families, and adoptive and foster families by committing to regularly pray for them.

Adopt or foster: Pray about whether the Lord is calling your family to consider adopting or fostering. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s an increased number of children who need safe, permanent, loving, and gospel-centered families and homes.8https://erlc.com/resource-library/spotlight-articles/children-of-covid-19/ Lifeline provides practical and spiritual guidance in the adoption or foster journey and equips families to successfully step into caring for children. For some, finances might feel like a barrier to adoption, but there are grants and fundraising tools available to families. For example, the mission of the adoption organization Show Hope is to break down barriers that exist between waiting children and loving families.9https://showhope.org/ If the Lord calls you to adopt or foster, he will be faithful to provide what you need on the journey. 

As Christians pray about and follow through with adopting or fostering, it’s vital to understand that we do not participate in this call as rescuers or saviors. Instead, as David Platt reminds us, “It’s important to realize that we adopt not because we are the rescuers. No. We adopt because we are the rescued.”10https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.brookhills.org/app/blog/the-gospel-and-adoption/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1667237478566583&usg=AOvVaw2vUv33ujAiFo8E9shQatG6

Conclusion

Let us daily be involved in doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). And as we serve, may our light shine before others so that they might see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). While we care for vulnerable children, mothers, and families, may we constantly extend hope, healing, and the good news of the gospel. Our good works, coupled with the transformative good news of the gospel, can have an eternal influence on the lives of others.

Chelsea Sobolik serves as the Director of Public Policy with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in the Washington, D.C. office. Previously, she worked on Capitol Hill on pro-life policies, domestic and international religious freedom, adoption, and foster care issues. Chelsea has been published at the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and others. She is the author of Longing for Motherhood – Holding onto Hope in the Midst of Childlessness, and a forthcoming book on women and work. She has a B.A. in International Relations from Liberty University, and lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Michael.

Article 12: The Future of AI

We affirm that AI will continue to be developed in ways that we cannot currently imagine or understand, including AI that will far surpass many human abilities. God alone has the power to create life, and no future advancements in AI will usurp Him as the Creator of life. The church has a unique role in proclaiming human dignity for all and calling for the humane use of AI in all aspects of society.

We deny that AI will make us more or less human, or that AI will ever obtain a coequal level of worth, dignity, or value to image-bearers. Future advancements in AI will not ultimately fulfill our longings for a perfect world. While we are not able to comprehend or know the future, we do not fear what is to come because we know that God is omniscient and that nothing we create will be able to thwart His redemptive plan for creation or to supplant humanity as His image-bearers.

Genesis 1; Isaiah 42:8; Romans 1:20-21; 5:2; Ephesians 1:4-6; 2 Timothy 1:7-9; Revelation 5:9-10

Article 11: Public Policy

We affirm that the fundamental purposes of government are to protect human beings from harm, punish those who do evil, uphold civil liberties, and to commend those who do good. The public has a role in shaping and crafting policies concerning the use of AI in society, and these decisions should not be left to those who develop these technologies or to governments to set norms.

We deny that AI should be used by governments, corporations, or any entity to infringe upon God-given human rights. AI, even in a highly advanced state, should never be delegated the governing authority that has been granted by an all-sovereign God to human beings alone. 

Romans 13:1-7; Acts 10:35; 1 Peter 2:13-14

Article 10: War

We affirm that the use of AI in warfare should be governed by love of neighbor and the principles of just war. The use of AI may mitigate the loss of human life, provide greater protection of non-combatants, and inform better policymaking. Any lethal action conducted or substantially enabled by AI must employ 5 human oversight or review. All defense-related AI applications, such as underlying data and decision-making processes, must be subject to continual review by legitimate authorities. When these systems are deployed, human agents bear full moral responsibility for any actions taken by the system.

We deny that human agency or moral culpability in war can be delegated to AI. No nation or group has the right to use AI to carry out genocide, terrorism, torture, or other war crimes.

Genesis 4:10; Isaiah 1:16-17; Psalm 37:28; Matthew 5:44; 22:37-39; Romans 13:4

Article 9: Security

We affirm that AI has legitimate applications in policing, intelligence, surveillance, investigation, and other uses supporting the government’s responsibility to respect human rights, to protect and preserve human life, and to pursue justice in a flourishing society.

We deny that AI should be employed for safety and security applications in ways that seek to dehumanize, depersonalize, or harm our fellow human beings. We condemn the use of AI to suppress free expression or other basic human rights granted by God to all human beings.

Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-14

Article 8: Data & Privacy

We affirm that privacy and personal property are intertwined individual rights and choices that should not be violated by governments, corporations, nation-states, and other groups, even in the pursuit of the common good. While God knows all things, it is neither wise nor obligatory to have every detail of one’s life open to society.

We deny the manipulative and coercive uses of data and AI in ways that are inconsistent with the love of God and love of neighbor. Data collection practices should conform to ethical guidelines that uphold the dignity of all people. We further deny that consent, even informed consent, although requisite, is the only necessary ethical standard for the collection, manipulation, or exploitation of personal data—individually or in the aggregate. AI should not be employed in ways that distort truth through the use of generative applications. Data should not be mishandled, misused, or abused for sinful purposes to reinforce bias, strengthen the powerful, or demean the weak.

Exodus 20:15, Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 40:13-14; Matthew 10:16 Galatians 6:2; Hebrews 4:12-13; 1 John 1:7 

Article 7: Work

We affirm that work is part of God’s plan for human beings participating in the cultivation and stewardship of creation. The divine pattern is one of labor and rest in healthy proportion to each other. Our view of work should not be confined to commercial activity; it must also include the many ways that human beings serve each other through their efforts. AI can be used in ways that aid our work or allow us to make fuller use of our gifts. The church has a Spirit-empowered responsibility to help care for those who lose jobs and to encourage individuals, communities, employers, and governments to find ways to invest in the development of human beings and continue making vocational contributions to our lives together.

We deny that human worth and dignity is reducible to an individual’s economic contributions to society alone. Humanity should not use AI and other technological innovations as a reason to move toward lives of pure leisure even if greater social wealth creates such possibilities.

Genesis 1:27; 2:5; 2:15; Isaiah 65:21-24; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-16

Article 6: Sexuality

We affirm the goodness of God’s design for human sexuality which prescribes the sexual union to be an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman in the lifelong covenant of marriage.

We deny that the pursuit of sexual pleasure is a justification for the development or use of AI, and we condemn the objectification of humans that results from employing AI for sexual purposes. AI should not intrude upon or substitute for the biblical expression of sexuality between a husband and wife according to God’s design for human marriage.

Genesis 1:26-29; 2:18-25; Matthew 5:27-30; 1 Thess 4:3-4

Article 5: Bias

We affirm that, as a tool created by humans, AI will be inherently subject to bias and that these biases must be accounted for, minimized, or removed through continual human oversight and discretion. AI should be designed and used in such ways that treat all human beings as having equal worth and dignity. AI should be utilized as a tool to identify and eliminate bias inherent in human decision-making.

We deny that AI should be designed or used in ways that violate the fundamental principle of human dignity for all people. Neither should AI be used in ways that reinforce or further any ideology or agenda, seeking to subjugate human autonomy under the power of the state.

Micah 6:8; John 13:34; Galatians 3:28-29; 5:13-14; Philippians 2:3-4; Romans 12:10

Article 4: Medicine

We affirm that AI-related advances in medical technologies are expressions of God’s common grace through and for people created in His image and that these advances will increase our capacity to provide enhanced medical diagnostics and therapeutic interventions as we seek to care for all people. These advances should be guided by basic principles of medical ethics, including beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice, which are all consistent with the biblical principle of loving our neighbor.

We deny that death and disease—effects of the Fall—can ultimately be eradicated apart from Jesus Christ. Utilitarian applications regarding healthcare distribution should not override the dignity of human life. Fur- 3 thermore, we reject the materialist and consequentialist worldview that understands medical applications of AI as a means of improving, changing, or completing human beings.

Matthew 5:45; John 11:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; Galatians 6:2; Philippians 2:4

Article 3: Relationship of AI & Humanity

We affirm the use of AI to inform and aid human reasoning and moral decision-making because it is a tool that excels at processing data and making determinations, which often mimics or exceeds human ability. While AI excels in data-based computation, technology is incapable of possessing the capacity for moral agency or responsibility.

We deny that humans can or should cede our moral accountability or responsibilities to any form of AI that will ever be created. Only humanity will be judged by God on the basis of our actions and that of the tools we create. While technology can be created with a moral use in view, it is not a moral agent. Humans alone bear the responsibility for moral decision making.

Romans 2:6-8; Galatians 5:19-21; 2 Peter 1:5-8; 1 John 2:1

Article 2: AI as Technology

We affirm that the development of AI is a demonstration of the unique creative abilities of human beings. When AI is employed in accordance with God’s moral will, it is an example of man’s obedience to the divine command to steward creation and to honor Him. We believe in innovation for the glory of God, the sake of human flourishing, and the love of neighbor. While we acknowledge the reality of the Fall and its consequences on human nature and human innovation, technology can be used in society to uphold human dignity. As a part of our God-given creative nature, human beings should develop and harness technology in ways that lead to greater flourishing and the alleviation of human suffering.

We deny that the use of AI is morally neutral. It is not worthy of man’s hope, worship, or love. Since the Lord Jesus alone can atone for sin and reconcile humanity to its Creator, technology such as AI cannot fulfill humanity’s ultimate needs. We further deny the goodness and benefit of any application of AI that devalues or degrades the dignity and worth of another human being. 

Genesis 2:25; Exodus 20:3; 31:1-11; Proverbs 16:4; Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 3:23

Article 1: Image of God

We affirm that God created each human being in His image with intrinsic and equal worth, dignity, and moral agency, distinct from all creation, and that humanity’s creativity is intended to reflect God’s creative pattern.

We deny that any part of creation, including any form of technology, should ever be used to usurp or subvert the dominion and stewardship which has been entrusted solely to humanity by God; nor should technology be assigned a level of human identity, worth, dignity, or moral agency.

Genesis 1:26-28; 5:1-2; Isaiah 43:6-7; Jeremiah 1:5; John 13:34; Colossians 1:16; 3:10; Ephesians 4:24