Evangelical Presbyterian Church - Revision history

Zbjust at 19:39, 11 June 2019

2019-06-11T19:39:49Z

Zbjust at 19:39, 11 June 2019

2019-06-11T19:39:18Z

Zbjust: Created page with "Official Denominational Website: https://epc.org/ ==Beginning of Life== ===Abortion=== ''The Evangelical Presbyterian Church opposes abo..."

2019-06-11T19:11:10Z

Created page with "Official Denominational Website: https://epc.org/ ==Beginning of Life== ===Abortion=== ''The Evangelical Presbyterian Church opposes abo..."

New page

Official Denominational Website: https://epc.org/

==[[:Category:Beginning of Life|Beginning of Life]]==

===[[Abortion]]===
''The Evangelical Presbyterian Church opposes abortion except in extreme cases when the life of the mother is in danger.''

'''Official Statement:''' from Evangelical Presbyterian Church, "Position Paper: Abortion" (2013), 1-4.
:"The Evangelical Presbyterian Church is convinced that the Bible strongly affirms the dignity and value of every human life based on what the Scriptures clearly teach...
:The Evangelical Presbyterian Church affirms that the Bible does not distinguish between prenatal and postnatal life. It attributes human personhood to the unborn child. This extends to the unborn child ex utero as no less a human being than the child in the mother’s womb.
:Because we hold these convictions concerning the unborn child, we urge the promotion of legislation that brings our judicial and legal systems into line with the scriptural view on protecting the poor, the weak, and the defenseless...
:The Bible teaches that all persons and nations are responsible before God for their moral and ethical decisions, including those that relate to the preservation of human life. In addition to prayers and general assistance, the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church urges that the following steps be implemented by the individuals, congregations, and judicatories in a concerted effort to provide substantial support for those impacted by problematic and/or unexpected pregnancies:
:#A woman facing a problematic pregnancy or an unexpected pregnancy should expect to receive support, love, acceptance and wise counsel from her pastor(s), counselor(s), physician(s) and fellow Christians. Regardless of the woman’s decision, the Church should always provide compassionate biblical and spiritual guidance to that individual.
:#The Church must serve as a loving and supportive community to any man involved to inform and direct him in his personal responsibilities and obligations as the child’s father. :#The Church must be supportive of the woman who chooses life for the child of an unexpected pregnancy and must seek ways to support and care for those children carried to term through unexpected pregnancy.
:#The Church must serve as a loving and supportive community to those who have experienced physical, emotional, or spiritual wounds as a result of undergoing an abortion or placing a child for adoption.
:#Christians should individually and corporately oppose abortion (except under the most extreme of circumstances that endanger the physical life of the mother), and do everything in their power to provide support groups, para-church ministries and sponsoring agencies that offer viable alternatives to abortion.
:#The Church should declare to the world and teach its members that abortion should never be used as a convenience or a means of birth control.
:#The Church should actively oppose the killing of human embryos through the extraction of stem cells for medical research or treatment.
:#The Church should oppose the practice of producing more embryos by ''in vitro'' fertilization than would be implanted in utero, which would either be destroyed immediately or stored frozen with the strong practical likelihood of later destruction." ("Position Paper: Abortion")<ref>http://epcoga.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/Files/1-Who-We-Are/B-About-The-EPC/Position-Papers/PositionPaper-Abortion.pdf</ref>

==Notes==
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[[Category:Denominations]]
[[Category:Presbyterian Denominations]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:USA]]

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 '''Official Statement:''' from Evangelical Presbyterian Church, "Position Paper: Problems of Suffering, Death, and Dying" (1995), 1.
 :"Because of the value and sanctity of human life, we stand against any effort such as suicide, assisted suicide,and euthanasia—each of which seeks to terminate innocent human life outside natural processes, even though the motive for such efforts may be a misdirected kindness. When faced with medical situations that could call for heroic measures, Christians should make a distinction between treatment that may prolong life in hopes of recovery and that which will only prolong the dying process. As Christians deal with difficult choices surrounding life and death, they should seek the support and counsel of the Church that should reach out with compassion and the truth of God’s Word." ("Position Paper: Problems of Suffering, Death, and Dying")<ref>http://epcoga.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/Files/1-Who-We-Are/B-About-The-EPC/Position-Papers/PositionPaper-ProblemsOfSufferingDeathAndDying.pdf</ref>
 ===[[Extraordinary Measures]]===