Judge Phil Ginn: ‘Even folks who do not adhere to the Christian faith, or to any other religion for that matter, often recognize the cohesiveness that this interrelationship of faith and good government offers’
May 31, 2022
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently received backlash to an Instagram post claiming that “fundamental Christians” are the sole reason certain states were implementing laws against abortion. Claiming that “our Jewish brothers and sisters… are able to have an abortion according to their faith,” Ocasio-Cortez called the Christian response to abortion “ridiculous,” “theocratic,” and “authoritarian.”
Both secular and religious leaders responded to this outrageous claim, with one secular leader stating, “You don’t have to be religious to recognize that abortion is murder. We want the law to reflect the scientific reality that life begins at conception, not just whenever we believe life begins. The concept of a human non-person has been used exclusively to discriminate against whole groups of human beings and in the case of the unborn, that discrimination is lethal almost 100% of the time.”
Judge Phil Ginn, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES, www.ses.edu), also weighed in on Ocasio-Cortez’s controversial statement, arguing that her clearly biased viewpoint displayed her ignorance towards both Judaism and Christianity.
Ginn commented, “There is an adage in the law that says, ‘Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence.’ Before she speaks, particularly about those things she does not fully comprehend, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might do well to adhere to this concept.
“Perhaps, though, her basic lack of understanding of those of us she terms ‘fundamentalist Christians’ might have overshadowed her thoughts about Judaism and its basic beliefs, as well. Maybe she needed to stop to consider that 39 of the Books that make up our Bible are taken directly from the holy writings of Judaism, and to recognize that it is from these writings, as well as from the 27 New Testament books, that true Christians form our thoughts about the sacredness of life.”
Ginn further commented, “While we at Southern Evangelical Seminary do not assert that America was founded as a Christian nation, we do fervently believe that our nation was, and still should be, based on the morality that runs through the vast majority of faith systems in the world. The essential right to life is at the center of this common morality. Even folks who do not adhere to the Christian faith, or to any other religion for that matter, often recognize the cohesiveness that this interrelationship of faith and good government offers.
“So, before rhetoric is screamed loudly and profusely, at the very least let’s get our facts straight.”
Judge Phil Ginn was appointed president of SES in April 2021 after a distinguished career as both a lawyer and a judge. He holds a B.A. from Appalachian State University, a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Doctor of Ministry from Southern Evangelical Seminary. Prior to his appointment as SES president, Judge Ginn served as SES Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The mission of SES is to train men and women, based on the inerrant and infallible written Word of God, for the evangelization of the world and the defense of the historic Christian faith. SES offers a range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees (along with several for-credit certificates) that uniquely integrate theology, philosophy, and apologetics to build a complete and systematic Christian worldview.
For more information on SES, visit its website at www.ses.edu or its Facebook page, follow the SES Twitter feed, @sesapologetics, or call (704) 847-5600.
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