2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 -- Do not war in the flesh

2 Corinthians 10:3, 4, 5

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Of course we are human, but we don't fight like humans. The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people's defenses, that is, their arguments and all their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ.

King James Bible
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

American Standard Version
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;

Bible in Basic English
For though we may be living in the flesh, we are not fighting after the way of the flesh (For the arms with which we are fighting are not those of the flesh, but are strong before God for the destruction of high places); Putting an end to reasonings, and every high thing which is lifted up against the knowledge of God, and causing every thought to come under the authority of Christ;

Young's Literal Translation
for walking in the flesh, not according to the flesh do we war, for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful to God for bringing down of strongholds, reasonings bringing down, and every high thing lifted up against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of the Christ,


There's a lot of meat in there, way too much for simply one post, so I'll latch on to two things:

The theme of the sermon preached at church today and look at the word translated "strongholds" -- Ochuroma: a castle, stronghold, fortress, fastness; anything on which one relies, of the arguments and reasonings by which a disputant endeavours to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent

The word translated "imaginations" -- Logismos: a reckoning, computation; a reasoning: such as is hostile to the Christian faith; a judgment, decision: such as conscience passes

We can take some steps to curtail the practice of abortion with worldly means -- passing laws and Constitutional amendments, offering help to abortion-vulnerable women. But to defeat it we must rely upon spiritual means, on attacking the strongholds that allow the practice to thrive as it does.

The most obvious strongholds are the lies about the unborn -- all of which we're familiar with. But there are also strongholds regarding abortion-vulnerable women. And it is there where both sides have strongholds.

The supporter of abortion often does so out of certain beliefs about abortion and the women submitting to abortion. I will name just a few:

That abortion is palliative; it helps women

That women undergo abortions because they are freely choosing to do so

That once pregnant, women neither need nor want help avoiding abortion

That once the idea of abortion is fixed on, nothing can dissuade or discourage the woman from following through

That the fact that the idea of abortion is fixed on means that abortion truly is in the woman's best interests

But prolifers likewise have certain false beliefs -- strongholds -- about women submitting to abortion. Again, I will name just a few:

That they know they're killing babies

That they either hate their babies, or are too indifferent to even hate them

That their reasons for undergoing abortion are feeble, selfish, and mean-spirited

That they're promiscuous

There are also false beliefs both hold about abortion practice before and after legalization, the impact of laws and regulations on abortion practice, and so on.

In order to have spiritual power to bring down strongholds and false beliefs among "the other side", we must first address the strongholds and false beliefs among ourselves. One of the false beliefs my work has broken is the belief that before Roe, quack abortionists who killed their patients were promptly and effectively locked away. Researching the work of abortionists like Lucy Hagenow tore down that stronghold.

Destroying such strongholds in ourselves have not just material applications -- helping us, for example, to draft more effective laws next time. They have spiritual applications. When we believe a lie, we give The Father of Lies a foothold. Taking away those footholds puts us in a better place to do battle spiritually.