The sign might as well read, “Buy a Bible and support abortion!”

In the latest twist of commercialism invading Christianity, now breast cancer pink has merged with the Word of God. The Susan G. Komen Foundation, who as recently as last week was handing out cash to the nation’s number one abortion provider,  makes the latest thematic Bible stand out on retailers’ shelves across the nation. WalMart.com describes it this way:

"The Here's Hope Breast Cancer Bible is a reminder that God has not forgotten you, a friend, or loved one who has been impacted by breast cancer. Not only will you find encouragement and inspiration through testimonies from breast cancer survivors but more importantly you'll encounter God's life-sustaining words for you."

Of course there’s a big problem with this Bible. While the text of the original canon inside is true, approximately 5% the purchase will go to Komen who, last year manages to give over half a million dollars to the abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

What’s more disturbing about this Bible is who publishes it. Bible publisher B&H Publishing is known for the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), a relatively new and solid Bible translation. B&H is a division of Lifeway Resources. You probably do a lot of your Christmas shopping at Lifeway, a favorite among American Christian bookstores. It’s baffling to me how such a large company could have missed the memo about Komen, which has been published from sea to shining sea.

Lifeway is a  resource from the Southern Baptist Convention, generally a strong supporter of the right to life. While I would have to guess that the acquisition of this project was a matter of ignorance of the connection rather than ill-intent, I’m left with only two responses. First, obviously, we can’t support this Bible. While it may be a tempting purchase as an inspirational gift for breast cancer sufferers, especially at the Christmas season, it’s a donation to death.

Second, my response is to ask Lifeway and its affiliate company B&H to do whatever they need to to stop this project. Is that a lofty thing to suggest? Sure. As a writer I’m aware of the issues with contracts, publication, legal matters. Will it be easy? Of course not. Will it cost? Yes, probably a lot. Is it the right thing to do to pull out of funding death? That should be a question we don’t need to ask.

A reminder if you’ve missed the background on Komen: Komen, a longtime supporter of Planned Parenthood, continues to argue that it only gives money for breast cancer screenings. One cannot donate money for one good cause to a place that makes its profit off abortion and expect to not have the money mix. Funds are fungible—what Planned Parenthood gets for breast screenings only frees up its other mass monies for more abortions. It’s like the woman who keeps dating an abusive guy because he’s really a good guy when he’s not hitting her.

 The American Life League reported in August that in the 2009-2010 funding year, Komen affiliates have over a half a million dollars ($569,000) to Planned Parenthood. This Bible was released in October,  known for being breast cancer awareness month. How much might profits off this Bible go to help Komen give more money to Planned Parenthood?

The bottom line here is that all Bibles are a reminder God has not forgotten you. God loves breast cancer survivors and He loves the unborn. He loves them all, and it’s not likely He’s encouraging anyone to fund death to support breast cancer. All Bibles hold God’s life-sustaining words, but the Here's Hope Breast Cancer Bible sucks hope from the womb and helps fund the robbery of hope from the unborn.

If you want to give hope to a person with breast cancer, buy her a Bible, buy her a book of inspirational stories to go along with it, but don’t buy her the Komen version of the Bible. The text might be the same, but the funding isn’t.

Contact Bible publisher B&H here.  Contact Lifeway here.