---
title: "Obeying God is the most pragmatic path — disobedience 'to get results' does not work"
description: "A core abolitionist premise is that 'doing what God says is best' — not only most faithful but most effective. God cannot pervert justice (Job 34:12), so His prescribed way of establishing justice is never the imprudent option; the belief that obedience 'won't work' is unbelief, not wisdom.…"
type: "argument"
id: "arg-obedience-pragmatic"
category: "Religious"
mode: "Offensive"
source_url: "https://www.abhortion.org/arguments/arg-obedience-pragmatic.html"
---

# Obeying God is the most pragmatic path — disobedience 'to get results' does not work

**Category:** Religious · **Mode:** Offensive · the positive case

## The argument

A core abolitionist premise is that 'doing what God says is best' — not only most faithful but most effective. God cannot pervert justice (Job 34:12), so His prescribed way of establishing justice is never the imprudent option; the belief that obedience 'won't work' is unbelief, not wisdom. Empirically, the incrementalist track record is invoked against it: national abortion totals rose after Roe was overturned (paired with non-prosecution and expanded telehealth), which abolitionists cite as evidence that half-measures do not even deliver the pragmatic results promised.

## Supporting points

- God 'will not pervert justice' (Job 34:12); therefore His way of justice is always the wise one.
- The claim 'obedience won't work' presupposes distrust of God's word and power.
- Post-Dobbs national abortion counts rose (~1.05M in 2023 to ~1.14M in 2024), the highest in over a decade.
- Pragmatism that requires disobedience is, on this view, self-defeating as well as sinful.

## Discussion questions

1. If God cannot pervert justice, can His command of 'justice only' ever be the imprudent choice?
2. What has actually happened to national abortion numbers since Roe fell, and what does that say about the pragmatic case for increments?

## Source transcript

Drawn from The Sin of Pro-Life Incrementalism (T. Russell Hunter) — 'Doing what God says is best... disobedience to God is never effective.'.

## References

- [Despite Bans, Number of Abortions in the United States Increased in 2023 (~1,037,000; highest number and rate in over a decade)](https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/despite-bans-number-abortions-united-states-increased-2023) _(data)_
  Guttmacher Institute · Guttmacher
  **Supports:** 2023 abortions ~1,037,000, highest number and rate in over a decade
- [Abortion Trends Before and After Dobbs — national totals rose to ~1.14M in 2024 from ~1.05M in 2023, highest in over a decade](https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/abortion-trends-before-and-after-dobbs/) _(data analysis)_
  KFF · KFF
  **Supports:** national totals continued rising through 2024
- [#WeCount report — monthly abortion average rose from ~80k (2022) to ~88k (2023) to ~95k (2024); 1.14M total in 2024](https://societyfp.org/research/wecount/wecount-december-2024-data/) _(data)_
  Society of Family Planning · #WeCount
  **Supports:** #WeCount: monthly averages rose year over year 2022→2024

## Related

**Related scriptures:**

- [Job 34:12](../scripture/job-34-12.md)
- [Micah 6:8](../scripture/micah-6-8.md)
- [Romans 14:23](../scripture/romans-14-23.md)
- [Ecclesiastes 8:11](../scripture/ecclesiastes-8-11.md)

**Related arguments:**

- [“Public opinion won't support total, immediate abolition (especially criminalization), so…”](def-culture-not-ready.md)
- [“Reasonable Christians can disagree on strategy; calling pro-life incrementalism 'sin' is…”](def-incrementalism-not-sin.md)
- [God commands 'justice, and only justice' — not partial or deferred justice](arg-justice-only.md)