Thursday, May 29, 2008
Life
Nathan and I were watching a DVD a bit ago on the foundations of our country on Christian moral principles. It started off with Chris sailing the ocean blue, and then all of a sudden, they were in the 70's and talking about abortion. There was an illustration of one of the methods of partial birth abortion...and then I lost it. I was crying and felt sick, and all I could do was look down at the beautiful baby smiling at me and waving hello with her little one-handed clap that she learned this week, and wonder why any warm-blooded human being could rationalize such an atrocity. Then I got terribly sad for the countless women who felt that was their only option, and if they aren't already broken over the weight of their choice(s), they will have to face it some dark day. Sad for the babies who haven't had a chance to smell flowers or share their gifts with us all, and who most assuredly feel pain as they are killed. Sad for the Doctors who have to live with blood on their consciences and hands. God forgive us.
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7 comments:
Thank you for sharing truth.
Interestingly abortion is something that I feel really strongly about, even though I'm a guy that doesn't have kids and half the time I'm not even sure I want kids. I look at it from this perspective: Young girls are out there making poor choices and getting pregnant. Then they realize they are in over their head and don't know what to do and abortion seems to be like an escape. They may not really want an abortion but they don't know what else to do. I think as Christians we are failing in this area. Rather than protesting and trying to scare the daylights out of young girls who are considering an abortion we should be reaching out to them. I would bet that a majority of these girls just need some one to help them. Wouldn't it be awesome if there was a group of Christians that brought these young girls into their care, helping them throughout their pregnancy and after the birth in such a way that the girl didn't feel like she had to go through this on her own.
-Jonathan
jon - i was not sure at first i was going to agree with you but i do agree with the last part that you said.
jess- i think we all make mistakes and it's the grace of god that moves us on and my only hope is that i reflect that grace to those women no matter what the circumstances. the empathy and love of jesus is what every person who has sinned, no matter what the sin, needs and i believe it is our responsibility, as followers of and people who strive to be like christ, to show that instead of a critical opinion. it's not always easy to show that grace and love over our opinions on an issue, but not much is easy when you are truly living the kingdom of christ.
colette
Thanks for your insight!
Jonathan~
I agree that we should be loving people instead of scaring them. That goes for a lot of areas of the Christian faith as well--"repent of burn in hell" isn't a very loving way to bring a person to Christ either, but sadly, well-meaning Christians still use this tactic. We should be reaching out in love. I've heard of some homes that take girls into their care, but there are definitely not enough of them.
Colette~
You are right about everyone needing to be shown the empathy and love of Jesus. I definitely did not mean to sound condemning of people in my post (though I did mean to be condemning of the act), I was merely sorting out my reactions to the video. First I was in disbelief that anyone could rationalize abortion, and then I felt overwhelmed with sadness for all those involved in the decesion, like the little ones who we will not be given a chance to show the empathy and love of Jesus to, except to pray for them. I absolutely hate abortion and think it's social acceptance is a big win for Satan. At the same time, I have friends whom I dearly love who have made the mistake of ending their pregnancies, and all of them regret it. I guess it boils down to the old addage: Hate the sin and love the sinner.
Hey Jess - great to find your blog :) Thanks for writing eloquently on this topic. I despise abortion. I hope that someday our country will come to wonder how we ever tolerated such injustice and genocide, just like we wonder how we ever tolerated slavery. We are certainly desencitized to its grotesque nature - would we allow parents to kill their inconvenient 2 year olds and call it a choice? I don't think so. I think another big thing we can do as Christians is to be willing and desiring to adopt these children. Thanks again, Jess.
Jonathan,
Although women in their mid-twenties are traditionally the largest group of people to get abortions, young women are not the only women who choose to have abortions. The panic of pregnancy doesn't suddenly diminish with age. Although teen mothers are definitely a concern, it's not all about teenage girls with nowhere to go. I think it has more to do with our understanding of "life" and our views of our own needs.
On the idea of having somewhere to go, though, my mom has always been involved in our local crisis pregnancy center. There are many loving people trying to provide other options, care, support, and love for women in crisis pregnancies. These wonderful Christian men and women do exist.
yeah, my comment wasn't meant to be mean either. but i don't like using those happy faces or anything because they feel sarcastic to me and fake. i guess it's just one of those subjects that i have known enough people and experienced the pain and the forgiveness in it through other's experiences that i have a hard time being negative about the subject without feeling like i am shoving it in their faces because i know when they read it it hurts. not that you meant it that way, i just felt their pain when i read it and it made me sad i guess. i do hate abortion and don't support it but i will always support the woman who had it. it happened enough at toby's house that empathy is the only thing i can really feel anymore on the subject.
colette
ps-happy almost birthday :) (a non-sarcastic and non-fake happy face)
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