Kevin’s Conversations: Choosing Life?
The recent string of states passing or writing or pushing bills that allow for abortion up to birth, and in some cases even after birth, is chilling to the bone. Adding to that chill is the also very recent inability of the U.S. Senate to pass the Born Alive Act.
While I believe abortion on demand at any developmental stage of life to be the wrongful taking of human life, there is absolutely no ethical reason to neglect providing medical care to an infant that survives an abortion or to perform an abortion in the third trimester as at that point the baby is viable for life outside the womb and performing an abortion is no safer for the mother than would be inducing birth. Even more heinous is the fervent backing and cheering and celebration of political action to allow for such things.
Whatever happened to the posture of safe, legal, and rare?
Concurrently, on the other side of the aisle, has been the vehement drive to crack down on all things immigration, even when legal. Families are split apart, children taken from their parents, adults who were brought here as little children and know no other way of life scorned, migrants who are ostensibly given a death sentence being sent back to conditions from which they escaped… are of miniscule significance compared to the stated preeminence of following and enforcing the law. Never mind that the importance of following and enforcing law is of little interest when it comes to the allowances for abortion and other issues, but it is apparently of utmost priority when it comes to immigration.
Also, even though undocumented immigrants are mostly well meaning and commit statistically much less crime than American citizens, it is fashionable to portray them primarily as murderers, rapists, and dangerous criminals, and/or as despicable freeloaders and burdens on society. It doesn’t stop with just the undocumented immigrants who are already here, but the same must be done to those currently fleeing terrible situations and still proceeding here with hopes of finding safety and a better life, many whom yearn to apply for asylum.
Our culture is getting uglier and uglier. Politicians and media play to their bases and rile them up to nastier language, ruder behavior, and greater extremes. In advocacy of life, there is the proclamation to protect and respect, while conversely it is trampled upon when it doesn’t match with political aspirations. Political expediency is the objective and compromise and moderation are dirty words. The battles must be won and the enemy not just defeated but also demeaned. We are to display ourselves as the great protectors of principle and morality and the opposition is to be portrayed as senseless and abhorrent, using whatever mixture of truth, contempt, and deceit necessary to do so.
I am alarmed as to how these types of attitudes and behaviors are becoming more commonplace. I am alarmed by how seemingly more and more people proclaim to be protecting and respecting life while increasingly missing the boat in manners where they could and should be doing such. I am alarmed by how partisan politics and predetermined dispositions and dubious loyalties are driving our words, thoughts, and actions.
I am further alarmed to see how much of the church displays such demeanor and conduct in quite the same ways and to the same degrees as the rest of our culture. Whether it be what church leadership teaches, promotes, or condones, or how individual Christians think, speak, and act, I think we are oftentimes doing a rather poor job of not conforming to the world and wherefore, setting ourselves apart in holiness to God.
I have said it before that I hate politics. Pretty much the only reasons I wade into them is in concern for my fellow man, especially those who are lacking in advantage, and in concern of how we as Christians conduct ourselves and represent Christ in this realm. I am the first to admit that I do not always see every issue properly or effectively communicate my thoughts and sometimes allow biases and assumptions to cause me to speak wrongly and to hold unrighteous attitudes. Yet in politics, just as in all things, we need to first and foremost be led by God and trust in how He has called us to live and act and not allow our political leanings and predilections to prevail.
God is the giver of life and He has lovingly created each and every one of us in His own image and continues to love and care for us. By God’s grace and mercy and Jesus’s sacrifice, that life is redeemed and renewed to whosoever believes, in spite of our sinful rebellion and rejection of it before our Creator and Bestower of Life. Let us respond by seeking to value all life in a forthright and humble manner. May we be led by God in such things and not by political ambitions and partisanship.
Yes, and Amen to all your points, Kevin. God help us all.
Thanks, Paige.
Where is the outrage over this?
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adolfoflores/thousands-of-migrant-children-have-alleged-sexual-abuse
There will be some outrage from one side of the aisle. From the other side there will be effort to dispute or minimize or just plain ignore this information.
You make it sound as if conservative approve of child molestation, rape etc. How cowardly.
If this is happening, I say shot the offending workers and for the kids who are preying on other kids ship them back home today.
How is that for outrage – can you top it?
Anyone who has not taken action against
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adolfoflores/thousands-of-migrant-children-have-alleged-sexual-abuse
here’s a productive action instead of mocking feigned outrage of the February 28, 2019 at 10:54 am comment,
contact your representatives and demand accountability,
hold the perpetrators responsible and demand prison time.
Next, demand reparations for those victimized, both parents and children.
The Gospel must have ACTION or is is a mockery, just ask Jesus’ brother James.
G, you don’t love the children as much as me – this is why you make it political. Kill the bastard!
There’s no reason we can’t be against abortion and against separating families. So what if the anti-abortion people tend to be Repubs and the anti-separation people tend to be Dems. Just do the right thing, whatever you can do. Forget politics. It’s corrupt and corrupting. Forget the what-about-ism. We just point fingers to make ourselves feel better.
“Kill the bastard!”
Jesus does NOT approve.
But then, one who chooses to be Martin Luther’s disciple over being Jesus’ disciple, well, let’s just say Martin Luther was hardly the poster boy for following Jesus.
#JesusNeedsNewPR
#TimeToRebrand
#WhoWouldJesusKill
G, Jesus said if you harm the children you punishment should be worse than having a millstone tied to your neck and thrown into the sea. Shoot the bastard!
I let my critique stand, Jesus never empowered nor modeled the behavior for His disciples to kill others.
Here’s an idea, read those 4 Gospels again and get back to us.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Kind of reminds me of the story a while back about the Philippine president who was taking their drug dealers for half a plane ride out over the Pacific. How long does it take to fall 6,00 ft? Long enough to get right with God?
That said, aren’t we as a society polluting the minds and psyches of our children with the things they are exposed to? Especially our precious internet and TV….. No wonder it spills over… Or so it seems to me ?
Xenia, you’re right on board with what much of what I was trying to convey.
6,000 at terminal velocity (122 mph) = cruel and unusual punishment meted out by a madman.
G., Yes, unusual and cruel… that seems to be what man gravitates toward…. There’s more than one condemnation on our kind back there some 2,000 years ago.. hypocrisy, hard hearts, cowrdice, double minded, pride… Yep, the beat goes on… We talk a good talk until we’re tested.. really tested
But there’s always a few who rise above and we glimpse a bit of what God intended us to be and say with admiration, “how noble.” And then we get pushed to our limit and realise, some of us do, that we’not there yet. Yet? Without God who made us, we’ll never get there..
Or so it seems to me lying here trying to get over this flu bug ?