I suppose it was inevitable or maybe I've just missed it, but abortion is now apparently an act of "charity". It was reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Arkansas Right to Life that two abortion clinics in Arkansas as well as others in Texas have provided "free" abortions to women from the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast region.
My first instinct was to quote Arkansas state Senator Gilbert Baker or Arkansas Right to Life spokesperson Rose Mimms, both fine and upstanding citizens and stalwart defenders of life, and their reactions to this news. To do so, however, would have been a betrayal of all that I have always believed about abortion: it is a MORAL issue and not a political one. Even in the Church, however, there is no general agreement about the right or wrong of abortion. The United Methodist Church's discipline seems to try its level best to satisfy everyone by offering political compromises. Aside from this, I've encountered Christians who are unapologetically supportive of abortion, though they claim "choice".
For those who may take exception to my refusal to acknowledge "choice" as the option, I will say this: one is either for life or for death. There is no middle ground by offering a third choice that amounts to nothing more than an excuse for refusing to come down on one side or the other. A political compromise that puts more emphasis on the importance of man's word and not the Lord's is humanist and secular and a denial of the Divine that is life.
Although I will not vote for any political wanna-be who claims to be "pro-choice", I have no expectations from our state legislatures or our US Congress. With a few exceptions, most of these persons are entirely too wrapped up in getting re-elected. Many will say anything to any audience - or NOT say (sin of omission) - to keep up the political profile. Few will stand on the word of the Lord, preferring instead the US Constitution - an important, though secular, document of man.
I wonder, though, if my belief in a moral structure as opposed to a political one has somehow diminished my effectiveness in dealing with my pro-abortion congressman and two senators since I've given up on them all and view everything they do or say as suspect. Having written to each of them regarding even that despicable procedure known as partial-birth abortion, each has answered back about rights to privacy, women's right, etc., and has essentially said that as long as there is breathe in them, women will be able to destroy their young (my words, not theirs - though they "know not what they do")!
There is no charity involved in this travesty of life, especially in the midst of chaos, despair, and death. Do we not recognize the divine hope that is contained in life? Are we not able to communicate this? Have we Christians removed ourselves from the fight because we have allowed abortion to become a political issue? Or do we share the despair of Jeremiah: "O Lord, you deceived me, and I was decieved. You overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long." Jeremiah 20:7-8
2 comments:
Abortion is my weak spot. I find it hard to just get along with pro-abortion people. In a church, if someone is pro-tax, anti-gun, pro-regulation, etc., fine. I can still call that person a Christian.
But there's something about endorsing genocide in our midst which is beyond creepy.
Although I've said that the UMC should avoid taking stands on political issues, this is one of those fundamental moral issues that, as you wrote in your profile, the Church must take a stand on or declare itself morally irrelevent.
What will generations from now think of us when they look at the history of abortion in America? Will they still be willing to call us kin?
Thank you for your comment, John. The UMC's stand on abortion is weak, in my humble opinion, because while it opposes abortion on the one hand it condones abortion under certain other circumstances even while stating that "we hesitate".
Life is fundamental to our existence, to everything. If we cannot respect that hope, then what else is left? John Paul II once said that "a nation that kills its own young is a nation without hope."
I would like to think that future generations would look back at the history of abortion in the US and call us cursed, but I don't see that happening because there are not enough pastors and preachers willing to address abortion in the pulpit.
Surprisingly, my third sermon as a lay speaker did address abortion and I was reprimanded by a retired pastor who said he has been pro-"choice" his entire life. My response? "Reverend, the Bible and I stand by everything I said."
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