The husband and I were having an interesting discussion on our drive up to Denver. We found a subject both of us are passionate about, but both of us avoid discussing because we are among a minority within our circle of friends and could really anger some people with our thoughts. I've been mulling over this discussion for days now with continued gusto of heart for this issue. Since he is now back home and I am not, I guess this seems like the next logical outlet.
The issue we were discussing was the response of most Christians to abortion. The thing that gets me all riled up is not, surprisingly, abortion itself. Before I'm lynched I should explain. Abortion is an ugly, vile, heartbreaking evil that has been created by fallen humans living in a fallen world. I don't advocate that it is justifiable, even though I have some non-Christian friends who do.
There are two things that I whole-heartedly believe about abortion that may get me lynched anyway. First, I don't think it will ever go away. If by some inexplicable grace it was outlawed tomorrow, I think abortions would continue and in the continuation would become more dangerous for the woman seeking an abortion. Abortions, in some form or another have existed for centuries. During the height of the roman empire when orgies were the norm women knew of a certain herb they could eat that would end unwanted pregnancies. So many women used this herb that it doesn't even exist anymore. No matter what we do to fight the spread of sin on the earth it will persist until Christ returns and final judgment is made. Part of this sin is abortion, and hard as we fight it, there will continue to be unwanted children, and women seeking to avoid these "mistakes."
The second thing I believe about abortion is something that could get me in deep trouble with a lot of people. In this I pray that if I am wrong that the eyes of my heart would be opened and my blindness would be taken away by the truth that only true Grace can bring. I believe that education and love is more important that protest and condemnation. Many Christians think that going to pro-life rallies, or posting blogs about how awful abortion is, or shouting from the pulpit that women seeking abortions are murderers and the doctors who peform abortions are bringing a scourge of infanticide upon our country, or any number of equally condeming comments are not only right but also necessary and biblical. I feel that this attitude is foolish at best, and drasticaly harmful at worst. I think that educating girls about choices other than abortion, rather than condeming them for thinking abortion is a choice, could lead to fewer abortions. I think there are a lot of young women who really feel like there is no other way, and have no idea that there are people out there who would love to help them get through the what could be the toughest decision they may ever make.
What if instead of screaming from the mountaintops at the sinners we see around us, we follow a biblical example (i.e. Jesus) and love the sinners more than anyone else is willing to? What if we start looking at young women who are cosidering abortion as opportunities for love rather than opprtunities to preach? What if Christians were willing to take pregnant women into their homes, provide safe, loving, healthy environments for pregnancies to continue to grow and then help facilitate adoption? What if we were more interested in showing Jesus to a lost soul than worrying about the child that could be harmed as a result of sin being in the world? Maybe children could be saved. Maybe people would know we are Christians by our love, not our screams.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
If you don't like it, move to Canada!
So, I don't really get the double standard that many people live comfortably with regarding our president.
When George W. Bush was in office there were people screaming for impeachment. Many people felt that he had forced our country into an un-winable war in Iraq, immediately after going into a war in Afghanistan that truly many Americans supported because they were outraged after 9-11. Additionally, many people were angry that the economy was imploding on itself, gas prices were rising, and this country seemed to be, in the eyes of many, collapsing into shambles. There were protest marches and outrage over the abuse of prisoners of war, and citizens proclaiming that they were ashamed to be Americans. Through it all, many staunch Republicans shouted back "He's still your President, you can't change that! Either suck it up, or move to Canada (France, Sweden, etc.)" Alternately, moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats were saying, "Yes, it's a mess, but we can't change the President yet, and that might not even help, so let's vote wisely in other elections and be as involved as we can in the democratic process."
Now, there is outrage at Barak Obama. People are upset that he's not wholly experienced at being a diplomat on the world stage, others are outraged at the chaos that is going on with the bailout money, and some are becoming disenchanted, feeling that all the promises he made on the campaign trail are being thrown to the wayside. Honestly, he's successfully made pretty much every party angry in some way since he took office. He still has some staunch supporters who truly believe is incapable of mistake, and he has staunch opponents who truly believe that he is incapable of doing anything right. These attitudes are typical of any administration, I think, but seem to be more extreme than usual due to the extremes that our country is facing. What strikes me as odd though, is that the people who shouted about needing to support Pres. Bush because he was President, are now just as boisterously shouting "Obama isn't my President! I'm ashamed that he was elected by this country that I love!" Really? Not even a year into this administration you have changed your tune about supporting the President as President? Really?
What frightens me most is that Christians tend to be the ones speaking out the loudest and harshest. We are the ones who are supposed to pray for our leaders, acknowledging that God has placed them in the position of power for a reason. Do we forget so easily that God created the heavens and the Earth? He knows who our President is at all times and is using that person for His glory, whether they are His or not. Does that mean that wars are for His glory? No, but what those wars cause in people's hearts could be. Does that mean the economic collapse brings glory to God? No, but people might be more willing to admit their out ineptness when they realize they have no control in their life. We need to pray for wisdom for our leaders; we wouldn't want their jobs and we wouldn't want to try to figure out this mess. We need to remember that even if we don't like our leaders, or their decisions, we still have to remember the God can use even this present age of our country to shape us into better images of Himself!
When George W. Bush was in office there were people screaming for impeachment. Many people felt that he had forced our country into an un-winable war in Iraq, immediately after going into a war in Afghanistan that truly many Americans supported because they were outraged after 9-11. Additionally, many people were angry that the economy was imploding on itself, gas prices were rising, and this country seemed to be, in the eyes of many, collapsing into shambles. There were protest marches and outrage over the abuse of prisoners of war, and citizens proclaiming that they were ashamed to be Americans. Through it all, many staunch Republicans shouted back "He's still your President, you can't change that! Either suck it up, or move to Canada (France, Sweden, etc.)" Alternately, moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats were saying, "Yes, it's a mess, but we can't change the President yet, and that might not even help, so let's vote wisely in other elections and be as involved as we can in the democratic process."
Now, there is outrage at Barak Obama. People are upset that he's not wholly experienced at being a diplomat on the world stage, others are outraged at the chaos that is going on with the bailout money, and some are becoming disenchanted, feeling that all the promises he made on the campaign trail are being thrown to the wayside. Honestly, he's successfully made pretty much every party angry in some way since he took office. He still has some staunch supporters who truly believe is incapable of mistake, and he has staunch opponents who truly believe that he is incapable of doing anything right. These attitudes are typical of any administration, I think, but seem to be more extreme than usual due to the extremes that our country is facing. What strikes me as odd though, is that the people who shouted about needing to support Pres. Bush because he was President, are now just as boisterously shouting "Obama isn't my President! I'm ashamed that he was elected by this country that I love!" Really? Not even a year into this administration you have changed your tune about supporting the President as President? Really?
What frightens me most is that Christians tend to be the ones speaking out the loudest and harshest. We are the ones who are supposed to pray for our leaders, acknowledging that God has placed them in the position of power for a reason. Do we forget so easily that God created the heavens and the Earth? He knows who our President is at all times and is using that person for His glory, whether they are His or not. Does that mean that wars are for His glory? No, but what those wars cause in people's hearts could be. Does that mean the economic collapse brings glory to God? No, but people might be more willing to admit their out ineptness when they realize they have no control in their life. We need to pray for wisdom for our leaders; we wouldn't want their jobs and we wouldn't want to try to figure out this mess. We need to remember that even if we don't like our leaders, or their decisions, we still have to remember the God can use even this present age of our country to shape us into better images of Himself!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Really didn't need to see that....
There's a recurring trend on the internet that is starting to really disturb me, and I don't quite understand why it's taking off. People have started posting ultrasound pictures of their baby's genitalia. Why do people think that this is appropriate behavior? If they posted similar pictures on the internet once the child is born they would get in big trouble for child pornography. Do they think that people don't believe them when they excitedly proclaim the gender of the child after the ultrasound and thus need to provide photographic evidence?
Don't get me wrong, I like seeing the progressive ultrasound pictures as much as anyone else. It's exciting to see the baby growing; to partake in the excitement of the expectant mother to some extent. When people find out the gender they are typically very excited and like sharing the information, and as an outsider you start think of which parent the little one will look most like. The whole process of babies coming into the world is fabulous and everyone who even has contact with the parents gets a little bit of sharing in the process.
The real issue I have though with these scandalous pictures is what would you say, as an adult, if you found out that your parents had proudly posted pictures of your tender vittles on the internet for the whole world to see? Maybe I'm just a prude, but I think I would be a little embarrassed. I mean the goofy pictures my mom took of me in the bathtub are a little bad, but at least the essential parts are covered with a washcloth. She even has pictures of us nude sunbathing in the backyard, but just the butts, and I think I was about 2 years old. I don't know specifically where people are supposed to draw the line, and maybe some would say that the pics my mom took of us were scandalous, but perhaps we should provide the same amount of decency for the children waiting to be born as we would for ourselves.
Don't get me wrong, I like seeing the progressive ultrasound pictures as much as anyone else. It's exciting to see the baby growing; to partake in the excitement of the expectant mother to some extent. When people find out the gender they are typically very excited and like sharing the information, and as an outsider you start think of which parent the little one will look most like. The whole process of babies coming into the world is fabulous and everyone who even has contact with the parents gets a little bit of sharing in the process.
The real issue I have though with these scandalous pictures is what would you say, as an adult, if you found out that your parents had proudly posted pictures of your tender vittles on the internet for the whole world to see? Maybe I'm just a prude, but I think I would be a little embarrassed. I mean the goofy pictures my mom took of me in the bathtub are a little bad, but at least the essential parts are covered with a washcloth. She even has pictures of us nude sunbathing in the backyard, but just the butts, and I think I was about 2 years old. I don't know specifically where people are supposed to draw the line, and maybe some would say that the pics my mom took of us were scandalous, but perhaps we should provide the same amount of decency for the children waiting to be born as we would for ourselves.
Friday, February 27, 2009
I shouldn't watch CNN, it just frustrates me.
CNN has this thing called iReports, and it is infinitely the silliest thing that the CNN folks have come up with since that crazy wall. For those of you who don't know what an iReport is, it seems to me to be semi-structured (CNN decides on topics) video blogs sent in by people who watch CNN. If people want to do that it's totally within their rights to do so, but whoever it is that chooses what iReport to air should maybe think of what the average person viewing will think of said iReport. The one i saw today made me turn off the TV.
This girl is sitting there, talking about how she lost her job 3 months ago, is receiving unemployment, enumerating all the things she has had to cut out of her life. I start to feel for the girl, it seems right now everyone is feeling a little tightening of the belts due to the present state of our country. There are things in my life that I've cut back on, or cut out completely, so there is empathy for this girl and her situation, until she starts talking about where her unemployment check goes. She eventually got to necessities like a roof over her head and food in her belly, but one of the first things she mentioned was cable. And I'm pretty sure she left out the high speed internet she needed to post her iReport. I'm not picking on this girl, I think she really is having a hard time with life and could use some encouragement, but I think she is an interesting commentary on our cuture.
What do we really NEED? Do I need hundreds of channels on cable in order to survive? No: in fact we just changed our plan and cut out about 150 channels that we didn't need because it didn't make sense to pay for what we had. I grew up with about 4 channels on TV, and didn't have cable until I got married, and I wouldn't miss cable if I went back to that. I didn't even know what MTV was until I was 15 and I was totally unimpressed. People all over the world don't even own a TV! Do I need internet? No: it is a wonderful tool for reconnecting with old friends, and a great way to talk to family in distant places, and an unending source of time-wasting goodness that I would go through withdrawals without, but I don't NEED it for survival. Additionally, if I really needed internet I could go to the public library. I know, "Heaven forbid such travesty!" Do I even need my beautiful house? No: all I need is a roof over my head where I can feel safe, sleep well, and raise my children. Do I need my car? No: even in a city that is pretty spread out, most of the things I do in a week are 10 miles or less from my house. I could walk, ride a bike, or even talk to my neighbors and form a carpool with them to get all of our errands run together to save gas. There are so many things I act like I NEED, that are a total waste of resources.
I am so thankful for all that I have, but I constantly have to remind myself that this world is not my home. I have a beautiful life, but I need to remember it is beautiful because of my Savior, my family, and my friends, not my stuff. What if we can take this economic disaster and remember why we are here, what is important, and plan better for where we are going? What if we get to learn to trust God with things that up until now we thought we had control over? What if we find that we can live with less, and then when we have more we share that with others instead? What if we don't worry so much about the future, and recognize that even the birds have houses, and the lilies have beautiful clothes?
This girl is sitting there, talking about how she lost her job 3 months ago, is receiving unemployment, enumerating all the things she has had to cut out of her life. I start to feel for the girl, it seems right now everyone is feeling a little tightening of the belts due to the present state of our country. There are things in my life that I've cut back on, or cut out completely, so there is empathy for this girl and her situation, until she starts talking about where her unemployment check goes. She eventually got to necessities like a roof over her head and food in her belly, but one of the first things she mentioned was cable. And I'm pretty sure she left out the high speed internet she needed to post her iReport. I'm not picking on this girl, I think she really is having a hard time with life and could use some encouragement, but I think she is an interesting commentary on our cuture.
What do we really NEED? Do I need hundreds of channels on cable in order to survive? No: in fact we just changed our plan and cut out about 150 channels that we didn't need because it didn't make sense to pay for what we had. I grew up with about 4 channels on TV, and didn't have cable until I got married, and I wouldn't miss cable if I went back to that. I didn't even know what MTV was until I was 15 and I was totally unimpressed. People all over the world don't even own a TV! Do I need internet? No: it is a wonderful tool for reconnecting with old friends, and a great way to talk to family in distant places, and an unending source of time-wasting goodness that I would go through withdrawals without, but I don't NEED it for survival. Additionally, if I really needed internet I could go to the public library. I know, "Heaven forbid such travesty!" Do I even need my beautiful house? No: all I need is a roof over my head where I can feel safe, sleep well, and raise my children. Do I need my car? No: even in a city that is pretty spread out, most of the things I do in a week are 10 miles or less from my house. I could walk, ride a bike, or even talk to my neighbors and form a carpool with them to get all of our errands run together to save gas. There are so many things I act like I NEED, that are a total waste of resources.
I am so thankful for all that I have, but I constantly have to remind myself that this world is not my home. I have a beautiful life, but I need to remember it is beautiful because of my Savior, my family, and my friends, not my stuff. What if we can take this economic disaster and remember why we are here, what is important, and plan better for where we are going? What if we get to learn to trust God with things that up until now we thought we had control over? What if we find that we can live with less, and then when we have more we share that with others instead? What if we don't worry so much about the future, and recognize that even the birds have houses, and the lilies have beautiful clothes?
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