Talking Above My Pay Grade

.

So how do I reconcile being a prolife Christian with supporting a pro-choice Democrat?

I’m not going to cop out with a “pay grade” excuse. I believe life begins at conception, but I stand that we can do a lot more to save the unborn by being involved at a personal and community level rather than demanding that the judiciary tell more women “No.” Have you supported an orphanage or adoption ministry lately? A pro-life pregnancy crisis center? If you have, good, keep it up. That, and conversing with scared, pregnant friends in a loving manner, does a lot more than standing in front of the Supreme Court with red “LIFE” tape on your mouth.*

Need an adoption ministry and orphanage to support? I recommend Home For Good Foundation. For a pregnancy crisis center, Gateway in New Jersey needs help. That’s how I make up for voting Obama. Don’t judge, don’t hate; love, do and give.

* You know what? The first time I saw kids standing in front of the Supreme Court with red LIFE tape on their mouths, I thought it was a pro-choice protest, with the idea being that the “life” movement was stifling rights to free speech or something. Turns out it’s supposed to symbolize how the unborn cannot speak for themselves. Unclear metaphor.

Comments

  1. Lester says:
    2008-09-01 at 09:02

    I’m pro-choice, but not drastically so, if that makes any sense. I’d definitely prefer people think with their brains more, and think with their genitals less, and I’d like to see abortions lower, and I’d love to see the day when abortions just aren’t needed at all.

    That said, I loved this post, because I’ve long said: if someone’s going to be vocally pro-life and anti-abortion, they should put their money where their mouths are and support adoption. Support adoption of all types. If you’re able to adopt, and want a kid, by all means, please adopt. Suport adoption for gay couples. Donate time or resources to adoption agencies to make the lives of orphans (especially older kids) more livable.

    This is a tenet I’ve lived by for a long time. I’m pro-choice, but I’m also pro-people and pro-kids.

  2. Tim Etherington says:
    2008-09-01 at 09:10

    I hear ya but don’t follow you.

    Imagine if Wilberforce took the same tact with slavery. We’ll just improve the economic conditions of the nation to the point where slavery isn’t needed any more.

    It isn’t an either/or here, we must work to support adoption and orphanages and pro-life pregnancy counseling centers AND work to end the slaughter of millions of unborn children. In other words, we need to find a place for those who would be aborted to land safely.

    And you’re right, many of those pregnant mothers looking at abortion are scared and confused. They need the love of Christ, not some ugly political statement shoved in their faces. I think the pro-life activists have mostly changed their tone over the years.

  3. Tim Etherington says:
    2008-09-02 at 08:54

    http://timmybrister.com/2008/09/01/ending-abortion-a-pipe-dream/

  4. K. T. says:
    2008-09-04 at 04:41

    When you say life begins at conception, is it at the moment the sperm fertilizes the egg? Does the resulting embryo have a soul at that point? If yes, then anything that prevents the implantation of the embryo to the uterus constitutes a form of abortion. Which is how IUD’s and other contraceptives like the morning-after pill work. But then again, “natural” family planning methods (calendar, basal temperature) that are based on a woman’s menstrual cycle can result in the same thing — fertilization without implantation when the uterus is not ready to accept and nurture an embryo. So can breast feeding in the first 6 months after giving birth, due to the hormonal changes it induces. Consider also that an estimated 25% of pregnancies end in spontaneous natural abortion, or miscarriage, as it is more commonly called. The vast majority are undetected — embryos that aren’t viable for one reason or another simply get expelled during menstruation. Statistically speaking, 1.5 billion pregnancies were aborted by natural causes just to arrive at the present world population. How much more during the course of human history?

    What happens to all these souls? Are they bound for hell on account of Original Sin and/or not having the opportunity to accept Jesus as their savior, through absolutely no fault of their own? Is there a “limbo”, where they are spared from eternal torment, but still excluded from the glory of heaven? Or do they go straight to paradise? If yes, does it not mean that they’ve hit the jackpot in the lottery of eternal life — they never have to suffer in this sinful earth, and instead they go directly to the beatific vision of God? By extension, aren’t those who decide to have abortions, and those who ultimately perform them, actually doing the unborn a favor in terms of their salvation? Perhaps the souls of the unborn are “recycled” until they finally are born into the world. If so, what was the harm of aborting them previously? If you believe in predestination, then God already knows or has pre-ordained which souls are to be saved. So abortion is moot, since being born and living one’s life has no bearing on one’s salvation.

    I think it’s impossible to know for certain what “God’s mind” is on the difficult and complex matter of abortion. We should humbly acknowledge that we don’t have all the answers, and remind ourselves that it is not our place to judge. And we should vote for social and economic policies that would actually result in reducing the number of abortions.