My reasons...
Firstly because I believe the legalized, systemized killing in cold-blood of thousands of innocents every year is murder, and thererfore have a HUGE problem endorsing anyone who will not work to end it (or at least allow individual states to end it). The Bible is so clear about life beginning at conception. It is equally clear about our responsibility to preserve life-- especially human life, because man is made in the Image of God. "You shall not kill" as everyone knows. Abortion could scarcely be called "loving your neighbor as yourself," now could it?
Secondly, I do not want a man willing to stand for the slaughter of the most defenseless as the head of my government, the chief of my military, or any elected official whose policies will affect me or those I love. The military creed is to defend the weak and fight for the helpless. Abortion does just the opposite, preying not only upon the unborn but upon the scared, hurting and usually confused women whom it promises to help. It doesn't. (Just a few resources, here and here.)1 As a crisis pregnancy counselor I've never met a woman who wasn't hurt in one way or another by an abortion she had, some physically (they are often linked to uterine damage, which itself leads to later sterility), all emotionally, carrying immense guilt and self-hatred. One of the most wonderful things I have ever seen is women with post-abortion-trauma come to find forgiveness for their abortion in Christ as they realize that the murder of their son (or daughter) wasn't the worst crime they've committed: by their sin they've murdered the very Son of God (Jesus in the Cross), and God is willing to forgive them for both...just as He is willing to forgive every sinner rebelling against Him and therefore just as disgusting and wretched in His eyes as a serial muderer.
I wanted to explain why abortion matters so much to me and other Christians. I hope you'll think about it, long and hard. It is especially harmful to black Americans, with a disproportionate amount of abortions terminating black pregnancies than white or Hispanic. Some have called it "Black Genocide." We have an ever-growing number of bi-racial or African-American adopted children in our church, and we rejoice to see them saved from death and raised in loving homes.
If you'd like to think more about this, or if you're wondering if abortion really deserves the front-and-center spotlight many christians give it, this sermon and resulting correspondance from Covenant Life Church (Pastor Josh Harris) may help.
--Christina
1) one especially striking quote: "As the medical data above reveal, more than three decades of legal abortion have not made the procedure much safer—women are still dying or suffering serious harm. Even Warren Hern, noted abortionist and author of Abortion Practice, a leading medical textbook, writes, "[There are few surgical procedures given so little attention and so underrated in its potential hazard as abortion.""
2) Abortion is actually a way men oppress women, rather than liberating them: "So while "pro-choice" feminists hail abortion as the symbol of women's sexual freedom and equality, the ordinary young woman may find no such liberation when she has sex with her date, thinking, as women are prone to do, that sex will bind the two emotionally. Instead, when he doesn't share the depth of her feelings and then hands her $400 for the abortion when she becomes pregnant, it's not only her heart that's broken. She alone has to live with the possible short-term and long-term medical consequences of the abortion for the rest of her life. For many women, "reproductive freedom" has meant that women continue to negotiate all that comes with reproduction while men enjoy the freedom of sex without consequences." ~Erika Bachiochi
Thank you for boldly stating PRECISELY what we as Christians should be concerned about. That's all I have to say right now as I'm still trying to gather my thoughts about how things turned out...
ReplyDeleteAnd as an aside, if I ever have the opportunity to write (though right now I have no clue what I would be writing about!), I'm definitely recruiting you as co-author :)
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