Smoky Mountain Reflections
January 2013
Happy
New Year......I guess we do not need the existence of a Mayan calendar because
you are reading this, and the last date on that calendar passed weeks ago. As
we enter the year of 2013, we do come upon a gloomy anniversary. For the past
40 years, we as a nation have been allowing for the legal murder of unborn
children. I can hear you saying it
now...."Come on Pastor, not that topic again...it is so depressing." I agree.
It is a depressing topic, but if we do not speak the truth in love to
our neighbors on this topic....who will speak for the weak and vulnerable who
cannot speak for themselves?
It
would be great if all the people we know and love could be on the same page on
this topic, but the truth is we all know and love people who are on the wrong
side of this discussion. If we all were
of one mind and agreed about the intrinsic value of life, then the womb would
be a safe place to live. But the truth is we are not, and out of respect and
concern for all those people and the lives that are at risk, it is best to be
honest and upfront about who you are, what you believe, and why you believe it.
This
is important for two reasons. First—life
is a blessing and as such should be nurtured and cared for. We as a society
must work to protect and care for the weak, and those who are in a position to
protect them best—their mothers. Secondly, a whole generation of women have
been lied to and told that their child was not a life, and so 30 to 40 percent
of our society is suffering the physical and emotional scars of abortion. We as
the body of Christ must do everything in our power to communicate God’s love
and forgiveness for these hurting men and woman who either directly or
indirectly suffer from post-abortion issues.
It
saddens me that we cannot get the truth from our media outlets, our government,
our health care system, or any other public organization, because the "lifestyle
left" has its hooks in all these places, keeping the public message in
line with their abortion-on-demand agenda. Abortion is the most unregulated and
most unreported medical procedure taking place in our country. The pro-choice
propaganda machine says it is fighting for women. What about all the future women that are
aborted? What about the women who die because of botched abortions? What about
those who suffer from post-abortion physical and emotional scars? What about
the women who are coerced into making the choice for abortion by organizations
that make money off that decision? These
organizations lobby against simple legislation including licensing and
regulating abortion clinics, parental consent requirements for minors, 24-hour
waiting periods and ultrasound provisions. The reason they fight all these
things is because they know that when women are given all the information,
women overwhelming decide against abortion and that cuts into their
business.
There
is another thing that puzzles me. I
noticed in the last election that the pro-life candidates have to clarify their
position for the media: “What, if any, are the exceptions in your
position?” Being pro-choice also has
many different positions, but the media asked no such question of those with a
pro-choice position. You could almost put all these positions on a Life vs
Choice scale and find that people and even leaders all lean heavily to the LIFE
side of this scale. Here is a summary of those positions as I understand them:
-
Full Pro-Life no exceptions.
However
even in this position, most would make exception to protect the life of the
mother, leaving that decision in the hands of the
mother.
-
Pro-Life with the exception of rape and incest (The Romney / Ryan Position)
-
Pro-Life with the exception of rape, incest, and health of mother.
-
Pro-Choice (rare and legal) first trimester only.
-
Pro-Choice with all above exceptions plus welfare of the mother.
-
Pro-Choice abortion on demand for any reason but only in the first trimester.
-
Pro-Choice abortion on demand for any reason up to the day of birth (The Obama / Biden Position)
-
Extreme Pro-Choice if a child was intended to be aborted but is born
alive.....let it die.
There
are even more extreme positions that would allow for euthanizing infants if
there is anything wrong with
them that would give them a poor quality of life. We must be well informed on these issues and
as such, should take the time to educate ourselves. So that we can be well informed members of
the body of Christ, the human race, and as citizens.
What
can you do? Well, you can stay informed by visiting some of the following
websites: www.lutheransforlife.org; www.afa.net:
www.ruthinstitute.org; www.all.org; www.nrlc.org.
Listen to Issues Etc. online (www.issuesetc.org)
as they often cover this topic. You can
also pray for and give of your time and resources to the Women's Care Center,
and our county’s Right to Life chapter that is having a rally at Country
Tonight on the 13th @ 2 PM. See you
there, and have a great new year!!
In Christ,
