*i've since learned that my last post wasn't as clear as i thought it was, so be sure to read the comments under them and they'll really help you understand what i meant.
abortion and gay marriage, lets go...
these issues are not as cut and dry for me, as they seem to be, for so many other people that share my allegiance to christ. for most in my camp, it is very clear. every single person should have afforded to them the gift of life. heres my question, is that same insistence given to convicted felons (and maybe even muslim extremists or radical dictatorships)? you may say, 'they are guilty, they deserve death!' oh, be so very careful, how we swing the condemnation stick! apart from christ every single person has the same exact chance of escaping just condemnation, namely, zero! if you find yourself in christ, it is not because you are innocent and deserving life. no, it is the grace of god extended to you by jesus through the cross. 'innocence' and 'deserve' aren't even in the equation because we are evil and our just dessert is the full, unbridled wrath of god. so, i never, ever wanna be the one to pull the trigger on another persons life, be that in the womb or on death row.
i don't know how so many people can be pro-life yet pro capital punishment. i never can believe that someone is outside of the grace of god. i look at all the evil that is in me and was mine to claim apart from christ and i exclaim 'god, i know you can save them, you did it to me; god please, if you can rescue me, then i know your grace is big enough for them!'
legislation is not our salvation! abortion is a symptom of the real illness that goes down to the pit of our soul. lets say abortions are completely illegal to perform. if those women aren't redeemed by christ, their sin is still on them. don't you dare vilify these women. if you are apart from christ, then your sin is just as evil and its still on you too. instead of heaping unending scorn on these women, why don't we labor to see how we can show love to them and live out the gospel in front of them. we can pass all the legislation in the world and it will not convict sinners of their sins and bring them to repentance; this will only happen when the light of the glory of god in the face of christ is revealed to them and the veil is there no longer. it seems that all we have done is made our voices so ugly that these people don't hear it. they have been hoodwinked by an inaccurate perception of what the gospel is; lets show them the gospel and its effect of life, culture, creation, etc instead of constantly picking the same ole fight. if these women die in their sin, then they will receive the punishment for their actions, but i don't think that we have to take that as our battle, let god handle that.
for gay marriage, i think a lot of what i already said applies here. legislation is not the solution. for those who say 'marriage is sacred.' i believe that the purpose of marriage is to glorify god by showing off the relationship between christ and his church. so, if its a man and a man not serving that purpose, it appals me; if its a man and a woman, not serving that purpose, it appals me. it is very hard for me to go to weddings where both people are not actively seeking the glory of god and his purpose for marriage, it feels like the sacred covenant god created is being prostituted out. so why when its a gay couple it bothers you more (again, check your scorn and reread the aforementioned in christ/out of christ part). shouldn't we be asking these same questions as before? how do we show love to a group of people that 'we' have alienated and vilified? their sin also is still not outside of the grace of god.
so, i think a lot of people are trying to win a very small victory that really isn't a victory, through legislation. like leslie, a woman in my missional community, reminded me that we cannot impose our convictions and beliefs on those that aren't god's children. the bible says that and experience has proved that its not an effective way to show off the glory of god.
to summarize:
i think the killing of any human is wrong. i think that marriage is a covenant with a man and a woman both living for the glory of god and both seeking to show a lost, dying world the relationship between christ and his church. should we as followers of christ be looking to our secular government to impose these beliefs on a people who do not live for god; no, it is not effective nor does it deal with the real issue of human depravity. should we as followers of christ be begging god for the safe the passage of every human life through the birth canal and the salvation of every human living apart from christ and freedom from the sin that finds so many people enslaved, yes. may we not get so distracted by our politics that we forget our evil apart from christ. may we not follow the flinch to heap scorn or hate but let us follow jesus' example (rom. 5) and pauls instruction (2 cor. 10). legislation does not equal salvation or even righteousness! may we not get so concerned with politics that we forget that these people are made in the image of god and that they are not outside of gods grace. may we beg god to reveal himself to these people.
<><
p.s. a great snippet from alistair begg that is relevant.
12:32 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
You make a good point with the death penalty. In fact, the death penalty and war policies are a couple of the few issues I think are worth considering alongside abortion. To clarify, I think issues concerning foreign relations or our economy pale in comparison to the ethical weightiness of issues that involve the taking of lives.
1.3 million abortions are performed each year in the United States. If abortion involves the killing of a legitimate person with the right to life then that means 1.3 legalized murders happen each year. That is an evil that must be fought. Legislation isn't salvation, I agree, but it has the potential to be the means through which this atrocity is prevented. I agree with you when you say that laws preventing abortion wouldn't do much (if anything) to save women's souls, but they would still prevent up to 1.3 million abortions each year.
I disagree with you that fighting for a victory over abortion is fighting for a small victory.
I love your explanation here and agree with your reasoning completely, I think. However, for me, I think it drives me to different conclusions while agreeing. For example, I agree the targeted condemnation of these women or gay people is absurd next to the sinfulness of everyone, the evil inherent in people. And I agree we should not legislate to push beliefs/values on people - that doesn't work and shouldn't work in a secular nation. Buying into that mindset basically says we shouldn't be a secular nation, and I know you agree with me when I say our kingdom is not of this world. However, the issue of abortion specifically isn't really about these women in the first place and changing their way of thinking - it's supposed to be about the unborn, right? So then, yes, legislation should be made to keep evil from working its way out if possible - the point of legislation should never about dissuading someone's beliefs.
Something that may also be helpful to keep in mind is the "good samaritan" law in place in some states. By inaction, you also are guilty. When you have the power to prevent something terrible from happening, you ought to do something. Theologically, yes, we know God is sovereign and sees the big picture an infinite degree better than we can. But we're also empowered stewards now, and he created us in such a way that we don't need to see the big picture to do The Right Thing now.
I'm glad for your comments on foreign policy and war. Personally, I'm convinced that the United States' foreign policy is responsible for more deaths than domestic abortion. Oooooh, controversial.
Post a Comment