Globally, TWR is deeply concerned about abortions wrecking women’s lives.
How should Christians respond? What thoughts should we have for the dead ‘unborn living soul’, and mother and father? What about health workers?
Jesus message is clear. Suffering people should turn to God in their time of need and acknowledge their own wrongdoing. He knew they would find forgiveness and love from God. His followers are to bring grace, forgiveness and love to everyone in these troubled situations.
Judgment belongs to God; and God alone.
How does evil weave its’ evil? Does it cause poor parenting? Is it behind sexualisation of children and young people for manipulation and profit? What about spiritually destructive beliefs and ideas? Evil works both in and out of the Church?
How should Christians confront evil people? Be very alert and astute! Yet, remember Jesus’ plea from the Cross. “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.”
In a Christian worldview, government is responsible for good social order before God; serving the people through laws it enacts. Just treatment by government of people’s wrongdoing helps create civil society.
If killing an ‘unborn living soul’ is murder, then people who commit abortions should be fairly tried for that crime. Also, government must generate merciful treatment towards everybody in the society.
This creates two challenges for Christian leadership! The first is to prophetically hold government accountable for ‘godly’ government. The second is to equip Christians to bring into our society the fruits of God’s Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
These are examples for our society. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they would help to change personal and community beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviour.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Alister Cameron // Blogologist 09.14.08 at 5:46 pm
Thanks for contributing to the “noise” online about this, at such an important time.
Thought you and your readers would be interested in some of what Bill Muehlenberg has been writing on the subject. Great material to help us understand the issues deeply:
http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2008/09/09/even-more-abortion-myths/
-Alister
Bob Simpson 09.15.08 at 11:54 am
Hi Alister,
I’ve met Bill a couple of times, and I know he is a very honourable man. But I don’t think political argument achieves much in this. Yes, it may sway votes in a political debate but it is unlikely to change people’s hearts. I’m pressing the Christian community to be witnesses of love and grace towards people; these young men and young women, whose behaviour brings them into very difficult and traumatic emotional and spiritual circumstances. Of any group in the community, Christians should be seen by suffering people as the natural group that will bring them love, compassion, mercy and healing in what will be deeply troubling times. Many Christians do bring this healing. Sadly, many other vocal Christians are unloving and unkind in their harsh judgment. This causes greater suffering; and, is against Jesus’ commandments. These same Christians are loved by Christ (he laid his life down for them, for goodness’ sake) and Jesus commands them to pass that love onto the suffering.
Standing against the forces that cause this suffering is another matter, for another time.
It’s great to talk with you.
Bob
Bob Simpson 09.16.08 at 10:42 am
Hi Alister, I just looked at Bill Muelenberg’s, “Culture Watch” again, and something struck me about his paragraph… “As with most contentious social issues, one way to make your case is simply to repeat a falsehood often enough, hoping mere repetition will win people over. As Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister once said, “If you tell any lie long enough, often enough, and loud enough, people will come to believe it.””
Do you know what struck me? This is what Jesus did when he preached the “good news of the Kingdom of Heaven”. He wants us to preach it. Talk about it! Be witnesses for it! Practice it! Show it to our children; our neighbours; our workmates; school friends; friends in Rotary and Probus!
Goebbels was smart.
If you communicate the grace of God long enough, often enough, and deeply enough, people will come to believe it!”
Why haven’t we woken up to the simplicity of this?
Bob
Alister Cameron // Blogologist 09.16.08 at 11:37 am
I agree, Bob.
One fundamental of leadership is “visionizing capacity”… meaning, the ability to sow seeds of vision, water those seeds and see them bear fruit in a mobilized following.
Key to that is “spaced repetition”. And, the point of what Bill is saying is that the spaced repetition of a lie works as well as that of a truth, sadly.
By the way, this is also the essence of good marketing. Communications, per se, is aboutsaying the same thing simply and clearly and repetitively. I agree with you that the challenge for average Christians is to stop making a simple thing complicated, so that it loses its savour (saltiness, to be Biblical) and fails to “stick” because it’s not repeated enough
-Alister