This is a time when God is giving an opportunity for us to see our sinfulness. You might say that there is always ample opportunity to see that. All we have to do is watch the news.
So, what is the special opportunity we are being given at this time? It has to do with the recent revelations about the great evil that Planned Parenthood has been involved in.
First, think of the women who find out what has been done with their unborn babies. Think of the fathers of those children. Sure, not everyone will respond the same way, but many will be faced with the reality of what has been done to them.
Then, think of the abortionists and other Planned Parenthood workers who have to face up to the truth about what they are doing. Sure, not all will feel guilt and shame for what they are doing, but many others will.
What about all of us Americans who have allowed this evil to take root in our society and go as far as it has gone?
We are in need of repentance and grace in Christ, now as much or more than ever.
The clear message that we as Christians need to give is that Planned Parenthood’s actions are evil.
The clear message that we as Christians need to give is that Christ gave His life for our sins, including these sins. There is hope and salvation in Him if we are willing to receive it.
He does not hate you. He loves you and wants you to come to Him for healing. Here are just a few online resources that will help.
Come to the sacraments. Come home to the Church. Come home to Jesus. Call out to Him for mercy and grace, and He will hear and welcome you with open arms. So will the Church. Your family is waiting to receive you in love. We are all sinners in need of grace.
Here is a list of resources.
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Catholics Come Home
After Abortion
Project Rachel - Hope After Abortion
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Help and Healing After Abortion - from April, 2013
I found a wonderful website called After Abortion.org. Check it out. There are many lies being told to women, and much cover up of the real effects of abortion on women. After Abortion.org is one place where women are telling the truth about abortion. Abortion is not good for women at all. On this website, women are given a number of helpful resources if they are struggling emotionally after having had an abortion. There are articles written by women who had abortions at some time during their lives, but later had deep regret for what they had done.
The stories are sad, of course, but also hopeful. The women who share have found help and are in the process of healing from the emotional scars they suffered because of their abortions.
Of course, pro abortion groups allege that Post Abortion Stress Syndrome does not exist. I find that to be very odd. Such a cold, callous attitude reminds me of when doctors used to tell women that pain during their periods was not real. It didn't matter how many women said that they had pain - a lot of pain. Doctors denied the existence of things like cramps.
I would suggest that the women who are suffering anxiety, sadness, guilt, and shame because of their abortions need to be listened to and helped. Some health care professionals are telling them that their pain is meaningless, or that they need to just get over it. Abortion is just a normal part of life for many women, and they just have to accept it as normal.
Sure. Not all women will feel bad about their abortions. For the sake of argument, let's say that only a small minority of women suffer from stress after their abortions. Fine. What does that have to do with those who are suffering, or even suicidal because of what they did or what was done to them? Nothing at all. How can those who deny the existence of the condition called Post Abortion Stress Syndrome justify their harsh treatment of women who are suffering emotional scars from the procedure called abortion?
This condition may not be common, but it is certainly something that many women are haunted by. I suspect, just by the women I have talked to, that PASS is very common. A growing number of women are finding the courage to write about what they have gone through. The purpose of their sharing is to help other women who may be suffering the same kinds of symptoms they are. Shouldn't the abortion proponents at least acknowledge that these women are real? If Planned Parenthood and other organizations are really concerned about women's health, as they claim, then shouldn't they show some concern for the women who are suffering from PASS and other post abortion related conditions? It is easy for PP to say that PASS is a condition that was made up by the pro life community in an effort to undermine the good work that the pro abortion groups are doing. PP's views on PASS are posted at their website. They basically brush it off, since the American Psychiatric Assoc. doesn't recognize PASS as a real condition.
Of course, the APA's reaction could be because they do not have enough cases to study at this time. It may very well be something that women are just beginning to come to terms with. Society has been telling women that abortion is legal, and that they have a right to make that choice. It may take time for most women to find the courage to talk about it. Also, counselors may not be able to fully recognize the symptoms if they have been taught that women suffer no emotional damage because of their abortions. Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates seem way too anxious to ignore the pleas for help. Or, if they recognize that women can feel bad about their abortions, they are quick to tell women that what they did was the right decision at the time. Somehow, though, the doubts and regret continue to haunt women who have bought into the pro abortion apologists' simplistic answers to their deep questions. How do abortionists want women to handle their emotional responses? Just accept that abortion is a normal part of life, it is legal, and don't let the anti choice people guilt trip you.
I don't think that kind of answer helps at all. It is like telling women to ignore their mothering instincts - which is impossible. We cannot ignore or change who we are.
The stories are sad, of course, but also hopeful. The women who share have found help and are in the process of healing from the emotional scars they suffered because of their abortions.
Of course, pro abortion groups allege that Post Abortion Stress Syndrome does not exist. I find that to be very odd. Such a cold, callous attitude reminds me of when doctors used to tell women that pain during their periods was not real. It didn't matter how many women said that they had pain - a lot of pain. Doctors denied the existence of things like cramps.
I would suggest that the women who are suffering anxiety, sadness, guilt, and shame because of their abortions need to be listened to and helped. Some health care professionals are telling them that their pain is meaningless, or that they need to just get over it. Abortion is just a normal part of life for many women, and they just have to accept it as normal.
Sure. Not all women will feel bad about their abortions. For the sake of argument, let's say that only a small minority of women suffer from stress after their abortions. Fine. What does that have to do with those who are suffering, or even suicidal because of what they did or what was done to them? Nothing at all. How can those who deny the existence of the condition called Post Abortion Stress Syndrome justify their harsh treatment of women who are suffering emotional scars from the procedure called abortion?
This condition may not be common, but it is certainly something that many women are haunted by. I suspect, just by the women I have talked to, that PASS is very common. A growing number of women are finding the courage to write about what they have gone through. The purpose of their sharing is to help other women who may be suffering the same kinds of symptoms they are. Shouldn't the abortion proponents at least acknowledge that these women are real? If Planned Parenthood and other organizations are really concerned about women's health, as they claim, then shouldn't they show some concern for the women who are suffering from PASS and other post abortion related conditions? It is easy for PP to say that PASS is a condition that was made up by the pro life community in an effort to undermine the good work that the pro abortion groups are doing. PP's views on PASS are posted at their website. They basically brush it off, since the American Psychiatric Assoc. doesn't recognize PASS as a real condition.
Of course, the APA's reaction could be because they do not have enough cases to study at this time. It may very well be something that women are just beginning to come to terms with. Society has been telling women that abortion is legal, and that they have a right to make that choice. It may take time for most women to find the courage to talk about it. Also, counselors may not be able to fully recognize the symptoms if they have been taught that women suffer no emotional damage because of their abortions. Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates seem way too anxious to ignore the pleas for help. Or, if they recognize that women can feel bad about their abortions, they are quick to tell women that what they did was the right decision at the time. Somehow, though, the doubts and regret continue to haunt women who have bought into the pro abortion apologists' simplistic answers to their deep questions. How do abortionists want women to handle their emotional responses? Just accept that abortion is a normal part of life, it is legal, and don't let the anti choice people guilt trip you.
I don't think that kind of answer helps at all. It is like telling women to ignore their mothering instincts - which is impossible. We cannot ignore or change who we are.
When Does Life Begin?
From April 2013
When does life begin?
I agree with the premise that life begins at conception. There are a number of reasons as to why I agree. Here are some.
1. The patient in question is not the mother of the unborn child, but rather the child himself or herself. It is the viability of that life that is being questioned - not at this time the viability of healthy adult women of child-bearing age.
2. It is dangerous to ask a mother about when the child she carries or carried became a human being. She is not qualified to know the answer to that question. What if she decides that her child is not fully human until he or she turns 21 years of age? Can she terminate the life of any child she deems to be sub-human or not human yet? A mother's answer may vary from one day to the next, depending on her emotional state if she is the one who is to look at her heart and decide whether or not her child is a viable human being.
3. The only safe definition for the beginning of life is that from the moment of conception, the human zygote is a human being. Why safe? First, it is the only theologically safe definition. if God has anything to say about it - and I believe He does - then we had better be careful not to offend Him. Until and unless He says otherwise, it is best to assume that the moment of conception is the moment when human life begins. All of us who are alive at this time can say that our lives began in our mothers' wombs. When did we begin to be formed if not at the moment of conception?
Second, it is the only safe definition for mothers to go by. What a terrible burden it is on women to be forced by society to decided when their child's life begins. I am sure that I am not the only one who has listened to women tell of the terrible burden of guilt and shame they have borne because someone convinced them that the baby they were carrying was not really human; or someone coerced them into having an abortion. Post Abortion Stress Syndrome is very real, in spite of what many pro-choice women say to the contrary. .
Last, it is the only safe legal definition to go by. Otherwise, we end up making purely subjective, unscientific pronouncements about the beginning of life. It is certainly not scientific to say that only a woman can know. It is very bad public policy to leave the decision of life or death in the hands of one person, no matter if that person is the mother of the unborn child. So far we are talking only about unborn. In the future, the discussion about when life begins may move into post birth territory.
1. The patient in question is not the mother of the unborn child, but rather the child himself or herself. It is the viability of that life that is being questioned - not at this time the viability of healthy adult women of child-bearing age.
2. It is dangerous to ask a mother about when the child she carries or carried became a human being. She is not qualified to know the answer to that question. What if she decides that her child is not fully human until he or she turns 21 years of age? Can she terminate the life of any child she deems to be sub-human or not human yet? A mother's answer may vary from one day to the next, depending on her emotional state if she is the one who is to look at her heart and decide whether or not her child is a viable human being.
3. The only safe definition for the beginning of life is that from the moment of conception, the human zygote is a human being. Why safe? First, it is the only theologically safe definition. if God has anything to say about it - and I believe He does - then we had better be careful not to offend Him. Until and unless He says otherwise, it is best to assume that the moment of conception is the moment when human life begins. All of us who are alive at this time can say that our lives began in our mothers' wombs. When did we begin to be formed if not at the moment of conception?
Second, it is the only safe definition for mothers to go by. What a terrible burden it is on women to be forced by society to decided when their child's life begins. I am sure that I am not the only one who has listened to women tell of the terrible burden of guilt and shame they have borne because someone convinced them that the baby they were carrying was not really human; or someone coerced them into having an abortion. Post Abortion Stress Syndrome is very real, in spite of what many pro-choice women say to the contrary. .
Last, it is the only safe legal definition to go by. Otherwise, we end up making purely subjective, unscientific pronouncements about the beginning of life. It is certainly not scientific to say that only a woman can know. It is very bad public policy to leave the decision of life or death in the hands of one person, no matter if that person is the mother of the unborn child. So far we are talking only about unborn. In the future, the discussion about when life begins may move into post birth territory.
We shall see how the murder case in Philadelphia plays out. Will the abortion doctor be acquitted, since there was no intention of letting the babies who survived his botched abortions live in the first place? [He was found guilty.]
What about Sen. Boxer's strange statements about when a baby is to receive full constitutional rights? Here is part of what she said.:
"In the 1999 colloquy, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said: Suppose during this procedure the baby slips entirely from the mother’s birth canal. “You agree, once a child is born, is separated from the mother, that that child is protected by the Constitution and cannot be killed? Do you agree with that?” Boxer: “I think when you bring your baby home, when your baby is born … the baby belongs to your family and has all the rights.” Santorum persisted: “Obviously, you don’t mean they have to take the baby out of the hospital for it to be protected by the Constitution. Once the baby is separated from the mother, you would agree—completely separated from the mother—you would agree that the baby is entitled to constitutional protection?” She would not say “yes.” Instead, she said, understandably: “I don’t want to engage in this.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/07/31/barbara-boxer-in-context.html
What about Sen. Boxer's strange statements about when a baby is to receive full constitutional rights? Here is part of what she said.:
"In the 1999 colloquy, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said: Suppose during this procedure the baby slips entirely from the mother’s birth canal. “You agree, once a child is born, is separated from the mother, that that child is protected by the Constitution and cannot be killed? Do you agree with that?” Boxer: “I think when you bring your baby home, when your baby is born … the baby belongs to your family and has all the rights.” Santorum persisted: “Obviously, you don’t mean they have to take the baby out of the hospital for it to be protected by the Constitution. Once the baby is separated from the mother, you would agree—completely separated from the mother—you would agree that the baby is entitled to constitutional protection?” She would not say “yes.” Instead, she said, understandably: “I don’t want to engage in this.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/07/31/barbara-boxer-in-context.html
The Debate About When Life Begins
The Debate About When Life Begins
From April, 2013 -
The debate about when life begins.
I found this quote at The Survival Doctor's website. I don't know much about this site, but I found the article When Does Life Beging? to be very well done.
"The defining characteristic of mammalian life, including human life, is the continuous process of development, which starts at fertilization and ends at death."
Here is a quote that I think shows one of the most glaring errors in the thinking of pro-choice proponents.
The pregnant woman is not the patient, as if she were ill and in need of a cure. Abortion cures nothing, since pregnancy is not a disease.
Then, to give mothers the power of life or death over their unborn child is extremely foolish. We can look back into history to a time when fathers were given the power of life or death over their children, as well as over their wives and slaves. This was the case with the paterfamilias of ancient Rome. Even Rome eventually saw that power too broad to give to one person, so they put legal limitations on it. Why do we in our day find it wise to allow the mother to wield that same kind of power over her own unborn children? Some would even go so far as to say that the mother of an infant should be able to decide whether or not her child is allowed to continue to live. I am not talking about a very sick baby who has little chance of recovering. That baby may even be on life support, with no hope of living. Yes, the mother may need to make a decision about when to turn off the life support systems. That is not the kind of situation I am talking about.
I am talking about a mother deciding that her child that has been born healthy may be too much of a burden for her to care for. At this point in time, that scenario is not an option. I certainly hope that the few who are suggesting such a thing never get their way.
It seems like a huge step backwards for civilization to be giving that kind of power of life and death to human beings, whether the human being whose life is threatened be unborn or newborn.
The one whose life is in danger is the unborn child in the womb of the mother who is considering ending the life of that child. Yes, there are rare cases when the life of the mother really is at stake. In those cases, if the baby is taken early, measures are taken to try to save both lives. Of course that scenario is not the norm for women seeking abortions. Generally, both mother and baby are healthy, with no problems seen that would justify ending the pregnancy.
Pro-choice advocates always bring up the situation of rape or incest. Of course, it is not the same at all as the situation where abortion is merely used as a means of birth control. Besides, there are many testimonies of women who have become pregnant because they have been raped or because of incest and have decided to have their babies anyway. Why punish the baby for the crimes of another?
Also, all Christian communities teach that there is grace in Christ available to any woman suffering from the trauma of Post Abortion Syndrome. Any woman who
I think that the following conclusion is scientifically irrefutable.
"“Pro-choice docs would say that it is not their business to determine for a patient when life begins,” says Diana Philip, interim executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers and its sister organization, the Abortion Conversation Project. “Ultimately each patient determines the value and definition of life and that definition lies within her own mind and heart.”
Then, to give mothers the power of life or death over their unborn child is extremely foolish. We can look back into history to a time when fathers were given the power of life or death over their children, as well as over their wives and slaves. This was the case with the paterfamilias of ancient Rome. Even Rome eventually saw that power too broad to give to one person, so they put legal limitations on it. Why do we in our day find it wise to allow the mother to wield that same kind of power over her own unborn children? Some would even go so far as to say that the mother of an infant should be able to decide whether or not her child is allowed to continue to live. I am not talking about a very sick baby who has little chance of recovering. That baby may even be on life support, with no hope of living. Yes, the mother may need to make a decision about when to turn off the life support systems. That is not the kind of situation I am talking about.
I am talking about a mother deciding that her child that has been born healthy may be too much of a burden for her to care for. At this point in time, that scenario is not an option. I certainly hope that the few who are suggesting such a thing never get their way.
It seems like a huge step backwards for civilization to be giving that kind of power of life and death to human beings, whether the human being whose life is threatened be unborn or newborn.
The one whose life is in danger is the unborn child in the womb of the mother who is considering ending the life of that child. Yes, there are rare cases when the life of the mother really is at stake. In those cases, if the baby is taken early, measures are taken to try to save both lives. Of course that scenario is not the norm for women seeking abortions. Generally, both mother and baby are healthy, with no problems seen that would justify ending the pregnancy.
Pro-choice advocates always bring up the situation of rape or incest. Of course, it is not the same at all as the situation where abortion is merely used as a means of birth control. Besides, there are many testimonies of women who have become pregnant because they have been raped or because of incest and have decided to have their babies anyway. Why punish the baby for the crimes of another?
Also, all Christian communities teach that there is grace in Christ available to any woman suffering from the trauma of Post Abortion Syndrome. Any woman who
has, in a moment of desperation sought out an abortion needs to know that there is complete and total forgiveness in Christ. She does not have to bear the guilt and shame of that decision her whole life.
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Tuesday, August 11, 2015
How to Answer Planned Parenthood Supporters
Here is a sample from this article on how to answer common arguments that Planned Parenthood offers as a defense of its practices. How to Answer Planned Parenthood Supporters.
Some of these arguments have become very familiar to me, since at Old Life Theological Society many of them have been presented. I have been a voice of opposition on that blog, since most of what the blog owner publishes and promotes is anti-Catholic. Sure, some of the criticisms are legitimate, but over all, it is kind of typical anti-Catholic rhetoric. This disagreement between the followers of John Calvin and the Catholic Church has been going on for some 500 years, so it is no surprise that a Calvinist would be writing in opposition to the Church. It was not that long ago that I would have been on the side of the Calvinists, so I get that part.
Now, the men there say that they are pro life, yet it is clear that Planned Parenthood has influenced their thinking. So, what I don’t get at all about the Old Life Theological Society is their opposition to the undercover videos done by David Daleiden. I don’t even know if they are opposed to the videos per se, or if this is just another part of the ongoing opposition to all things Catholic. It makes no sense to me.
It is likely that some of the arguments presented by these men happen because these PP answers have become to a large extent part of our culture. They are repeated by many, so we hear them all the time, actually. Then, we don’t take the time to fact check, and somehow PP wins the argument without having to fire a shot.
Well, it is long past time for PP to give honest answers.
1. Here is one. PP’s services include only 3% of all their services. Notice how they cook the books in order to come up with the 3% figure. Actually, it is over 98% of the women who go in pregnant come out without their babies. Now we also know because of these videos that their babies’ shredded bodies may be sold to the highest bidder - and that for profit.
More accurately, 93.78% of their pregnancy services are for abortion. IOW, almost all the women who walk into PP pregnant will leave the facility without their child.
Sure, they also provide other services it seems that are legitimate. However, they are covering up the way that they come up with the 3% figure. What percentage of their services is actually abortion, then? It is much, much higher than a mere 3%. Why are they lying about it?
Some of these arguments have become very familiar to me, since at Old Life Theological Society many of them have been presented. I have been a voice of opposition on that blog, since most of what the blog owner publishes and promotes is anti-Catholic. Sure, some of the criticisms are legitimate, but over all, it is kind of typical anti-Catholic rhetoric. This disagreement between the followers of John Calvin and the Catholic Church has been going on for some 500 years, so it is no surprise that a Calvinist would be writing in opposition to the Church. It was not that long ago that I would have been on the side of the Calvinists, so I get that part.
Now, the men there say that they are pro life, yet it is clear that Planned Parenthood has influenced their thinking. So, what I don’t get at all about the Old Life Theological Society is their opposition to the undercover videos done by David Daleiden. I don’t even know if they are opposed to the videos per se, or if this is just another part of the ongoing opposition to all things Catholic. It makes no sense to me.
It is likely that some of the arguments presented by these men happen because these PP answers have become to a large extent part of our culture. They are repeated by many, so we hear them all the time, actually. Then, we don’t take the time to fact check, and somehow PP wins the argument without having to fire a shot.
Well, it is long past time for PP to give honest answers.
1. Here is one. PP’s services include only 3% of all their services. Notice how they cook the books in order to come up with the 3% figure. Actually, it is over 98% of the women who go in pregnant come out without their babies. Now we also know because of these videos that their babies’ shredded bodies may be sold to the highest bidder - and that for profit.
Pro-abortion argument: Abortions only constitute 3% of Planned Parenthood’s overall services.Pro-life response: This is a manipulation of the numbers. If a pregnant woman walks into Planned Parenthood, there is a 94% she will walk out of there without her child because ofabortion. Planned Parenthood counts every service individually so if a woman goes in for abortion, the contraception she is given counts as one service, the exam another service, the anesthesia another service, etc. Students for Life created a short video that explains this myth:
More accurately, 93.78% of their pregnancy services are for abortion. IOW, almost all the women who walk into PP pregnant will leave the facility without their child.
Sure, they also provide other services it seems that are legitimate. However, they are covering up the way that they come up with the 3% figure. What percentage of their services is actually abortion, then? It is much, much higher than a mere 3%. Why are they lying about it?
Bishop Elect Robert Barron - Planned Parenthood and the Loss of Human Dignity
Published on Jul 29, 2015
The recently released videos featuring Planned Parenthood employees bartering body parts of aborted infants are startling and appalling. Our gut reaction brings forth dialogue about the human person and the dignity of life, the argument for which is not based upon sentimentality or compassion but rests firmly upon a belief in the existence of God.
The lies of Planned Parenthood should be silenced - they betray women
“For decades,” Hawkins replied, “women have been told, ‘You have to have an abortion in order to continue your education or to be successful in your career, that [the baby in the womb] is nothing but a ‘blob of tissue’ and that an abortion is nothing — it’s like having your appendix out or a tooth removed. And now, women find out they’re selling parts of these babies for their organs. They’re fully developed human beings. So over and over again, the abortion lobby and Planned Parenthood have lied to and betrayed women.”
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/women-betrayed-a-new-generation-rallies-nationwide-to-protest-planned-paren/#ixzz3iWYGkljM
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/women-betrayed-a-new-generation-rallies-nationwide-to-protest-planned-paren/#ixzz3iWYGkljM
Monday, August 10, 2015
Pro Life AND Pro Woman AND pro Man AND pro Child
See, I think that in the past, many of us have been pro life, but have not given the clear message that we are also pro woman. That is changing, but not all have gotten the message that being pro life is also being pro woman.
Groups like Planned Parenthood have convinced women that they really care about women and women’s issues. If it is true that they also provide things like mammograms and other legitimate services to poor women, then fine.
However, they are the largest abortion provider in the United States. The latest videos showing how they are selling the bits and pieces of the little boys and girls they have killed in their clinics should make everyone recoil in horror.
I would add that pro life is also being pro man, not just pro woman and pro child. Everyone is degraded and dehumanized by the abortion industrial complex, especially Planned Parenthood. Men suffer horrible consequences because of what abortion does to every individual.
One group that has done a fabulous job of researching the subject of the effects of abortion on women is the Elliot Institute. Check out their website, After Abortion.
Groups like Planned Parenthood have convinced women that they really care about women and women’s issues. If it is true that they also provide things like mammograms and other legitimate services to poor women, then fine.
However, they are the largest abortion provider in the United States. The latest videos showing how they are selling the bits and pieces of the little boys and girls they have killed in their clinics should make everyone recoil in horror.
I would add that pro life is also being pro man, not just pro woman and pro child. Everyone is degraded and dehumanized by the abortion industrial complex, especially Planned Parenthood. Men suffer horrible consequences because of what abortion does to every individual.
One group that has done a fabulous job of researching the subject of the effects of abortion on women is the Elliot Institute. Check out their website, After Abortion.
Pro Life Reformed
Here is a good example of real pro life Reformed reaction to the horrific videos that were obtained by the undercover work of David Dalein and his team.
Canadian, Tim Challies gets and A+. He even quotes Catholic apologist Peter Kreeft in one of his articles. Here is a link to his website where you can find some excellent articles on the subject of abortion. I have not read them all, but he represents what I had always understood to be the orthodox Reformed position on life.
Here is his Resource for Discussing Abortion. No, he is not pro Catholic. You don’t have to be Catholic to be pro life, but it helps.
More to come... Check out his blog if you are Reformed and confused or uninformed about the subject.
I contend that the males in charge of teaching and leadership in the Reformed movement are not giving adequate answers to women, but I hope to be proven wrong, actually.
As for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church - leaders in the fundamentalist movement - their most recent public statements on the subject of abortion - at least from what I was able to find at their website - date from 1972! Maybe it is time for them to update their information. No, don’t change the position, just provide leadership in this area. Is that too much to ask?
Now, my answers for women, at least in the past, have been woefully inadequate and even harmful. So, I have learned a few things myself along the way. I believe that these good men of the Reformed faith can also learn and can, in the future, provide clear, compassionate, Christian, loving leadership for those in their congregations who are suffering under a burden of guilt and shame.
Christ died to pay the price for all our sin, guilt, and shame, so we as Christians of all kinds need to make sure that abortionists, women and men suffering because of their participation in an abortion, and just us plain ignorant folk like me who have sat by and allowed the monster that is Planned Parenthood to keep on doing what they do.
Here are blog posts that I wrote a couple of years ago. I think that they are more helpful, more human, more Christian than I had understood in the past. See, in the past, my focus was very simplistic. Abortion is sin. Do not have an abortion. If you have had one, take responsibility for your actions and accept God’s forgiveness in Christ. I don’t think that was wrong, but it was not adequate. The human conscience and emotional makeup is much more complex than that, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person much more subtle. The reasons for having abortions are much more nuanced and complex than what I had imagined.
Yes, abortion is sin, but how to love the sinner and hate the sin is at stake. It is about love, not about judgment or condemnation. How can a sinner reconnect with a loving God who gave His only Son for that sin?
If I can learn and grow, then I know that others can as well.
Why focus on Planned Parenthood? They are giving answers that will not set women free. They have a huge voice that needs to be silenced by careful research and refutation of their arguments.
Just a note. I want to say this publicly and on my own blog. I find D.G. Hart’s reaction to these videos to be shocking. He has focused on
TVD, a voice of sanity in the comments section of Brother Hart’s blog, compares that to complaining that David’s fingernails were dirty when he slew Goliath.
I do not know what is going on with Brother Hart, but it seems that his anti-Catholic rhetoric has completely clouded his ability to think about anything else. Daleiden is Catholic, so what he did was wrong. In fact, Catholics are wrong, well, just because they’re Catholics. ...and the Pope is wrong.
Pray for our dear Brother Hart. I don’t know what is going on with him. He is not saying.
Canadian, Tim Challies gets and A+. He even quotes Catholic apologist Peter Kreeft in one of his articles. Here is a link to his website where you can find some excellent articles on the subject of abortion. I have not read them all, but he represents what I had always understood to be the orthodox Reformed position on life.
Here is his Resource for Discussing Abortion. No, he is not pro Catholic. You don’t have to be Catholic to be pro life, but it helps.
More to come... Check out his blog if you are Reformed and confused or uninformed about the subject.
I contend that the males in charge of teaching and leadership in the Reformed movement are not giving adequate answers to women, but I hope to be proven wrong, actually.
As for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church - leaders in the fundamentalist movement - their most recent public statements on the subject of abortion - at least from what I was able to find at their website - date from 1972! Maybe it is time for them to update their information. No, don’t change the position, just provide leadership in this area. Is that too much to ask?
Now, my answers for women, at least in the past, have been woefully inadequate and even harmful. So, I have learned a few things myself along the way. I believe that these good men of the Reformed faith can also learn and can, in the future, provide clear, compassionate, Christian, loving leadership for those in their congregations who are suffering under a burden of guilt and shame.
Christ died to pay the price for all our sin, guilt, and shame, so we as Christians of all kinds need to make sure that abortionists, women and men suffering because of their participation in an abortion, and just us plain ignorant folk like me who have sat by and allowed the monster that is Planned Parenthood to keep on doing what they do.
Here are blog posts that I wrote a couple of years ago. I think that they are more helpful, more human, more Christian than I had understood in the past. See, in the past, my focus was very simplistic. Abortion is sin. Do not have an abortion. If you have had one, take responsibility for your actions and accept God’s forgiveness in Christ. I don’t think that was wrong, but it was not adequate. The human conscience and emotional makeup is much more complex than that, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person much more subtle. The reasons for having abortions are much more nuanced and complex than what I had imagined.
Yes, abortion is sin, but how to love the sinner and hate the sin is at stake. It is about love, not about judgment or condemnation. How can a sinner reconnect with a loving God who gave His only Son for that sin?
If I can learn and grow, then I know that others can as well.
Why focus on Planned Parenthood? They are giving answers that will not set women free. They have a huge voice that needs to be silenced by careful research and refutation of their arguments.
Just a note. I want to say this publicly and on my own blog. I find D.G. Hart’s reaction to these videos to be shocking. He has focused on
David Daleiden
, accusing him of lying. He has also accused all Catholics of lying. If we will support Daleiden, then we will also support murder, he claims. Click on the name David Daleiden and check out the videos if you have not seen them already.TVD, a voice of sanity in the comments section of Brother Hart’s blog, compares that to complaining that David’s fingernails were dirty when he slew Goliath.
I do not know what is going on with Brother Hart, but it seems that his anti-Catholic rhetoric has completely clouded his ability to think about anything else. Daleiden is Catholic, so what he did was wrong. In fact, Catholics are wrong, well, just because they’re Catholics. ...and the Pope is wrong.
Pray for our dear Brother Hart. I don’t know what is going on with him. He is not saying.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Anti-Catholicism
I am humbled and ashamed of how I used to think about the Catholic Church. This is hard for me to write about, since I used to follow the Reformed Protestant view of the Church. That is, she is idolators, morally flawed, and theologically apostate.
What arrogance I showed!
At the same time, I knew that she was the leader of the pro life movement. She of all institutions in the world was standing against the evil that is Planned Parenthood. Without her leadership, the pro life movement would not have gotten as far as it has.
That is one of the things I could not reconcile with my anti-Catholic stance. The one I was against was the one who loved life and defended the unborn. Maybe I was wrong about her.
Well, I was wrong.
There is a leader in the Reformed movement, the OPC, who is right now slamming the man who did the undercover work to expose Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby cadavers. Yes, the trafficking in human organs and body parts.
Instead of going after Planned Parenthood, this leader is attacking the one who exposed them because he allegedly lied. In the mind of this leader, lying seems to be a greater sin than murder.
This leader in a Reformed denomination has said little or nothing about what Planned Parenthood is doing. He is using this as a way to slander the Catholic Church.
Now, I was never that extreme, I hope. There was a lot that I always had admired in Catholicism. My objection had to do with the fact that she was apostate because she had quit preaching the Gospel. Her focus was wrong. A lot of other things had gotten in the way of preaching Christ and His salvation.
In the last 20+ years, that has changed a lot. The New Evangelization started by St. Pope John Paul II is brining about a different focus. She is not sitting on the glories of her past, but is reaching out with the Gospel in new ways. She caught me in her net, and I am happy about that.
So, for me, this is one more step away from Reformed teaching and deeper into the heart of the Church, the Body of Christ, His Bride, His beloved.
She is acting in a Christlike way, defending the humanity of the unborn made in the image of God. These Reformed types are acting like I don’t know what. It is a puzzlement. It really, really is.
Then they try to make clever, witty remarks about the whole thing. It is a moral tragedy all around. The behavior of Planned Parenthood is as disgusting as any disgusting thing is. The behavior of these Reformed guys is, well, difficult to understand.
I used to try to adapt to Calvinism. There are pro life Calvinists, and I think lots of them. So it would be unfair to say that all Calvinists are like these guys. They may very well be an aberration.
Maybe I will look around to see what other Reformed people are saying to get a better balance. I hope so.
After all, it was Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop who were pioneers in the pro life movement. Their book Whatever Happened to the Human Race? was powerful. I would like to think they represent the Reformed position on abortion, not these guys I have been interacting with.
What arrogance I showed!
At the same time, I knew that she was the leader of the pro life movement. She of all institutions in the world was standing against the evil that is Planned Parenthood. Without her leadership, the pro life movement would not have gotten as far as it has.
That is one of the things I could not reconcile with my anti-Catholic stance. The one I was against was the one who loved life and defended the unborn. Maybe I was wrong about her.
Well, I was wrong.
There is a leader in the Reformed movement, the OPC, who is right now slamming the man who did the undercover work to expose Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby cadavers. Yes, the trafficking in human organs and body parts.
Instead of going after Planned Parenthood, this leader is attacking the one who exposed them because he allegedly lied. In the mind of this leader, lying seems to be a greater sin than murder.
This leader in a Reformed denomination has said little or nothing about what Planned Parenthood is doing. He is using this as a way to slander the Catholic Church.
Now, I was never that extreme, I hope. There was a lot that I always had admired in Catholicism. My objection had to do with the fact that she was apostate because she had quit preaching the Gospel. Her focus was wrong. A lot of other things had gotten in the way of preaching Christ and His salvation.
In the last 20+ years, that has changed a lot. The New Evangelization started by St. Pope John Paul II is brining about a different focus. She is not sitting on the glories of her past, but is reaching out with the Gospel in new ways. She caught me in her net, and I am happy about that.
So, for me, this is one more step away from Reformed teaching and deeper into the heart of the Church, the Body of Christ, His Bride, His beloved.
She is acting in a Christlike way, defending the humanity of the unborn made in the image of God. These Reformed types are acting like I don’t know what. It is a puzzlement. It really, really is.
Then they try to make clever, witty remarks about the whole thing. It is a moral tragedy all around. The behavior of Planned Parenthood is as disgusting as any disgusting thing is. The behavior of these Reformed guys is, well, difficult to understand.
I used to try to adapt to Calvinism. There are pro life Calvinists, and I think lots of them. So it would be unfair to say that all Calvinists are like these guys. They may very well be an aberration.
Maybe I will look around to see what other Reformed people are saying to get a better balance. I hope so.
After all, it was Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop who were pioneers in the pro life movement. Their book Whatever Happened to the Human Race? was powerful. I would like to think they represent the Reformed position on abortion, not these guys I have been interacting with.
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