I have been truly surprised by the beliefs of some of my fellow Christians. I found myself in one of those moments when you thought that some one was surely joking; and then you realize that they are serious. It takes a while to digest. Then I am surprised by my naivety. I have now progressed to the sorrow phase because I believe that these friends whom I greatly respect have been deceived. I'm left wondering how an issue that is so black and white to me is so complicated to other Christians. The issue I am talking about is abortion and the responsibility of the Christian voter in the upcoming elections. Christians with whom I work shoulder to shoulder in ministry do not believe it is their resposibility to overturn Roe v. Wade. I am shocked but more than that, I am sorrowful because of the impact that this way of thinking will have on the innocent unborn children who are being killed. How can Christians who read the same Bible, have such opposite views of rescuing unborn babies? As I have prayed about this, I have come to a couple of conclusions.
One conclusion is that we now have a generation of young adults that have grown up in a culture in which abortion is not only legal but is common. It is glorified on TV as a "right" and is offered up in our society as a legitimate method of birth control with no consequences to the woman or to society. I was in college when abortion became legal -meaning I grew up in a culture where it was was not an option. I can remember all the arguments made: that morality should not be legislated and that women should have decision making power over their own bodies. Then abortionists hired an advertisement firm to spin their position to the public for them and the term "Pro-Choice" was born. It was brilliant. Everyone wants a choice, right? It certainly sounds better than abortionist. And, it worked. Call a pro-choicer an abortionist today and watch the hair raise on the back of their neck. I can remember well the first girl I knew that had an abortion. She lived down the hall from me in the dorm. Actually, this was before it was legalized. She was able to abort her baby because her Dad was a Doctor and one of his partners did it. However, my point is that the entire campus was shocked by the news that she aborted her baby. The commom response was disbelief that she callously ended the life instead of giving the baby up for adoption. But what about today? Am I shocked when I hear of someone having an abortion? Are my young adult children shocked? Not really, because it is much more common and accessable and plastered into many TV story lines. So, I am longing for the days I remember when abortion was not used as birth control. The current generation of young adults have no idea what it is like to live in a society free of such an atrosity. When asked to vote for a candidate who would fight to end abortion, they don't feel the urgency that I do.
Another conclusion I have come to is that we are also experiencing a generation of young adults who grew up in public schools (dare I call them government schools?) in which prayer has been eliminated. Not only prayer but most references to Judeo-Christian principles and ethics. Public school kids are even taught that the constitution says that the church and state should be separate! (In case you didn't know, the constitution doesn't say that - look it up for yourself) Consequently, there is no teaching of morality in the public schools. Furthermore, there is no teaching of a Godly world view. As a result, we have kids who grow up in Christian homes, become Christians themselves, and attend church but compartmentalize their Christianity. By this I mean that they don't incorporate the Bible into their everyday decision making process much less their decision making regarding which candidate to vote for the President of the United States. Because of this I believe Christians should educate their children in Christian Schools where they are taught a Godly world view as well as a curriculum integrated with the principles of the Bible.
In conlusion, I have purposed to remember that I am part of a community of believers with different backgrounds and life experiences. The Bible tells me to "bear with" others. This means that I don't have to understand them or agree with them - just pray for them. And, vote!
