But, as you might expect, this blog has very little to do with unicorns or fridge thieves. I went to a church service last night and heard this guy preach. This guy has a reputation for being against things, to name a few: Guitar Hero, Twilight, porn, abortion, homosexuality, R-rated movies, curse words, and other things I can't remember.
Last night, however, the part that stuck with me the most was all the things he said about abortion. Nothing new, I'd heard it all before, babies have fingerprints and heartbeats and 80 million die a year and whatnot. Then he said something like "I wonder how many people in my church have ever protested an abortion clinic."
This upset me. I've seen abortion protests. I've read about how ugly they can get. A very large part of me that thinks that protests do nothing but remind the non-churchgoers how much Christians hate them. We are actually very well known for this. A google search gave me a lovely list of things Christians hate:
- cartoons
- pop culture
- HPV vaccine
- gay marriage
- hip hop
- UFOs
- leftist heresy
- Obama
- Islam
- gambling
- Lady GaGa
- Catholics
- Jews
- long sermons
- African Americans
- Being irritated
- Jesus
After he asked that question, I began to remember all of the "logistics" of raising a child. It costs approximately $7,500 a year (not including the cost of actually being pregnant and giving birth and putting together a nursery) for a $40,000/year household. Assuming this mom is going to have to pay herself for the baby, she must work 20hrs/week at a minimum wage job to support the baby alone. If she's taking college courses, that's an extra 12 hours a week that MUST be spent working on school. Almost a full time job, this doesn't leave much time for raising a kid, does it?
This is my point. If we, as a church, are going to stand up and say "Abortion is WRONG and should be illegal!" The church better be ready to anty up and start helping all these new mommies. The church better be ready to start providing free/cheap day care for moms, so they can work and go to school. The church better be ready to start providing parenting classes to teach moms how to take care of their babies. The church better be ready to give counseling for moms who gave their babies up for adoption. The church better be ready to do this, without condemnation of the mother or the child, but instead with love and forgiveness. Ya know, the kind that Jesus showed.
I wonder if the same people who are protesting those abortions are giving up their afternoons babysitting for a mom while she goes to night school. I wonder if the same people who are protesting these abortions have ever sat in a home for women and children who are homeless, and showed them the love of Christ.
Go ahead and protest abortion. Protest abortion and offer solutions. Offer help. Offer your time. Offer your finances.
Now I'm done ranting. Sorry if I offended you. *shrug*
Well said, Emily!! This is SUCH a GREAT post!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should be asking ourselves how many women in our churches have HAD an abortion (you'd probably be surprised), and then love them despite it.
Anyway, way to get people thinking. Good job!
It wouldn't surprise me at all. I've been researching women who were forced into adoption as teens, and it no longer surprises me why people hate Christians.
ReplyDeletegreat thinking. we take a baptismal covenant to bring up the child.. where's our action (as a umc) to show prevenient grace even before the baptismal covenant
ReplyDeleteI very much agree. I'm 100% against abortion, but if I'm not willing to help people outside of the womb also, I've missed the point. Not to leave the other undone, but ya know? I LOVE this Rich Mullins quote:
ReplyDeleteJesus said whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you... See More’ve done it to me. And this is what I’ve come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelical preachers. But they’re just wrong. They’re not bad, they’re just wrong. Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken.
50 minutes agoEmily Macon That's a great quote!! I likee!
49 minutes agoKevin Carver You missed the point of the message last night but you are correct - we not only need to declare the word on the things that are wrong (homosexuality, abortion, etc...) but a solution to the issues as well. You overlooked one thing - there is mercy for after the fact but we should also teach prevention of sin and the payment of the consequences of the sin.
The point that the preacher was making about protesting an abortion clinic wasn't to show our "hatred" against abortion but rather the point that if we won't the world to change we have to stop talking about it and putting action behind it. We've been too much like a small dog with a pretty nasty bark but not much of a bite!
I can also tell you raising a child on a very limited income that the numbers they provide for the cost of raising a kid is tremendously skewed and inaccurate.... See More
Remember, God designed the birth of a child with in the confines of marriage - sin brings it outside of God's plans and it's consequences. Should we use another sin to cover up the first sin? Read your bible and you will see that it brings even more corruption and sin.
I do agree, the church needs to spend more time on action and less time on talking. The preacher last night said the same.
Kevin do you know you put Rachel and my comments in there too?
ReplyDeleteGavin: You know the "pretty radical for a teen" part of your tweet? Yeah...I totally didn't get what you said about the baptismal covenant...
ReplyDeleteYou already know how I feel about this issue so I have no need to further express my complete loathing for abortion to you. I do however wish to express my thoughts on the reason Jesus is listed as something Christians hate. Many non and anti religouse people see Christians as hypocrits because we claim to teach love, but the only out spoken Christian groups are those such as Westboro Baptist Church. I know how it feels to feel embarresed or ashamed to identify as Christian(which I generally don't) because of the ever present stigma of being a hateful group of people who live their lives in fear because from a guilt trip of an imaginary friend. Christians hate Jesus because he was self sacrificing, always loveing, forgiving, nuturing, and honest. All these things go against natural human nature of self preservation. Christians hate Jesus because he's like the older sibling who could do no wrong that Mommy and Daddy that you always thought they loved more. Jesus it the person Christians hate to love especially in times of sorrow he is the be all end all of all of our wordly problems. Think about it; when something awful happens you will more than likely say,"Jesus why?" as if he were to blaim for your suffering. I think that's why they had Jesus listed as one of the things Christians hate.
ReplyDeleteI love this, I love this, I LOVE THIS.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more, keep on preachin' Emily!
I'm not a preacher. And who are you anonymous?!
ReplyDeleteVery good points..wise words from a teen. I agree completely that we need to offer another option for someone considering abortion. Not just a turned up nose because of a pregnant teen, then hatred towards them when they felt they had no other choice or options..
ReplyDeleteI was that pregnanat teen. 13 and pregnant.Always heard, tell a pastor, teacher or someone you trust, so I went to a youth pastor, who told others, broke confidence, which in turn led to kids at school knowing, everyone shunned me and "labeled" me, then when Mom (a Sunday school teacher) was too embarassed to tell the church her teenage daughter was pregnant, because she would get shunned, I was forced to have an abortion, then called a "baby killer", by these church memebers and kids in school, causing me to become a dropout, produced hatred for myself, my mother, God, the church and a self destructive lifestyle for year...until God delivered me from myself and the guilt years later & after many more mistakes. I strive today not to be that judging Christian, but to offer love and options to the lost, hurting and dying world.
If we act in that manner, we have nothing that they want. It was not until years later when somone loved me "where I was at" and showed me the true agape love of Christ that I was able to forgive myself and everyone in my past.
I am 100% against abortion because I regret mine, the pain, the guilt, the loss, the "label". My mother also regrets making that decsion and putting me through that today, but we are both forgiven and restored, we will now turn it around and use the experience to glorify God by speaking out against abortion, but in turn helping these teens...We have to love and educate the ones who are at risk for the unwed pregnancty to begin with too, then love and give other options for the ones whom are faced with the decision.
A-fricken-men. Again. May I share?
ReplyDeleteRe: the baptismal covenant - when a baby or kid or adult is baptized, the congregation promises to help that person in their walk and particularly to help parents of a baby/kid raise their child in the faith. I think Gavin is challenging folks not to wait until they say those "magic words" to support the family and the baby.
You may share. And OHH!! That makes more sense.
ReplyDeleteI love you, Em. :)
ReplyDelete