The American political left (and the media, to the extent there's a difference) lose their minds at the slightest hint of any abortion restrictions, and conservatively governed states have been making them crazy lately. The most recent offense comes from my own state of Texas where someone said, "If you can't figure out you want an abortion within five months, you're just going to have to give birth" or something to that effect. (Yeah, there was other stuff in the bill, but that's not what this is about.)
Whenever the topic comes up, someone helpfully suggests that you shouldn't say anything about abortion unless you're a woman. Yes, we all know it's stupid, but what to do about it?
A common rejoinder is "that's like saying 'you can't oppose slavery unless you're black.'"
But that's not anywhere near correct. That's equivalent to saying "you can't say anything about abortion unless you're a fetus." While that might make for a good policy, it's not going to allow for much conversation.
When pro-aborts say "you can't say anything about abortion unless you're a woman," the true abolition-equivalent is:
You can't say anything about slavery unless you're white.
Perhaps that'll make them pause long enough for a conversation to occur.
One of the few things we heard out of the mainstream media during the Gosnell hearing is "this is what happens when abortions are hard to get."
The argument must be aimed at bolstering their own supporters, because it's not an argument that will convince many pro-lifers. My brain always interprets this kind of logic as "if abortion isn't legal, people might die when they try to murder their children." Less than compelling.
The other argument I've heard a lot lately is "we've always had abortion and we always will."
It's true we've always had abortion. For centuries people have dealt with unwanted children by killing them — either before they were born or after. Does that make it OK? Of course not. Does that mean it will always be with us? Not necessarily.
There's something else we can say we've pretty much always had: slavery. It's existed in some form or another for thousands of years. It still exists, even in the United States.
But it's not what it once was. Once, slavery was normal. People thought nothing of it. It was a fact of life.
Today, it's recognized by 99% of the human race as a horror and a crime. We may never stamp it out, but we've relegated it to the shadows, and there's a good chance we can make it too risky, too dangerous to practice if we keep the pressure on. There may soon come a day when there is no slavery on this planet.
Abortion has always existed because there were people who said "my needs are more important than the life of this child." There is a chance that we can change things so that 99% of the human race will say "nothing is more important that the life of a child." That's a dream worth fighting for.
"How do we know there were giants?" my eldest daughter asked, out of the blue.
"Are we talking Jack and Beanstalk or the Bible?"
"The Bible."
The other one chimed in, "Because the Bible's God's word."
"I think what she's really asking is, 'Why do we believe the Bible is God's word?'
"We verify the things that we can. If those things stand up to scrutiny, we can trust the things we can't verify."
My youngest's approach is unfortunately common. She seemed scandalized the older one even asked such a question and wanted to take the "God said it, I believe it" approach.
I want them to know, though, that we don't take the Bible on blind faith. It's a reasoned faith, a trust in a trustworthy source.
We will never be able to verify every line of the Bible. But every year or so we find more reason to trust it. "The Hittites didn't exist." Oh, wait, yes they did. "There was no written language in Canaan during the bronze age." Yes, there very much was. "There was no King David." "Solomon didn't rule as much as the Bible claims." "Israel wasn't a powerful kingdom." The objections keep getting knocked down. And that's just the Old Testament. The NT case is much tighter.
Does this prove there were people two or three feet taller than what would consider "tall?" No. But if the records are reliable everywhere else, we have no good reason to doubt and every reason to accept the account.
The Lenten season is upon us. I'm not part of a tradition that observes Lent and have no desire to do so, but I can respect the concept.
So I have trouble respecting those who do it half-heartedly.
Lent isn't a weight loss regimen. Most people I know who observe Lent give up things like bread or caffeine — things Jesus doesn't care about. Yes, it's a season for self-denial, but make it meaningful.
I encourage these people to give up favorite sins like cussing, gossip, or extramarital sex (the last making me less than popular). If you can give up cussing for 40 days, odds are pretty good you'll be able to give it up altogether. Isn't that better than losing five pounds?
If you don't have a habitual sin you can give up (it's hard to give up pride for Lent), try adding a meaningful activity. Pray, read the Bible, or actually fast Fridays and give the money for those meals to the poor.
Make Lent less about Biggest Loser and more about being like Jesus.
