To see the conversation this blog is a response to, go to http://www.huckpac.com/?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=1647.
Partially in response to Ryger, I would like to give some reasons that I believe protecting the rights of the unborn should be paramount to the Republican party.
First of all, our view of the value of human life affects every other view that we have of the world around us. For example, the view that it is okay to kill an unborn child because it is inconvenient comes from the same selfish place as the view that it is my right to strip a beautiful forest because I want the wood and it would be inconvenient to create and use a sustainable source. The same argument can be made for littering and fossil fuel consumption. When we stand up for the unborn, we are affirming the value of protecting what is in our care.
Another reason that protecting the unborn should be paramount to the RNC is that 24% of American pregnancies currently end in abortion. What would those lives have brought to our nation? First of all, if nothing else, they would have given us workers to support the elderly through our social security system. One of the reasons the social security system is going to fail is that the baby boomers are coming to the end of their lives and there are not enough younger workers to support them. I wonder what 24% more workers would have done for that system. Secondly, is it possible that we have killed the great minds that would have solved many of the medical, social, and environmental problems we wrestle with today? Of course, we can never know what the contributions of those citizens would have been but we do know there would be 24% more people born since 1968 and that would have made a big difference in our economy and our nation as a whole.
Finally, abortion is a women's rights issue, but not in the way NOW and Planned Parenthood sees it. All laws affect what a woman can do with her body. She cannot use her body in prostitution for example. She cannot use her body to ingest illegal drugs. She cannot use her body to kill her children once they are born. Secondly, laws are written to protect the weak from the strong both in private and in public, as our domestic violence statutes demonstrate. For this reason we must protect the unborn. But we must also take in to account the dramatic increase in infertility and cancer in women who have had abortions as well as the dramatic increase in mental health issues for women who have had abortions. The respect for human life is a women's rights issue and the RNC should address it as such rather than being afraid to enrage the ultra liberal feminists.
The GOP will have an uphill battle to win this election. This is a time to wisely articulate the vast differences between the Republican and Democrat platforms and the impact those differences will make, both now and in the future.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Are You Engaged To Jesus?
What would you say the engagement period of a romantic relationship is charactierized by? Wedding plans? Busyness? Romance? I would say it is characterized by longing.
Have you ever been around a couple that is close to their wedding day but not sleeping together already? Whether they are waiting until the wedding day to even kiss or are going "almost all the way", they are looking forward to their wedding night with great anticipation. Sometimes being around them feels like you are witnessing something too personal and you feel like you need to look away.
Romans 8:23 and II Corinthians 4:2 says that we, along with all creation, groan for the day that we will experience the "redemption of our bodies". Those of us who know the Lord and love him know that we were created for so much more than we experience here. We tire of our failures and the sin and sadness that surrounds us and we know that when he comes for us he "will make all things new" and "we will see Him as He is" rather than "through a mirror dimly". We long to have full communication and intimacy with Him. Creation joins us with this because it has also been subjected to the fall.
Does this remind you of a couple in love that must say goodnight and go to separate houses? It does me. May we have the same longing for the Lord's return. He is coming for us to take us to the marriage feast! Come Lord Jesus!
Have you ever been around a couple that is close to their wedding day but not sleeping together already? Whether they are waiting until the wedding day to even kiss or are going "almost all the way", they are looking forward to their wedding night with great anticipation. Sometimes being around them feels like you are witnessing something too personal and you feel like you need to look away.
Romans 8:23 and II Corinthians 4:2 says that we, along with all creation, groan for the day that we will experience the "redemption of our bodies". Those of us who know the Lord and love him know that we were created for so much more than we experience here. We tire of our failures and the sin and sadness that surrounds us and we know that when he comes for us he "will make all things new" and "we will see Him as He is" rather than "through a mirror dimly". We long to have full communication and intimacy with Him. Creation joins us with this because it has also been subjected to the fall.
Does this remind you of a couple in love that must say goodnight and go to separate houses? It does me. May we have the same longing for the Lord's return. He is coming for us to take us to the marriage feast! Come Lord Jesus!
The Bride of Christ - What Does That Mean?
I have been thinking lately about how romantic relationships are a reflection or metaphor for Christ and the church. Ephesians 5 and the book of Revelation describe the church as the bride. The Song of Solomon, while it is a book about how to have a romantic relationships, is also clearly an allegory of the Lord pursuing his bride and her response to Him.
In Revelation 19:7 and 8, we are shown that at the end of the age, there will be a wedding supper of the Lamb. It says "Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She is permitted to wear the finest white linen.' (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by the people of God.)" Therefore, it seems to me that while we are the Bride of Christ, we are also engaged to Him at this time, awaiting his return for us. At that time, we will have our wedding. I wonder if this is like the Jewish tradition of betrothal that we see Mary and Joseph in before the birth of Christ.
So I've been thinking about how that impacts us all at different times in our lives. During our single years, how do we represent the Lord and his Bride? During our dating and courtship days? During our engagement for marriage? During our marriage? What does the Lord want us to learn about Him during those times in our life? How does our sin in those times mess up the picture of what He wants to show us?
I hope to blog about this in coming days. I'd love to hear comments from anyone reading this. Insights from the Word or questions about the topics or just comments from your own perspective. I think you can send comments privately or on my myspace page. I don't quite have that figured out yet. Maybe no one will read it. I just want to put it out there.
In Revelation 19:7 and 8, we are shown that at the end of the age, there will be a wedding supper of the Lamb. It says "Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She is permitted to wear the finest white linen.' (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by the people of God.)" Therefore, it seems to me that while we are the Bride of Christ, we are also engaged to Him at this time, awaiting his return for us. At that time, we will have our wedding. I wonder if this is like the Jewish tradition of betrothal that we see Mary and Joseph in before the birth of Christ.
So I've been thinking about how that impacts us all at different times in our lives. During our single years, how do we represent the Lord and his Bride? During our dating and courtship days? During our engagement for marriage? During our marriage? What does the Lord want us to learn about Him during those times in our life? How does our sin in those times mess up the picture of what He wants to show us?
I hope to blog about this in coming days. I'd love to hear comments from anyone reading this. Insights from the Word or questions about the topics or just comments from your own perspective. I think you can send comments privately or on my myspace page. I don't quite have that figured out yet. Maybe no one will read it. I just want to put it out there.
Starters
Well, here I go. I have been blogging on MySpace for a while but since a lot of people I know don't have a MySpace, I'm going to move some of them over to this one. I don't know why I care whether or not people read what I write - probably conceit - but I do, so I'm moving them to a more public space. Sometimes I might write about events that are happening in my life but mostly I like to write my ponderings about life and things the Lord is teaching me.
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