Christian Living

Pro Choice

by Michael Wilmot 
09/22/15
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Does anyone remember when Christians were a group that did big things, exploited risk and embraced persecution just for their beliefs?  Who remembers the cost people like John Wesley, Martin Luther, William Tyndale paid for non-conformance?  Was it easier to be a Christian in times of these spiritual giants?

There is a debate going on today over the taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.  This non-profit organization started as The American Birth Control League in 1921, changed its name to Planned Parenthood in 1942 and under Title X began receiving United States government assistance in 1970.  During its tenure it has been a lightning rod of controversy and the recipient of violence.  In the investigation I took on the history of these attacks there is an undeniable connection back to Christians or at least those who self-identify as Christian.

I am extremely pro-choice and every Christian, who clearly understands God’s design, should be too.  I am pro-choice and when this choice comes to abortion I will always choose life.  I make this choice not because the government tells me to or because “that is the way I was raised.”  Those are not choices but compliance or indoctrination.  I don’t even make the choice because my church commands me to. I make the choice because I simply understand that the gift of life comes from God and life is better than death.  I make this choice because of my innate desire to protect the innocent.  I make this choice because of the first principle of rights where mine ends where they negatively impact you.  I make this choice under the same system which God allows me to, with free will, deny Him.  I can deny the creator by His own design and suffer, as Pascal called, the Dignity of Causation.

Christians should celebrate this freedom in all of its forms while at the same time extending its influence into the world on promoting the best possible of causations.  The power of the Christian message of life, freedom and salvation should be sufficient to encourage others to choose good things.  If it not then what do Christians have to sell?  If Christians attempt to use the Government to act at their proxy or enforcer to change behavior does that not in some way put them on the road to tyranny? 

I do not desire Government intrusion into my faith but it seems to me that some Christians are willing to embrace a form of double mindedness with their faith and their citizenship.  On one hand Christian organizations and Churches welcome tax free status and on the other demand a voice on where the Government spends the taxes it collects.  “I don’t want MY tax dollars paying for abortions!” is an often repeated refrain.  “MY” tax dollars indeed. 

There was a debate I listened to years ago about the lobbying power of the National Rifle Association.  On one side there was an advocate raising objections to what they saw as a dangerously powerful organization having too much influence into the affairs of the Government.  Someone in the debate made, what I thought, was a profound statement.  He said if anti-gun advocates want real change they should all join the NRA.  Then at the next annual meeting they should vote to change the charter of the NRA to condemn all gun ownership.  This debate was many years ago and I just renewed my membership with the NRA so apparently this advice was never taken. 

In that same vein I would like to suggest a different tact for Christians when it comes to things like abortion and other moral choices.  Join the problem.  If not having tax dollars pay for abortions is a goal then it seems a better remedy is to reduce the need of them altogether.  What do Christians really want?  Do they want control over lives or do they want lives to have freedom?   If the position I hear from some Christians on abortion was to be extended into the sacrament of salvation they must also advocate for Government mandates of conversions.  Even God would reject such a plan.  God calls for the conversion of the heart before the transformation of the life can begin.

This same argument is one I have made in the past about the presence of monuments of the 10 Commandments in government buildings.  I could care less about the placement of a bronze or marble idol of remembrance gathering dust in a building.  I would much rather have the 10 Commandments living in the hearts of the people working and visiting those places.  The heart is where true change happens not in the law and Christians should know better.  Do I want Bibles resting on the shelves of public schools or living in the hearts of its students?

It is not easy to save souls.  If it were then someone other than God almighty would be doing it.  But this act remains in the domain of the divine.  Christians are merely the physical manifestation of the message of the Gospel, they are not the enforcers of it.  The message of the Gospel is a good one and leads to positive outcomes for those who follow its teachings.  That message stands on its own, with sufficient evidence supporting its claims.  Christians do not need the Government to proselytize by proxy.

A few weeks ago a politician named Bernie Sanders had one of his events rudely disrupted by a group from “Black Lives Matter.”  They stormed his podium, overtook his microphone and proclaimed their message to his crowed.   I saw this and was amused at the weakness in their position.  If their message was so good and important and vital they would have stolen his audience by hosting their own rally across the street.  They did not come in as conquerors, they came in as thieves, as tricksters and as rapists.  They took what did not belong to them because they could not get it on their own merits.

Christians who try to legislate or scream out the beauty of choice are no different.  They do not project strength only weakness.  They do not advocate for freedom but for oppression.  Perhaps these Christians should spend more time working to advance the positive message of Christ and the transformation that comes with it.  Perhaps changing hearts and minds by offering the world a clear choice between living for Christ and living for self is a better way to go. 

I have read my scriptures carefully and the only time I recall Christ talking about the government was to render unto Caesar that what was Caesar’s.  But Christ then said to render unto God that which was God’s.  (Mark 12:17).  The ending of that scripture is nearly always missed, “And they [the crowd] were amazed at him.” 

That seems to hold true today.