I agree with those that say a woman has a right to do what she wants with her own body. I disagree that a being with a distinct heartbeat is “her own body.” She has no right to stop that little heart from beating. And anyone who thinks it’s not a distinct life has never seen an ultrasound. A Christian that is ok with that “choice” needs to repent.

I also agree with you on the issue of defining Christianity by a political persuasion. Where you and I might disagree is that I define Christianity by surrender to a real Jesus, as revealed in a living Bible. Without an authoritative, divinely inspired Bible, Christianity becomes too nebulous a concept to defend. But we’ve been down that road before, haven’t we, Melissa?

Thanks again for the comment.

The issue that was brought to my attention from all of this was less the fact that CBS agreed to run the FOTF ad, but also that they declined to air an ad for an LGBTQ dating website.

I’ll go ahead and be clear as well: I don’t like Focus on the Family, but I am unrelentingly pro-life (which includes anti-death penalty).

However, my pro-choice clergy and seminarian friends are not pro-abortion, as the article you cited might imply. I don’t think I know a single pro-choice Christian who is pro-abortion. They just value a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body, as do I.

Overturning Roe v. Wade isn’t going to keep people from having abortions. I think you’re right in that it’s a heart-matter. As are many/most of the aspects of living out the gospel.

I shouldn’t feed the hungry, sponsor a child in Africa, or open the door for someone because it’s been legislated. I should do it because my heart is so full of God’s love that it can’t help but pour out in that way.

If the Church acted like the Church, Christians wouldn’t have to be involved in politics. If we were less concerned about “saving the lost” and more concerned about “feeding and housing and caring for the guy down the street,” and we stopped calling people “lost” and just saw them as people on the same difficult journey we’re all on TOGETHER, these issues would begin to be less political and become more heart-centered.

To me, it’s about seeing the interconnectedness of the world, and that connection includes the unborn.

To others, however, being a Christian is about toeing a party line. We are now required to judge someone’s “Christian-ness” by their political stance. And to me, that’s missing the point.
.-= Melissa´s last blog ..Heresy! =-.

If I profess with loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.

It is true that laws cannot change the hearts of men, but it is also true that one of the purposes of law is to restrain evil, and to that end we should be doing all we can to peacefully and prophetically declare God’s Word to student and leader and pray that God’s Spirit would bring about Gospel righteousness in the heart and in our laws.

I think if there is one thing that Christians need to realize is that no matter what they do, or who they vote for, this issue isn’t going to be solved until Jesus returns. It is obvious to us that abortion is horrible, but just like gay marriage, your beliefs cannot be forced down someones throat. Otherwise they will hate your beliefs.

If Focus on the Family spent any time focusing on families after the baby was born (i.e. single mothers, the extremely poor, the starving, etc.) then I would say this wasn’t just a political commercial. Unfortunately, they focus on two issues and both line up with their political candidates, but other issues that involve the family such as welfare and the like they stay away from because the political party they align themself with is against that.

I think that if you want to reach the lost, you need to approach them with love and make them curious of why you are able to keep smiling despite the world falling apart around them. There just doesn’t seem to be any love when it comes to the strong divide that surrounds this issue. Forcing someone to believe what you believe strengthens their resolve to reject you or that belief.

Sorry if I offend anyone with all that, but I just think that caring for the lesser of these: the sick, the poor, the imprisioned, the homeless, etc. is far more important than getting political. Give to Ceaser what is Ceaser’s and give to God what is God’s.

Really? Deut. 4 and Ps. 119 seem to offer a different view.

Is it possible to conform to the requirements of the law while hating the law? Of course. But it seems God intended Isreal’s law to transform the world. And the Psalmist delights in the transformative power of the law in Psalm 119.

It’s great to desire that lost people encounter and be changed by the Gospel. But I don’t really understand downplaying the importance of legislative reform. This is just as essential. Nations can be judged by the laws they implement, and Roe v. Wade is the most atrocious of all our laws.
.-= Alicia´s last blog ..Inserting a ? where Jesus put an ! =-.

As for the ad. The “Pro-Aborts” (and their shrillness is exposing them as just that) are claiming that the Super Bowl is not the proper forum for the ad. I even heard someone suggest it be shown during the Oscars or Grammys instead. Come on now, Tim Tebow is a football player so the Super Bowl is much more of an appropriate forum to show the ad than any other televised event; at least that’s my two shekels worth.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.
.-= Ken Summerlin´s last blog ..A funny thing happened on the way to lunch . . . =-.