helpfulaspirations1 - Tumblr blog

helpfulaspirations1 · 8 years ago

Text

Cold Case Christianity: Stop Using the Term “Fetus”

Several years ago, I tweeted an article in LifeNews entitled “Three Terms Pro-Lifers Should Avoid That De-Humanize Unborn Babies.” The author, Kelsey Hazzard, made an excellent point about our use of words when arguing for the pro-life position. Hazzard argued that the terms, “first days/weeks/months of life”, “rapist’s child”, and “expectant parent/going to be a parent” have a subtle but powerful impact on the strength of our arguments. It’s an interesting read and it highlights the rhetorical power of words in this debate. As I read the article it reminded me of one of my own concerns related to the language in the pro-life dialogue. I have been trying to eliminate the term, “fetus” from my vocabulary for many of the same reasons that Hazzard suggested we eliminate the three aforementioned terms. I think the word “fetus” is a dehumanizing expression that allows people to objectify the unborn. There are two problems with the word. First, the word “fetus” sounds more scientific than conversational; it is more academic than personal. It’s like the difference between “metacarpal appendage” and “hand”. I can accurately say that I held my wife’s metacarpal appendage last night on the way home from dinner, but most people will have difficulty seeing this as an act of affection. My language has abstracted her hand and the nature of my actions. If I want to accurately (and emotively) communicate my actions to folks without a scientific background, I need to pick words that are rooted in our common experience rather than scientific concepts. Secondly, the word “fetus” can be applied to any number of non-human species. Skunks also have fetuses. When we use the term “fetus” to describe the unborn, we are likely to associate it with other forms of life that are simply not human. Our language inadvertently moves the target from human life to other forms of life that we may not consider as precious. I think we need to return “humanity” to the terms we use when describing the unborn. We need to use a term that identifies the unborn as a precious human being and connects it to the continuing life of this human being over time, both in the womb during pregnancy and out of the womb after birth. So rather than use the term “fetus” when describing the unborn, I am determined to use the word “fetal human”. This expression seems to meet the criteria satisfied by the word “fetus”, while properly identifying the unborn as the same human who will eventually enter into other stages of human development. I have been a fetal human, an infant human, a prepubescent human, and a mature human. As a human being, I have experienced all of these stages of development. The term “fetal human” allow me to capture the distinct nature of my humanity and apply it to every level of my development. I may have been progressing between one stage of development to the next over the past fifty-two years, but I’ve always been a human. The term “fetal human” recognizes this reality. Language is important. When we allow the debate to embrace terms that objectify and dehumanize the unborn, we give ground unnecessarily to those who would deny the humanity of fetal humans. That’s why I’m doing my best to stop using the term “fetus”. J. Warner Wallace is a Cold-Case Detective, a Christian Case Maker, and the author of Cold-Case Christianity, Cold-Case Christianity for Kids, God’s Crime Scene, and Forensic Faith

0 notes

helpfulaspirations1 · 8 years ago

Text

My Vow to Soften Rachel Macy Stafford, Only Love Today

By being softer you can hear more, learn more, feel more, and love more. I’ve had enough of my hard edges. I’m tired of straining my voice. I’d like to loosen up and laugh a little more, be positive rather than negative. I’d like to feel the upward curve of my lips. I’d like to surrender control of things over which I have no control. I’d like to let things unfold in their own time, in their own way. I’d like to participate joyfully in this fleeting life. I’d like to be softer toward him, toward her, toward myself. Thus, this will be the year of my softening. And this is my vow: I vow to listen to opinions. I don’t always have to be right. I don’t always have to agree or have the last word. I vow to hand over the hairbrush, the pile of laundry, the school project, the task before me. “How would you do it?” I will ask. I vow to step aside and respect a new approach. Success might be difficult to see at first; I vow to keep looking. I vow to be more accepting of quirks and mannerisms. I vow to be more accepting of tastes and styles unlike my own. I vow to remember he is in the process of becoming; she is in the process of finding her way. And they are more apt to do it if I stop telling them how. I vow to regard “weaknesses” as hidden strengths. Inner gifts can be nurtured when I stop plotting ways to alter, change, and “improve.” I vow to greet my family — and myself — with a loving smile, no matter what happened yesterday. Grudge-holding only hurts us all. I vow to pause before correcting. I will take a moment to consider if the mistake even needs to be mentioned at all. I vow to stop nitpicking until it bleeds. I vow to demand less and inquire more. I vow to listen, consider, and expand my thinking. I vow to be a voice of encouragement in a demeaning world. I vow to be a silver lining spotter in my family’s little world. I vow to be softer today than I was yesterday — a softer voice, a softer posture, a softer touch, a softer thought, a softer timetable. I vow to be softer toward the imperfect human being inside me and the one beside me. By being softer I can hear more, learn more, feel more, and love more. At last I will fully see I will see his colors. I will see her colors. I will see my colors. Perhaps for the very first time. The colors might take my breath away, bring me to tears, or offer long-awaited peace. I will soften in order to illuminate the colors of the soul I will soften so the human being within me and beside me can shine. Today’s Reminder It is not always possible for me to choose love in the midst of challenging situations, but I can definitely try to soften — soften my voice, my touch, my opinion, and my timetable. Even a little softening goes a long way to bring peace to the situation. Today I will celebrate each time I soften when my first instinct is to harden. Excerpted with permission from Only Love Today by Rachel Macy Stafford, copyright Rachel Macy Stafford.

0 notes

helpfulaspirations1 · 8 years ago

Text

Jerusalem: The Valley of Decision. ICEJ

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14). Dear Harry,

The prophet Joel saw three great developments before the coming of “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” First, he saw the Spirit of God being poured out on all flesh—a revival that would cover the whole earth (Joel 2:28ff). Second, he saw the Jewish people returning to their homeland (Joel 3:1). And third, he saw the nations gathering together against Jerusalem, specifically in the valley of Jehoshaphat (“God judges” in Hebrew), a northern extension of the Kidron Valley. He had a special name for this valley—the “valley of decision.” From the very beginning, Jerusalem has been a city of decision. The first time we read about it, we find Abraham returning from a successful campaign against four kings who had taken hostages from the city-states of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pursued and defeated the kings, liberated the hostages, and brought back a rich bounty of his conquest (Genesis 14). Upon his return, Abraham reached the “valley of the Kings”—thought to be the Kidron Valley just east of Jerusalem’s Old City. There, two kings appeared to him: the King of Sodom, ruler of an unrighteous city, and Melchizedek, King of Salem. Both made an offer to Abraham. The King of Sodom offered him all the spoils of the conquest: “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” Melchizedek’s offer was far more modest: bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed him from “God Most High (El Elyon), Possessor of heaven and earth.” The difference was stark! The ruler of Sodom offered riches but kept the souls. Melchizedek was Priest of the God Most High, and with bread and wine, the eternal symbols of sacrificial redemption, he offered Abraham redemption of the soul. Abraham understood this came from the same God who called him out of Ur in Chaldea. This was the Creator God, “possessor of heaven and earth,” who could claim everything he had. It was not an easy choice. Abraham had every right to keep the riches of Sodom but …Printer-friendly versionSend by email By: Dr. Jürgen Bühler, ICEJ Executive Director Posted on: 2 Mar 2017 (All day) Jerusalem: The Valley of Decision The prophet Joel saw three great developments before the coming of “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” First, he saw the Spirit of God being poured out on all flesh—a revival that would cover the whole earth (Joel 2:28ff). Second, he saw the Jewish people returning to their homeland (Joel 3:1). And third, he saw the nations gathering together against Jerusalem, specifically in the valley of Jehoshaphat (“God judges” in Hebrew), a northern extension of the Kidron Valley. He had a special name for this valley—the “valley of decision.

From the very beginning, Jerusalem has been a city of decision. The first time we read about it, we find Abraham returning from a successful campaign against four kings who had taken hostages from the city-states of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pursued and defeated the kings, liberated the hostages, and brought back a rich bounty of his conquest (Genesis 14).

Upon his return, Abraham reached the “valley of the Kings”—thought to be the Kidron Valley just east of Jerusalem’s Old City. There, two kings appeared to him: the King of Sodom, ruler of an unrighteous city, and Melchizedek, King of Salem. Both made an offer to Abraham. The King of Sodom offered him all the spoils of the conquest: “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” Melchizedek’s offer was far more modest: bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed him from “God Most High (El Elyon), Possessor of heaven and earthThe difference was stark! The ruler of Sodom offered riches but kept the souls. Melchizedek was Priest of the God Most High, and with bread and wine, the eternal symbols of sacrificial redemption, he offered Abraham redemption of the soul. Abraham understood this came from the same God who called him out of Ur in Chaldea. This was the Creator God, “possessor of heaven and earth,” who could claim everything he had.

It was not an easy choice. Abraham had every right to keep the riches of Sodom but he returned the spoil to its king. He then readily accepted Melchizedek’s blessing and offered back a tithe of everything he had, recognizing God’s claim over his life.

Years later, God called Abraham back to Jerusalem. “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Genesis 22:2). This is the most demanding call anyone could ever receive from God. It meant giving up the son of promise for whom Abraham had prayed and hoped for those many years. Isaac also embodied his own calling to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. And of course, Isaac was his own flesh and blood. We can only imagine what it took for Abraham to make this agonizing journey to Jerusalem. Hebrews says Abraham’s deep belief that Isaac would be raised from the dead enabled him to walk this difficult road (Hebrews 11:17–19).

Twice Abraham made a radical decision in Jerusalem. For him, Jerusalem represented the very fact that God indeed was possessor of heaven and earth. It is the place of total surrender to God; the place to make God the highest authority and submit our rights and will to Him.

David would later make Jerusalem the capital of Israel. As with Abraham, Jerusalem became for David the place of ultimate worship and sacrifice to God. There on Mount Zion, David established a place of perpetual worship to God. One of his psalms says it is a place reserved for the humble and pure of heart (Psalm 24:1–4). Here, the Creator of heaven and earth expects our total surrender to Him. Isaiah declares that “His fire is in Zion and whose furnace is Jerusalem” (Isaiah 31:9). Jerusalem is a battleground for the soul—the place for deciding whom we will serve.

Yet in Jerusalem, God made His own decision to give everything for us. Like Abraham, He gave that which was most precious to Him—His only begotten Son. Two thousand years after Abraham, in the Kings’ valley on the slopes of the Kidron, Melchizedek appears again—now as the son of David, King of the Jews, and Son of God. There, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ, our High Priest, prayed the greatest prayer of submission: “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). And as did Isaac, Jesus carried a wooden burden up that mountain to offer Himself as an eternal sacrifice for me and you. Throughout history this offer of redemption has confronted every soul. It remains a place of decision for everyone!

Interestingly, the king of Sodom’s offer also seems to be ever-present in this city. The book of Revelation calls Jerusalem the city that is spiritually “Sodom.” There is an enduring spiritual battle over the city that manifests even in the political arena. Jerusalem is like a magnet to the rulers of this world, where the arrogance of their power is demonstrated by their desire to divide and control the City of God. But “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: ‘Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion’” (Psalm 2:4–6).

The prophet Zechariah foresaw the drunkenness with which the world’s rulers are eager to decide the fate of Jerusalem. Yet the prophet warned: “… it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it” (Zechariah 12:2–3).

It is a dangerous thing to carelessly lift that heavy stone of Jerusalem. It is a burden that can crush even nations.

Exactly one hundred years ago, British General Edmund Allenby liberated Jerusalem from the Ottomans. When entering the city through Jaffa Gate, he dismounted his horse and asked his soldiers to do the same. “Only the King of kings should enter the city riding on a horse,” he reportedly said. Some 20 years earlier, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Jerusalem and insisted that Jaffa Gate be widened for him to ride into Jerusalem on a white horse.

Dealing with Jerusalem demands humility from everyone, politicians included. Those who would too easily divide the city remind us of the prostitute who too quickly took up Solomon’s suggestion to divide her friend’s child. Let us rather seek the peace of this great city! The psalmist said, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you” (Psalm 122:6); the Hebrew word for peace —shalom—also means “wholeness.” To seek unity and peace can mean the difference between blessing and curse.

Therefore, make it a place of decision for you personally, and choose afresh Christ’s eternal gift of bread and wine, submitting to Him. But also, let us pray for our nations to relate rightly to the city that Jesus Christ Himself calls the city of the great King. It will be for the prospering of our own nations!

Please note: we, Christians, are the New Jerusalem.

1 note · View note

helpfulaspirations1 · 8 years ago

Text

The Church’s Necessary Response to Abortion. Brian Fisher, Human Coalition

Have you ever heard someone say something like this when it comes to the topic of abortion and whether churches ought to be involved in pro-life issues: “Church leaders shouldn’t talk about abortion because the Bible doesn’t mention the word abortion. It’s a political issue, not a religious issue; therefore, it doesn’t warrant any attention in church”?

Many churchgoing people get the willies whenever they see announcements in the church bulletin promoting pro-life activities, or when their pastor preaches against abortion. Heck, many churches in America look more like the “see no evil, say no evil, hear no evil” monkeys than they do the One who triumphed over evil. “Don’t talk about abortion—and certainly don’t preach about abortion” is the position of many churches today.

Yet the future of the pro-life movement is dependent on American churches and parishes being educated and emboldened about what the Bible teaches about human life.

Though many wish we would remain silent, Scripture is far from silent on the sanctity of human life. And where the Bible speaks, the Church must speak. So my prayer is that the Church will end her silence and speak with the authority of Scripture.

Scripture is far from silent on the sanctity of human life. The Bible provides a simple, yet elegant foundation regarding abortion and the Church’s involvement in ending it. The Bible answers three fundamental questions about human life:

Is God the creator of all human life? Does God permit us to end innocent human life? Does God command the Church to protect innocent life? Discovering the answers to God’s role in creating human life, what He allows us to do to that life, and what He calls His Church to do makes a literal difference in whether we have a responsibility to promote and protect human life. So let’s ask and answer each question in turn.

1. Is God the creator of all human life?

In the will and mind of God, there is no such thing as an “unplanned pregnancy.” Every time a couple gets pregnant unexpectedly, God doesn’t wring His hands or slap His forehead and say, “Well, I never saw that coming!” The couple may be surprised, but God NEVER is.

God is never surprised because God is sovereign. Psalm 103:19 declares, “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all” (NASB).

The Holman Bible Dictionary defines God’s sovereignty this way:

[The] biblical teaching that God possesses all power and is the ruler of all things (Ps. 135:6; Dan. 4:34-35). God rules and works according to His eternal purpose, even through events that seem to contradict or oppose His rule.

Few were as proud, or had reason to be, as King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Believing he was sovereign over his kingdom, he eventually discovered God’s all-powerful control the hard way. God inflicted him with a mental illness where he thought and acted like a cow. For seven years he ate grass and wandered in a pasture until he acknowledged God’s sovereignty. And when he did, he humbly declared:

“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35)

God is sovereign over not only rulers and kingdoms; He is sovereign over the smallest details of our existence. For instance, He knows the exact number of hairs on each of our heads—which is greater for some of us than others (Matthew 10:29-31).

David expressed his amazement at God’s creative genius and power in controlling all the tiny details of his life.

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. … For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:1-4, 13-16)

Wow! What an amazing statement! God is in control of it all, which is why David could write in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.”

Simply put, God is the Author of all life. Every child is conceived within God’s complete control and plan. He creates each and every one of us, regardless of the circumstances of conception. We are His. Even if our families consider us unwanted or unplanned, in God’s mind we are always planned and wanted.

2. Does God permit us to end innocent human life?

Since God, by His sovereignty, creates every human being—meaning no one is accidental or a surprise to Him—the next logical question in relation to abortion is, “Does the Creator God permit us to destroy His creation?”

Consider an artist who creates a beautiful painting of a garden or a girl—say, Monet’s Water Lilies or da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. With paint-stained fingers, the artist labors over this painting. With painstaking attention to detail, every brushstroke, every hue of color is a masterpiece. And once the artist completes his work, he steps back—his clothes covered in reds, blues, yellows, oranges, and whites—and admires his creation. He frames it to accentuate the many colors, and he hangs it on a wall for others to see and admire. He is proud of his work and wants nothing more than for others to enjoy it.

But what do you think the artist would say if you walked into his studio, saw the painting, and said, “That’s the ugliest painting I’ve ever seen in my life. It looks like a barrel of monkeys were let loose and flung paint willy-nilly on the canvas. That’s no more ‘art’ than when I used to paint by number”? And what do you think the artist would do if you picked up a pair of scissors and began shredding his painting, or if you put a lit match it, or threw turpentine on it?

If I were the artist, I’d probably throat punch you and then call the police. But regardless of the artist’s reaction, destroying a masterpiece is not only criminal—it’s tragic.

Admittedly, this metaphor is crude. But it illustrates the point I was trying to make earlier: each child is a masterpiece whom God designed with care, intent, and love. And He does not permit us to destroy the lives of His creation.

God makes this clear in the sixth commandment of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not murder” another human being (Exodus 20:13). And if that isn’t clear enough, God—who does not stutter—speaks plainly in Ecclesiastes 8:8, “No man has… authority over the day of death….”

Let me repeat that: No man has authority over the day of death.

God ordains life and is responsible for the creation of every human being. And only God has the authority to take life. He alone determines the day of death. He does not give us the right to decide who should live and who should die.

3. Does God command the Church to protect innocent life?

God doesn’t permit us to end innocent human life, but the reality is we destroy womb-bound lives at an alarming rate every day. So, what is the Church’s responsibility, as God’s representatives on earth, to preserve and protect innocent life?

Many churches answer that question with, “Nothing.” They refuse to engage the abortion holocaust because, as they say, “Abortion is a political issue, not a church issue.” Those that hold to this view make two mistakes about abortion.

First, protecting the sacredness of life isn’t merely an “issue.” Abortion represents a level of rebellion against the life-giving and life-sustaining God that can only be spoken of as a grievous evil and worthy of divine judgment. Without mincing words, abortion is murder on a scale that defies imagination.

Second, it is a fallacy to regard abortion—a clear violation of the fundamental right to life—as nothing more than “political.” The right to life is the cornerstone of human rights and dignity, endowed by our Creator. This makes abortion theological and sociological, as well as political, and it places the reality of abortion at the front door of every church. To ignore abortion by relegating it as a matter of politics exclusively is to stand squarely in opposition to God and to condemn to death the most innocent among us and those most vulnerable to abortion—children in the womb.

To put it another way, if we accept the truth of the Bible—that God creates every human being, and our Creator does not permit us to destroy His creations—then continually downgrading abortion until we regard it as nothing more than a political football greatly dishonors our Creator.

Abortion is the killing of innocent human life. It is not about choices, reproductive rights, or Republicans versus Democrats. It is not about labels, marketing campaigns, or votes.

Abortion is about a mother, a father, and a child. The child loses his or her life, and afterward the parents suffer emotionally and spiritually and often physically. There are no winners in abortion.

If we allow abortion to remain solely in the political realm, then its holocaust is measured only by statistics, not by humanity.

The Church has an obligation to be intimately and passionately engaged in protecting and preserving the lives of not only preborn children, but also their mothers and fathers, and the communities that ought to be nurturing these children through every stage of life. And God’s Church must also be healing helpers of men and women who are suffering from abortions in their past.

Scripture is replete with commands to help, serve, heal, protect, preserve, forgive, feed, nourish, and rescue.

Proverbs 24:10-12a says,

If you are slack in the day of distress, Your strength is limited. Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back. If you say, “See, we did not know this,” Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul?

Aren’t the preborn being taken away to death? Aren’t they staggering to slaughter? There can be no other answer than yes.

Jesus commands us to love God and love our neighbors, and to treat others the way we want to be treated. But how can we say we love God when we give so little care or concern for our neighbors in the womb and for the families of those not yet born?

The Bible speaks clearly, authoritatively, and passionately about the Creator of life and our obligation to protect and preserve the life He has created. The Church’s silence on abortion is sinful, and it has now become harmful and deadly as well. It’s time for the Church to be the hands and feet of Christ in caring for “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40 NIV).

Millions of lives—born and preborn—depend on it.

1 note · View note