Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. NPR’s Talk of the Nation was about this question: “Abortion has been legal for 35 years, yet it still seems hard for women to talk about their abortions. Why?”
From NPR’s site you can listen to the recorded program or read comments posted by women who have had abortions.
Yesterday on the program they were taking calls and had two guests with them who interacted with the callers. I don’t know the usual format of this program - I’ve never listened before but the topic caught my attention. I really wanted to hear what people other than conservative Christians would say about why it’s hard to talk about having had an abortion. Read the rest of this entry »
01-23-2008 |
14 Comments »The other day I ran across Lying With Impunity by Mark Earley, President of Prison Fellowship Ministries (the ministry founded by Chuck Colson).
It’s about how Planned Parenthood intentionally filed for planning permission for a new clinic under a name other than Planned Parenthood so local anti-abortion activists wouldn’t realize what was going on. (Of course it became clear eventually and anti-abortion activists protested but the clinic did open)
Mark denounces Planned Parenthood for lying, points out this shows the power of the anti-abortion movement there is and praises the brave anti-abortionists who opposed the new clinic once they found out about it.
My own reaction is: how sad is this, that the behavior of some Christians is so unpleasant and annoying that it results in organizations like Planned Parenthood ‘lying’ to avoid having the hassle of dealing with them?
When Jesus talked about being salt and light I don’t think he meant “be the salt that makes people throw up and the light that hurts and blinds their eyes”.
In one account his last instructions were “Go into all the world and teach people how to be my followers” - not “Go into all the world and be as self-righteously annoying and interfering (into other peoples’ business) as possible”.
11-15-2007 |
80 Comments »The cover article of this week’s TIME Magazine is called ‘The Grassroots Abortion War’.
This article includes an encouraging story about how the staff of an abortion clinic and members of a nearby conservative church have formed a group that meets together regularly.
The group developed from a meeting the clinic leader, Lorrie, set up with church members, to talk with them about the behavior of one member towards clinic staff. Lorrie considered inappropriate. To her surprise the church, rather than being judgmental or defensive, began by asking her forgiveness for not dealing with it sooner. The meeting went so well they decided to have more. As Time reports:
Now they are out to show how people who disagree violently can debate civilly, even lovingly, and find some common ground. They know they won’t change one another’s core beliefs, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t changed.
02-20-2007 |
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