Pro-Life not your calling?
One of our wonderful supporters asked me how to respond to people who excused themselves from doing even the smallest thing to stop the killing (e.g, attend a pro-life event or contribute financially) by saying that “everybody has a different calling” or “it’s just one of many causes.” I suggested she might respond this way:
10-week (1st-trimester) hand on quarter
Regarding my request that you help with a pro-life activity that I am planning, you responded by saying that “not everyone has the same calling and that this is just one good cause out of many that you might help.” In addressing these statements, I need to ask you if you believe that every abortion kills a human baby? If not, then please say so because I don’t want to waste your time or mine. But if you agree every abortion kills a baby, then our nation is killing 1.2 million children every year. Do you really believe that stopping a Holocaust of this magnitude is just “one of many causes”? Can any Christian really do nothing at all?
There is some truth in your statement that God calls different people to different ministries. However, what would we say about a German Christian who did nothing to obey God’s commandment to protect and deliver the helpless being led away to slaughter (Proverbs 24: 11-12)? We might give that person a break, because for him, doing something might have meant execution. But what would we think of Germans who claimed to be Christian and did nothing to help stop the killing of Jews, if we knew it wouldn’t have been personally dangerous? I think we might have asked the same question that Martin Luther King, Jr. asked when he reflected on White Southerners who did nothing to stop racism. Dr. King asked ” What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices …?”
What do we say about the Priest and the Levite who passed the robbery victim on the side of the road (Luke 10-30-37)? I have heard many sermons on this parable, but never have I heard any pastor excuse the Priest and Levite by saying that perhaps they “had a different calling.”
What would we say of the person who saw a child drowning in a neighbor’s swimming pool and responded by saying, “I have never felt called by God to save drowning children, and it is, after all, only one of many good deeds I might do today.”
I am not trying to rearrange your life. But I am asking that you do something important for me. [What comes next depends on what you want the person to do.]
- [Help with a project:] If you agree that abortion kills a human baby, I am asking for a few hours of your time. Your small investment in this project will save babies that would otherwise be killed. Because a real baby’s life is at stake, I am compelled to ask you to reconsider and assist me with this project. Specifically, I want you to … (summarize the request). May I call you tomorrow?
- [Financial assistance:] If you agree that abortion kills a human baby, I am asking you to consider a small monthly financial commitment to help stop the killing. If you have cable TV, I wonder if you would consider a monthly gift equal to your cable TV bill. But any amount will save babies’ lives if it is offered regularly (monthly). May I call you tomorrow?
What do you think? Would this change anybody? Did it change you? If so, please click here!
Tags: church, prolife, right to life
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 8:58 am and is filed under Abortion and the Church. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to “Pro-Life not your calling?”
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January 25th, 2011 at 2:52 am
May I use your very persuasive argument as part of my public requests (pulpit and bulletin announcements) for increased participation in prayer vigils and other peaceful, legal efforts to close the Planned Parenthood facilities in Midland and Odessa, TX?
January 25th, 2011 at 11:59 am
Yes. Please. Thank you so much. Please encourage your church members (and your church body) to become involved in activities like this. Please use anything I have written. I put these ideas out there for folks like you to use.
As you are planning your presentation, please bear in mind that most Christians who are doing nothing to stop the killing don’t even know what abortion is. They think they do but they don’t. They are trying to ignore or trivialize abortion, because that allows them to do nothing about it. That’s why you must use abortion images to show them what it is. If they don’t see it, they won’t understand it and won’t do anything about it.
Some will complain about this and assert that you only need to show pretty pictures of preborn children. If that were true, a photo of a Jewish family picnic on the Rhine would be adequate to convey the horror of the death camps. I’m sorry, but I look at a nice Jewish family photo, and it tells me nothing about Auschwitz.
If we are going to ever stop the killing, we must correct three adverse conditions:
1. Christians need to know the truth of it. They don’t. (That’s why the abortion rate even inside the “pro-life” church is so high.)
2. Christians need to care enough to do something about it. They don’t.
3. The Church must lead. It doesn’t.
It is my belief that correcting #1 is critical to correcting the other two. Let me emphasize this point: To understand it, your church needs to see it!
Dr. Martin Luther King said, “America will never stop racism until America sees racism.” That’s why he organized marches, knowing that the peaceful marchers would be attacked with dogs and water cannons. It was pictures of these attacks, on TV and in magazines, that changed America. I can tell you that America will not stop abortion until America sees abortion, and there is no place more fitting than our churches to begin this educational process. Babies will die in your church if you don’t show pictures.
When guiding your members how to act in holding back the children on the way to slaughter (Proverbs 24:11-12), encourage them to use graphic abortion images in their work. It’s not important that all use graphic images; but it is important that those who oppose their use are not allowed to dissuade others who might be agreeable.
If you need ideas how to counter objections or have any other questions, feel free to contact me.
You might want to check out the slides from my talk this weekend to the Students for Life of America conference in DC: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8698912/Pictures%20are%20not%20optional.pdf
We’d be glad to provide a speaker for your church anytime.
Thanks,
Fletcher