Unapologetically Pro Life

You shall not murder. Exodus 20:13

Murder. Retzach (Hebrew): to break, to dash to pieces, to destroy; to slay, kill, murder. The taking of innocent life.

We can look at our American history, and find one incident after another of retzach on a mass scale.

• On April 19, 1995, the Oklahoma City bombing claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of six.  
• On April 20, 1999, two teenaged boys murdered twelve fellow students and a teacher at the Columbine High School in Colorado.
• On September 11, 2001, 2,753 men, women, and children lost their lives when hijackers flew three airliners into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
• On October 2, 2006 a man murdered five girls at an Amish one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, PA.
• Twelve people, one of them a six year old girl, were lost when a gunman opened fire in a packed theater in Aurora, CO on July 20, 2012.
• The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012 claimed the lives of twenty first-graders and six adults.

You must not make the land where you live unclean. The land is not holy when people are killed. And only the blood of him who is guilty can pay to make the land free from the blood that has fallen on it. Numbers 35:33 NLV

I don't believe there is one among us who is not appalled, repulsed, and horrified by those six examples listed above. These are unthinkable events. The loss of innocent life through murder is astounding.

An area more debated is that of wartime loss of life, particularly when we judge the loss of life of our "enemies." Many people are not aware that the US has been executing airstrikes - both manned and unmanned - on the nations of Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia at an increasing pace. Consider the following statistics from these three nations:

• From 2004 to September, 2012, Pakistan has lost 2,570-3,337 people. 474-884 were listed as civilians; 176 of them were children.
• From 2002 to September, 2012, as many as 1,026 have been killed in Yemen through airstrikes. Between 60 and 163 of those killed were civilians, 24-34 of them children
• From 2007 to September, 2012 US airstrikes have claimed 56-170 lives in Somalia, as many as 57 of them civilians, three of those children.

Now, when you see how much greater the number of casualties is than the number of civilians, consider the following: When tallying casualties, the CIA counts all military-aged men as combatants. This is a mind-blowing thing to consider. This is unthinkable loss of life.

Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God has God made mankind. Genesis 9:6

 The destruction of innocent life grieves me. This is why I am completely, unapologetically, pro-life.

This week, I turn 40. 40 years ago, I was born with a severely clubbed foot. I underwent two corrective surgeries, and had a childhood of corrective shoes and physical therapy and doctor's appointments, which must have been an immense financial burden to my parents.

This week also sees the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, legislation which made abortion legalized in this nation. In the last 40 years, the United States has seen approximately 54 million abortions.

 Because of Roe v. Wade, I was given the option to terminate my pregnancies, should they be inconvenient, difficult, or result in damaged children. I will never, ever forget my first visit with my obstetrician in the early glow of my first pregnancy thirteen years ago. I will never, ever forget the horror with which I heard him ask me, "If your baby is seen to have a clubbed foot, will you choose to terminate the pregnancy?" In other words, if your baby is inconvenient, imperfect, of less worth, like you, do you want to scrap it and try over?

We have been taught and conditioned to believe that abortion has nothing to do with ending a life. We have been taught and conditioned to believe that it's simply expelling a complex tissue mass. And I believed that those who champion "choice" believed that to be true; that they could not possibly champion a cause believing in their hearts that each abortion ended a baby's life. Then I came across an article that contained the following quotes:

"I performed abortions, I have had an abortion and I am in favor of women having abortions when we choose to do so. But we should never disregard the fact that being pregnant means there is a baby growing inside of a woman, a baby whose life is ended. We ought not to pretend this is not happening." Judith Arcana, 1999

"[The idea of] dismembering a baby and pulling it out in pieces … is obviously horrific. But at the same time, it is easy to get caught up in that emotion." Julia Black, 2004 ABC interview regarding her film, My Fetus

"Abortion is in some sense an act of violence, and indisputably results in the termination of a life." Kathleen McDonnell, 2003, from her book Not An Easy Choice: A Feminist Re-examines Abortion

"Most of the abortions in America are about convenience. People need to accept abortion for what it is: a valid part of the reproductive spectrum. I want it to be seen as normal; if 1.3 million women in this country have one every year, it’s gotta be normal... I remember feeling conflicted about the magic of being pregnant. I felt electricity running through my body. Not for a minute did I not think of it as a life. I knew it was a baby." Penny Lane, 2004 Salon Magazine interview

In my heart of hearts, I believe abortion of convenience is murder. It is retzach. I have felt life growing within me, felt the flutters and kicks beneath my heart, seen my twelve-week-gestational jelly beans and heard their hearts beat. And as we observe this milestone anniversary, my heart breaks.

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day. Psalm 139:13-16 MSG

It's Not a Matter of "If"

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him... Job 13: 15a

This phrase is what ran through my head as I drove home from the cancer center on Friday. I required a shot to boost my immune system, which I knew would be painful for days to come. I had been so excited when my oncologist said I could do without it after my last treatment; now I was deeply disappointed to have required this shot after all, and drove home knowing that my compromised immunity might very well mean that my return to teaching preschool was premature, and that this source of joy in my week may well be taken from me once again.

Now, I know this is very different from being slain, but it's a matter of choosing how I am going to respond to bad news, even when it's the worst-case scenario. And what really struck me, as I looked at this passage a little more, is that Job is not saying "if." This verse is more accurately phrased, "He will surely slay me; I have no hope..."

So, what do I do when it's not a matter of "if"? Here are the things I could insert, on my Job days:

Though [the pain is hard to bear; my strength fails; my courage slips; joy is hard to hold onto; the tears flow; sleep is hard and waking is harder; the mirror is hard to face; discouragement threatens], yet will I [hope in him; trust in him; praise him; thank him; seek him; call to him; cry to him; sing for him; work for him].

You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 
 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise you forever. Psalm 30:11-12

How about you? How will you respond when it's not a matter of "if"?

Honesty: Still the Best Policy

"Even children show what they are by what they do; you can tell if they are honest and good." Proverbs 20:11

Let me begin with a confession: Honesty is not something that has ever been easy for me. As a child in particular, I had a terrible time with telling the truth. Even today, when I am in a bind, my first instinct is to bend the truth a bit in order to save face; it is a victory every time I overcome that inclination and choose the truth. I have learned the hard way, living with people's lack of trust and my own guilt, how important honesty and integrity are, so perhaps this hard-won battle is why I am so firm with my children on the topic of honesty, and why the following discussion is weighing so heavily on my mind.

You see, this week I asserted that lying, particularly deliberate misrepresentation of who you are, is bad. For this, I was called narrow-minded and judgmental. I even had Matthew 7:1 quoted to me. Now, there are times when I can concede that my way might not work for someone else, that it's up for interpretation, that your perspective is valid, and so on. However, I simply cannot reconcile teaching my children to tell the truth all the time, teaching them that personal honesty and integrity in all parts of their lives is essential, and deliberate misrepresentation.

So, what is this weighty topic which spurred this intense debate?

Facebook. Namely, allowing your child to have a Facebook account before they are thirteen.

Now, I'm sure some of you are looking at the screen saying, "Seriously? That's not a big deal at all!" In fact, some of you may have helped your child get an account early yourselves.

I dealt with this question last year, when my twelve-year-old daughter's best friend, who was eleven at the time, got a Facebook account. I was told that it was "not fair." However, I told her that to get her an account I would have to lie about her age. Did she want me to be a liar? She still is unhappy about not being on Facebook, and simply cannot wait for her birthday this spring, but she no longer asks for one, because she recognizes that my integrity is at stake.

I understand that Facebook is not a huge issue, in the grand scheme of things. The person with whom I had the conflict this week even had a reasonable excuse for getting her child on early - namely, to keep her child in contact with long-distance relatives. Her reasoning goes back to a concept called "situational ethics," which basically asserts that there are no universal rights or wrongs; that each situation demands its own application of values.

Episcopal pastor Joseph Fletcher phrased situation ethics in a clearly Christian context, which says that love is the only absolute value. In his "Naturalism, situation ethics, and value theory," Fletcher asserts:

Since 'circumstances alter cases', situationism holds that in practice what in some times and places we call right is in other times and places wrong... For example, lying is not ordinarily in the best interest of interpersonal communication and social integrity, but is justifiable nevertheless in certain situations.

 I will agree with Fletcher, to a point. If telling the truth will cost someone their life or safety, I would probably lie. For example, those many people who sheltered Jews from the Nazis lied to save lives. Even Rahab lied to save the lives of the Hebrew spies in the book of Joshua. It must be understood, however, that even these "good" lies carried the potential of dire consequences.

But for the sake of convenience? Because I "know better"? Because it's something I want, or deserve, or am entitled to?

Allow me to take this issue of personal misrepresentation a little further. Allow me to offer some other scenarios, similar to getting an underage child on Facebook. We will start with the sentence, "Because I want my child to have contact with his/ her grandparents, I will lie about his/ her age to get him/ her a Facebook account." Now, I will take that sentence and substitute certain words:

•  Because I want my child to have a positive social experience, I will lie about his/ her age to get him/ her into the latest R-rated movie with his/ her friends.
• Because I want my child to have an excellent education, I will lie on his/ her college application to get him/ her into a better school.
• Because I want my child to have a good job, I will help him/ her lie about his/ her experience on his/ her resume.

 Do these sound as reasonable? Just like the Facebook account, they are all rooted in a loving motivation - the best social, academic, and employment opportunities possible. But are they right?

I heard a man on the radio this morning assert that, while Lance Armstrong was wrong to destroy the character of those who accused him of doping, he was justified in cheating and lying about it, because he had a hard life, and besides they kept making the courses harder. Situationalism. Is it right to lie and cheat because it's hard, and it's the only way to get ahead?

And consider the current case of college football star Manti Te'o. Either he misrepresented himself and devised the elaborate hoax of a fictional girlfriend in order to gin up sympathy and fame, or he had such a hoax perpetrated on him by people who misrepresented themselves to him.

Or how about politicians, who misrepresent themselves and their positions in order to get elected?

Suddenly, finding yourself on the receiving end of personal misrepresentation (dishonesty, lying) doesn't seem so reasonable.

It is positively amazing how many passages can be found in the Bible on the topics of integrity and honesty and uprightness.

"But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace.  Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord.” (Zechariah 8:16-17, NLT)

Here is another:

Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord, is in you.  (Psalm 25:20-21)

From Proverbs 10:

Honest people are safe and secure, but the dishonest will be caught. (verse 9)

Storms come, and the wicked are blown away, but honest people are always safe. (verse 25)

The Lord protects honest people, but destroys those who do wrong. (verse 29)

Situationalism surrounds us. Our culture is filled with individualism, relative morality, and "ends justifies the means" thinking. But for me, I am choosing to develop a lifestyle of honesty and integrity, and will continue to cultivate the same in my daughters. While some things may be up to interpretation, I will continue to maintain that lying, dishonesty, misrepresentation, are wrong. It may be more difficult sometimes, but an "upright life" is actually the freer life - free from guilt, free from fear of being caught, free from loss of trust. Honesty, as they say, is the best policy.

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