Brave New World???

“We've got a duty to die and get out of the way with all of our machines and artificial hearts and everything else like that and let the other society, our kids, build a reasonable life.” Governor Richard Lamm

In the year 2274, the remnants of human civilization live in a sealed city contained beneath a cluster of geodesic domes, a utopia run by a computer that takes care of all aspects of life, including reproduction. To prevent overpopulation, everyone must undergo the rite of “Carrousel” when they reach the age of 30. There, they are killed under the guise of being “renewed.” To track this, each person is implanted at birth with a “life-clock” crystal in the palm of the hand that changes color as they get older and begins blinking as they approach their “Last Day.”

  That was the premise of a popular 1976 Sci-Fi movie with Michael York called Logan’s Run. Back then, it seemed far-fetched and unbelievable. Today…maybe not so far-fetched.

  Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday. Increasingly, more Americans identify as pro-life. Yet, pro-life isn’t only about abortion. It’s defending human life from conception to death. It means that birth selectivity, mercy killing and euthanasia are also morally wrong. Many who’d claim to be pro-life would have no problem aborting a child if tests confirmed that the child will be disabled. But what’s considered disabled? Down Syndrome, physical limitations or autism? What about gender selectivity? Many choose to abort if the child is not the gender that they’d prefer.

  At the recent Golden Globe Awards, actress Michelle Williams, when she accepted her award suggested that abortion is a way to protect one’s career and finances: “I’m grateful for the acknowledgment of the choices I’ve made, and I’m also grateful to have lived at a moment in our society where choice exists. Because as women and as girls, things can happen to our bodies that are not our choice. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without employing a woman’s right to choose.”

  Ms. Williams never suggested that she was raped or forced to have sex,  but instead freely chose to have sexual relations that resulted in an unwanted pregnancy. She’s “grateful” to have the freedom to terminate a life if it hinders her future, in her case being an actress and creating “art.”  Yet, if it’s acceptable to terminate a life at the beginning because of financial liabilities or career inconvenience, why would it be wrong to terminate a life at the end, if one was the caregiver and/or it was a financial burden and hampered a career?

  We’re living longer. Look at the candidates running for President. Most are pushing 80. Then, we’re running out of money for financial care of the elderly and infirm. The cost of healthcare is skyrocketing and the costs for the last three months of life are the highest. It’s not a leap to draw some obvious conclusions. If it costs the most to care for someone at the end of life and they have a terminal disease or limited “quality of life,” “mercy killing” or euthanasia become a much more viable option.

  One of contemporary society’s greatest faux pas is racism. Yet, bigotry toward the elderly is so socially accepted and so much a part of American culture, most never give it a second thought. By 2025 the number of people aged 60 and over will double and by 2050 it will reach 2 billion globally.

  Yet, consider the all too common attitude toward the elderly. It can take many forms and includes depicting them as frail, dependent, and out of touch in the media. According to the World Health Organization, ageism is most rampant in high-income countries. Americans, as a whole, place great value on youth, beauty, vitality and the ability to earn a large income. Aging is often seen as a debilitating process that robs people of these high-prized attributes.

  In one study, 70% of older Americans said they’d been insulted or mistreated because of their age. This can take the form of something as simple as a server asking a senior’s younger companion what the senior would like rather than addressing the senior citizen, or by the numerous portrayals in the media of elders as crabby, incompetent, and superfluous.

  If that’s happening while the elderly are still self-sufficient and independent, what will be the outcome when they aren’t? There are two common phrases that open Pandora’s Box for a Culture of Death: Quality of Life & Death with Dignity.

  Quality of Life. When John Quincy Adams was well past the usual span of life, a young friend met him on the street and asked, “How is John Quincy Adams today?” Adams replied: “John Quincy Adams is very well, thank you. But the house he lives in is sadly dilapidated. It is tottering on its foundations. The walls are badly shattered and the roof is worn. The building trembles with every wind, and I think John Quincy Adams will have to move out before long. But he himself is very well, thank you.”

  If we are just a “human animal,” it’s not a reach, as one would do with a dog or cat, to end their suffering that’s a result of aging. But according to Scripture we are not the “human animal.” We are Imago Dei – made in the image of God. Life is sacred and must be protected as much as possible.

  Death with Dignity is a farce. There is no dignity. The Bible calls death “the last enemy.” For the individual who has committed their life to Christ, it’s a transition that culminates in an eternal transformation.

  Please understand, there’s a vast difference between extending life and prolonging death. Death can be extended by medical science for a long time. There are difficult end of life ethical decisions. Sadly, our culture is moving forward into utilizing euthanasia that’s both passive and active.

  Euthanasia is not mercy, it’s killing and morally wrong! If we believe that we are created by God and God gave us the breath of life, we must be strong defenders of the sanctity of human life at every stage of life.

  Preserving life is rarely convenient or cheap. We must be wary that we’re not conformed to a “culture of death,” where human life is cheapened and its termination is justified if it’s an impediment to ME.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

The Irrational Hypocrisy of Abortion

"The abortion industry kills as many Black people every four days 

as the Klan killed in 150 years.” John Piper

  If you think about it, this counter-cultural reality that we need to even have a Sanctity of Life Sunday is very sad. It shows the irrationality of the dark world we live in that we must point out that mothers shouldn’t kill their children and that fathers shouldn’t be complicit in that decision. No human life is worthless or disposable, regardless of skin color, age, disability, economic status, etc. The very fact that these things must be proclaimed is a reminder of the moral horror of this present darkness.

  I find that the abortion argument is based on an irrational hypocrisy. It’s same tired rational that a woman has the right to choose what she does with her own body. BUT she doesn’t have that right to choose in so many other areas. Abortion only gives her the right over her reproductive organs, even that’s legally limited. While it’s legal for a woman to have a baby scraped from her uterus, it’s illegal for her to sell her uterus or most other body parts. It’s illegal for her to cut off her own finger or gouge out her own eye. She can’t legally take her own life. But somehow it’s supposed to be rational for her to take the life of another because it’s “her body.”

  Another irrational hypocrisy is that abortion needs to be legal because of all of the cases of rape, incest or where the mother’s life would be in jeopardy. If you add all of those “potential” cases together, they make up less than 5% of all abortions that take place. Politically (I didn’t say ethically or morally), if we who are pro-life compromised with a lost world on those potentialities, 95% of all abortions would become illegal.

  Abortion is an irrational hypocrisy in that the father has no rights. The father has no legal right to intervene in whether his child lives or dies. Some will suggest he doesn’t have to carry a baby for nine months. No, but if the mother chooses to have the baby, legally, he must financially carry that child for the next 18 years with 17% of his income. He has no rights so that he can protect his child before birth, but has huge responsibilities if the mother chooses to have the baby. What about his rights?

  Many rightly decry gun violence, suggesting the problem is easy access to guns in our culture. It’s irrational hypocrisy that many of these same individuals are not only pro-abortion but support the incomprehensible atrocity of partial birth abortion. With such a twisted worldview being purported and such a low value of children, is it any surprise child abuse has risen some 500% since abortion was legalized? If one does not value a child before they are born, why would they value them after they are born?

  Partial birth abortion is so irrational that a baby can be killed even in the third trimester. Yet, if the mother has a vaginal birth and abandons or kills the child after its birth, she can be charged as a criminal. With the new discoveries in medical science, premature babies born as early as 22 weeks survive. Great emergency efforts are taken to save a preemie, yet a baby can still be aborted up to nearly full term but somehow it’s still a “fetus.”

  It’s illegal for a minor to have her ears or anything else pierced without parental permission. Most schools won’t give a child even an aspirin. But in many states a pregnant teen can be taken by school personnel for an abortion without parental consent. It’s an irrational hypocrisy!

  If some of the supporters of the Affordable Care Act had had their way, personal freedom would have trumped religious freedom. The original federal rules required companies, who because of their conscience or religious beliefs were opposed to abortion, to still fund it in their company insurance plans. Until wiser minds in the courts stepped in, ObamaCare mandated insurance coverage for abortion inducing drugs even on Catholic nuns – specifically, the Little Sisters of the Poor in blatant disregard that religious freedom is a Constitutional right. It’s an irrational hypocrisy that uses the Constitution like a baseball bat when it fits one’s worldview, yet ignore the 1^st amendment protecting those with religious convictions. It becomes more inane, in that nuns take a vow of chastity yet would be forced to pay for a service their religious vows would never make tenable.

  There are nearly 700,000 abortions in the United States annually. The politically correct reasoning is abortion is needed so that there will not be all of these unwanted children. Yet, 58,000 children are adopted each year, some 6,500 of them are foreign children. Though there are no national statistics on how many people are waiting to adopt, experts estimate it’s somewhere between one and two million couples. It’s an irrational hypocrisy that refuses to add up the basic numbers. If every aborted baby was instead allowed to live and be adopted, there still would not be enough children for those desperately desiring to adopt. And currently, babies are adopted in spite of extremely high costs, onerous laws and immature mothers who change their mind at the last moment about the adoption.

  Abortion is not just evil, it’s irrational. Let’s stop pretending it’s necessary. It’s the ultimate selfishness, taking the life of another so one’s own life is not “complicated.” Christians must be the greatest advocates of life. We must advocate and teach our children biblical morality so abortion is never a temptation. We must support adoption and foster care programs. 

  In Christian love we must assist young mothers emotionally and financially who choose life and decide to have that child. We must have Jesus’ view of the wonderful value of children and teach our own children a biblical worldview of the sanctity of God’s precious gift of human life. 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.

Dr. King was right...there are some things we can't be silent about...

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

  One of the tragedies with abortion is that it’s rarely considered what potential that life had that was aborted. While it’s true that the next Hitler might be aborted, it’s just as possible that the next Billy Graham was aborted. Perhaps it was the scientist who would have discovered the cure for AIDS or some new alternative form of energy.

  That was brought home to me again as I was reading a book by pastor and author, Michael Youseff. In it he shares the history of his birth. He writes:

  Like the prophet Jeremiah, I was called to preach when I was in my mother’s womb. My mother already had six children and was in very poor health when she became pregnant with me. Because of her medical condition, the doctor recommended an abortion, and she scheduled the procedure. Just before she entered the hospital, however, our pastor made an unusual late night visit to our house. My parents immediately knew that the purpose of the visit was quite serious. ‘Noza,’ he said to my mother, ‘I have a word for you from the Lord.’ ‘Then let us hear it’ my father replied. ‘You are not to terminate this pregnancy,’ Pasto Ayad Girgis said. ‘I am well aware of your health problems, and I would never come to you with such advice if I did not believe with complete certainty that God had sent me.’

  He shared with my parents how he had been unable to sleep for several nights, and how he had sought God about their situation. They listened patiently, not quite understanding, but wanting to be obedient to God’s will. ‘God is involved in this pregnancy,’ the pastor said. ‘Do not be afraid. You will have the strength and help to raise this child, because this child will be born to serve the Lord.’

  My parents understood this message to mean that their yet-unborn child, their seventh, would grow up to be a minister of God. No one in their families had ever been a minister, and the news came as quite a surprise to them. Devout Christians, they accepted the pastor’s message as God’s word, and they obeyed.

  Though it was a very dramatic episode in my family’s life, my prenatal calling is actually not as momentous as it may sound. You see, God knows each one of us intimately, and has a plan for our lives—a plan that He puts into effect before we are born.

  Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday. There are many ways to stand against the violence of abortion. Some will participate in a Life Chain, holding a sign along with others, on a major street or thoroughfare. Others will seek to end abortion legislatively. They’ll vote pro-life and will contact their elected officials, letting them know of their opposition to abortion. And there is nothing wrong with either of those ways. If you want to utilize those methods, they’re viable options as ways to make your voice heard.

  Personally, I believe that the way of the Gospel is the best way, the way of the Great Commission, with the most life-changing and lasting results. There are two vital, yet interconnected parts of the Great Commission: Evangelism and Discipleship.

  Abortion is not new. The practice of abortion, the termination of a pregnancy so that it does not result in birth, dates back to ancient times. Pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods, including the administration of abortifacient herbs, the use of sharpened implements, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. The tragedy of abortion was taking place, along with infanticide and a host of other heinous crimes during the days of the early church. Yet, amazingly, those early Christians didn’t seek to end those social ills. In fact, they didn’t do a frontal assault on one of the most grievous evils of that world – slavery. Rather than attacking the fruits of depravity, they wisely went after the root…the heart, and abortion is first and foremost a heart problem.

  Yes, I wish that abortion was illegal. Yet, even if it was illegal that would not result in the end of all abortions. Murder is illegal but it still takes place. And the Bible teaches that if you hate someone, in God’s eyes that’s murder (1 John 3:15). There really is only one solution to both physical murder and heart murder – the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  If Christians would take the Great Commission seriously, for all practical purposes, abortion would cease to exist. To be honest, it’s easier to write a letter or an email, or even stand on a sidewalk holding a sign, than it is to invest the time in reaching out to a neighbor or coworker with the Gospel. It takes time and energy to build a relationship, to cultivate the soil of a soul. It takes prayer and wisdom, asking God to soften a heart and open up doors of opportunities. It takes repeating and explaining the Gospel and changing how it is presented over and over again. It takes sharing who you are and your life. After all, how many of us accepted and understood the Gospel the first time we heard it.

  Yet, when someone trusts Christ, they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and have a renewed mind. Issues that they once did not understand, now become crystal clear. It’s a new world for them because they’re now part of God’s Forever Family. There is nothing more thrilling than watching someone’s spiritual lights come on.

  And that’s where Discipleship comes in. As you would not abandon a newborn, so it’s vital that we help that new believer with some of the spiritual basics: consistent Bible reading, prayer, being part of the family in the local church, a biblical worldview, service, giving, etc. Frequently, we assume that new believers or young Christians (even in our homes) will just “get it.”

  A lost world bombards us with an anti-God worldview 24/7. There needs to be an ongoing, gracious open dialogue challenging the assumptions of a lost world. Most of us would probably be shocked in how anti-Christian the worldviews are of our children and grandchildren. We often assume that they’ve processed more of a biblical worldview than they have. It’s a little late when someone that we love and have an influence on faces a crises and chooses the wrong option because they have never been discipled and biblically educated. Sanctity of Life Sunday for the believer must not be a once a year event. It must be part of our lives and thinking, who we are. Is it part of yours?