Something is wrong with Christianity in America.
I am a pro-life evangelical who continues to witness efforts by pro-lifers that are exasperating: baby bottle campaigns orchestrated to help single moms with chump change; protesting outside of abortion clinics; attempts to change the law and alleged deceptive advertising at crisis pregnancy centers.
The problem is that all of these efforts ignore the fact that in America, Christians have more abortions than non-Christians.
In 2011, the Guttmacher Institute reported that 65 percent of women having abortions self-identified as Christian; 37 percent as Protestant and 28 percent as Catholic. A 1996 study found that 20 percent of all nationwide abortions were woman who identified themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians.
The overwhelming majority of the approximately 1 million abortions performed every year are by Christians.
Today, the Christian community has no credibility on this issue. Instead, the message being generated is, "do as I say, not as I do."
Christianity wasn't always this way. In "The Story of Civilization," William and Ariel Durant articulate that when Christianity emerged as a major religion during the Roman Empire, the same time that the Apostle Paul made his first missionary trip to Rome, it was the cultural practice to kill female babies after they were born. They wrote that 99 out of every 100 girl babies in a Roman family were killed at birth after the first girl. This was a common cultural practice for the Greeks, Assyrians, Babylonians, Phoenicians and Egyptians. In fact, the Jews and Christians were the only faith groups in the Mediterranean Basin during that period that did not practice abortion and infanticide.
What were the Jews and Christians doing about this dominant cultural practice? Were they protesting or trying to change the law? Was Paul, as a major spiritual leader, rallying new believers to change Roman policy?
What history has shown is that Christians and Jews lived faithfully to their belief and did not accept or follow the cultural norm. They focused on raising their families according to the tradition of their faith. And they took in those who were in need.
Unfortunately, that is not the case today. The church has failed to authentically witness to believers and nonbelievers through its efforts to foster positive life-affirming action. Rather than protest what others are doing, Christians must be the alternative of what they oppose. This means being "pro-life" in all areas of life -- as foster parents, as adoptive parents and caring for the single, pregnant female who has chosen to keep her child. This requires the willingness to make a sacrificial, ongoing, life-time commitment.
There is a need for this commitment. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, national estimates for publicly funded foster care and adoption statistics reveal that there are approximately 662,000 children served in the system. This excludes private agency statistics. There are more children in need of a home.
Certainly, some Christians have adopted and are foster parents. Some are providing much needed aid at pregnancy centers. Yet, these efforts are disproportionate to the need.
However, if every Christian community was serious about their role in society there would be no need for the government to service these children.
It's time for Christians to get serious about what they say they believe -- to be known by the alternatives they provide to abortion, rather than by what they oppose. This necessitates that the church, both corporate and individually, offers the environment needed for women to feel loved, supported, accepted, and able to raise a child. Likewise, Christians have the greatest reason to adopt, having been adopted into God's family, they must give as they have received--generously, abundantly, and without hesitation. They have no excuse not to.
Angela Bonavoglia: Will Obama Abandon Women for Bishops?
God. His name is above every name that could be named.......words.
Romans. 10:9 - 10
Traditionalist are not believers. They have gone to church all their lives so GOD does not even come to mind. They are just church attendees.
God......who is that?
As far as birth control, people who feel they have a future tend to be more careful. Developing jobs for young people is stronger than all the information programs. One does not destroy what one considers of great value. For some their children are revered above all else. Spread that and abortion rates will drop.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) A Texas woman who for months was unable to qualify for food stamps pulled a gun in a state welfare office and staged a seven-hour standoff with police that ended with her shooting her two children before killing herself, officials said Tuesday...didn't know what ...failed to provide. In addition to completing an 18-page application, families seeking state benefits also must provide documents proving their information, such as proof of employment and residency...The children were "very critical."
Children whether born or unborn are not really valued. Imagine being in desperate situation faced with an 18 page questionnaire and asked to bring many documents just to eat. Imagine what pregnant women who may be fear they could be in the same situation are now thinking when they read that story. Christians and all other persons who are well meaning need to reach out to the poor. Yes, they seem to be always with us and the work is tiring but the need is great.
There are gift trees around everywhere. Take a card and purchase the gift. Then make sure it is delivered to those who work tirelessly. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
Similar arguments ... Look at all those pro-military people that are not veterans. Look at all the environmentalist that have more than two kids and own large cars and houses. Look how filty the OWS people are. Generally I find this type of argument rather weak. Be careful when listening to someone who attacks the members of a group rather than addressing the merits of their issue.
Actually the support for adoption is quite strong in the churches. Unfortunately there are a lot of children that have severe enough issues that make them hard to adopt. The average parent is just not equiped to handle children with significant physical or emotional issues. Peace.
Comprehensive sex education, birth control, and condoms are a start... If we had a uniform policy with all this I think the number of abortions would be dramatically reduced... I can't think of any woman who goes out for an abortion because she wants to kill a fetus... It's usually because she didn't have the right education or access to appropriate contraception... We add those things to the mix and abortions would be reduced...
Gods Spirit brings conviction, not condemnation.
Conviction .........is of the heart. It means...."I will not lie down and get pregnant."
Thanks for the translation. Here's a better one.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5.
Otherwise, your criticism makes you just as much a hypocrite.
Actually no, science wasn't around when it was thought that the world was flat, and the anxiety/ulcers link was a common wisdom, not science. It was science that allowed us to figure out what was actually true, though. Or maybe I missed that piece of scripture which talked about ulcers being caused by a bacteria.
Here are my three for Christian nations:
Canada, USA, Sweden.
They would be far from the only demographic to be guilty of this.
If this were not so, you would not be living in the Christian West wth the ability to freely publish your thoughts.
Please point out a non-Christian civilization in the world where similar freedoms exist.
As for how I live by them, well...day to day.
And still about one million abortions occur each year. Sound like a healthy society to you?
Your pat 'non-religioius' solution is outdated and ineffectual. Time to get out of the box and think anew.
You are confused if you think we've been practicing excellent sex ed for the last 2 decades. We have never had good sex ed, but the last decade+ has been some of the worst ever.