Pro-choice Christians
Freewill to Sin - to be Saved!
How can we be so right when we are so wrong?
Love cannot be coerced. You cannot be forced to love God. You cannot be forced to Christianity. You can legislate religion and force behavior through legislation - but you cannot change their hearts.
You cannot force or provide or demand another's salvation. It has to come from the heart of the individual.
Now why would I go to such lengths to repeat what should be so apparent to Christians? The reason will become clear in regards to the issue of abortion in this country and the story of the Prodigal Son as given in the Bible.
Love is absolutely dependent upon freewill. It implies that we be allowed to make mistakes. The example of course is the prodigal son. He went astray. And his father did not force him to his ways but allowed him to follow his own freewill. And when the son came back, he was not punished. Rather, his father then embraced him, gave him a party, and welcomed him home.
Such is the teaching of Christ.
Now. Let's take a look at our issue of abortion. I must first point out that this is not something unique to our generation or our culture. There are records of abortion going back thousands of years... even tens of thousands of years particularly in the use of herbal medicine by indigenous people of most continents. And so it is not this terrible new sin. In my belief, it is a sin, but no greater than any other and certainly not worth the rhetoric we have made it in this country.
Consider the fact that Saul killed Christians (likely children too) - terrible sinful acts - only to be forgiven and even chosen by God to be an apostle. His name changed to Paul the author of many of the greatest writings in the Bible.
How can that be?
And the answer is in Love, freewill, and forgiveness. All which were given precepts in the story of the Prodigal son and in the example of life of Paul (Saul).
So now I ask you, did Jeuss ever legislate laws in the earthly government of his day?
I am trying to make a point here and so many of you refuse to listen. Your hearts are hardened because of the greed of "being right". Some even gnashing their teeth and condeming me for speaking out on this issue. But the truth is, while a sinner and no better than anyone else, I am in fact speaking out by the will of God.
You and I have a right to speak to a woman who is planning to have an abortion. And yes, we have a responsibility to reach out to them. But only to the degree the potential mother and father will listen.
We do not have the right to force them. Nowhere did Jesus force anyone to his will. Certainly, he spoke out forcefully, but he did not dominate their freewill as we do today with legislation.
Imagine if the Prodigal son came home admitting his crime only to be thrown in jail and punished by his own father. But that is not how the story went.
When a woman is convicted by the courts of our nation, she becomes a criminal. A federal offense that is attached to her the rest of her life. She is punished.
How does this fit the model of the Prodigal son and the teachings of
forgiveness of Christ?
It doesn't. Worldly legislation is not Godly and certainly was not exercised by Jesus Christ. I am not saying such laws should not be there, but only that Christians should have no involvement in those earthly legal matters. Our role is to work through the family and the church.
As a true Christian, I have a responsibility to raise my own children to follow the teachings of Christ and to deny their worldly desire to have an abortion. I have that right and responsibility in regards to ANY woman who confides in me. I have the right to try to convince them otherwise. And I have a right to speak to the father of the potential child if I am allowed to know who he is. But by the example of Christ, I have no right to force my will upon my adult child... or any other adult.
This is the true precept behind the separation of Church and State. There is no precedence given by Jesus to use earthly government to legislate and punish for sins.
Absolutely none at all.
To send that message home, consider the story of the potential stoning of the prostitute. Jesus said: "he that has no sin, let him cast the first stone." And one by one they all dropped their rocks and walked away.
The same applies here.
Again, I will reiterate - it is my responsibility to speak with a woman and try to convince here of the sinful nature of abortion. I am pro-life.
But God gave us freewill. And so by the will of God and his Son Jesus...
I AM ALSO PRO-CHOICE!
That is what it means to have freewill!
Some have asked, how can you rationalize being both pro-life and pro-choice? And I tell them it is not about my rationalizzation but their own. I just gave you the truth and model of Christ above. There are no rationalizations in the teachings of Christ. They are just facts and sometimes they are hard to take. But still, many of you will refuse to listen... the same as the religious leaders refused to listen to Christ. Even when his words were true. Anti-choice Christians need to get past their denial on this issue.
How can there be forgiveness without mistakes? How can we love if we have no true freewill to make the choice? How can we be 'saved' if we were never lost?
Punishment changes behaviour by force but creates animosity in the heart and drives people away from the truth. It is only by mercy, forgiveness, and the grace of God that we are saved.
And it is that model Christians should follow.
I could go on and on. But you know, some of you just will not listen. Your hearts are hardened in your precieved righteousness even as it stands in contradiction to the teachings of Christ. You put your will above others, the Bible, and even Christ himself.
And you know, I am not so concerned for the woman who has an abortion. She is usually young, and like the Prodigal son, has the greater potential one day to admit her faults and come to the Lord. Our young people have a lot to learn. And we all made mistakes in our youth. And the truth is, that is what life and freewill is all about.
But I am concerned for those who have hardened hearts - self proclaimed Christians who refuse to listen to the true proper Biblical teachings. I am trying to reach you before you go to stand in judgement before the Lord. Because most of you are older, set in your ways (aka, heardened hearts), and you do not have much time remaining. And being harsh in confronting you is the only way I know how to reach out - not just to the potential new mother - but to her elders who would condemn her.
Being candid and even harsh - now that WAS a model given by Jesus Christ. It is not out of disrespect or lack of Love. Some of us onery old farts have to be shaken up a bit to get past our denial and hardening of hearts that have been so many years in the building.
If you take the right of others away so that they cannot make the
choice for themselves, then you are interferring with the work of God. We have a right to talk to them, teach them
about God, ask them to reconsider their 'choice' and use of their freewill. We have the right and responsibility to help them find their way. But as Christians, we have no right to force them through physical means or legislation.
Please, reconsider your God given right to chose on this issue.
Peace on Earth. Goodwill toward men - and women.
Ken Boettger
Wildlanders.com
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