April 30, 2007

Thoroughly "Pro-Life"

"I say the focus on health care is pro-life. We're not just pro-life from conception to birth."
-Richard Land, President of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Comission, as quoted in Christianity Today (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/may/16.21.html)

Evangelicalism is in the midst of growing pains, or maybe better an inner transformation and reformation. What are the important issues of evangelicalsim. The likes of Jim Wallis and James Dobson find themselves at odds over what really are the important things that evangelicals believe and focus on and fight for. Lately, the tension has been seen in issues of the environment.

Another "political" issue has to do with government-sponsored healthcare, particularly for children. The quote above by Richard Land shows that evangelicalism is changing. A more reflective and world-engaging ethic is growing. Pro-life is anti-abortion, but it is and must be so much more. Children languishing in poverty and sickness, adults without homes and basic medicine, these too are pro-life issues. I'm thankful that life is winning out, and am hopeful that it will continue.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I think it is about time that Evangelical Christians focus on the positive side of ethics, not just the negatives. Yes, abortion is wrong, but Christianity is so much more than a list of "Do not's," more than just protesting against practices with which we disagree. Christ called us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and take care of the widow and the orphan - or those in society who cannot care for themselves. These are all positive mandates. It's sad to see how much Evangelicals have allied themselves with conservative political and economic theory and in doing so have lost sight of many of the "Do's" in their focus on the "Do not's." I'm glad to see that things might be changing for the better.

Anonymous said...

A hard truth that christians are going to have to face now is that we are actually the ones who have the most abortions. My friend did a paper on abortion a while ago, and with research she actually found out that we are the ones who, though we generally dissaprove of it, do it the most. I think when christians face this problem they need to try to take care of it amoung their own before they point fingers at others. I dunno if this relates too much to the article, i read it but i'm really tired right now, so ya...just an oppinion.