Abort! or Not

In keeping with the thinking that we are all forgiven people because Jesus took care of that little burden of guilt for us, I have to think about a subject near and dear to my heart: Abortion. There are extremists on both sides of the fence, and I think they are equally insane. Somewhere in the middle is reality, and sensibility, and compassion, which is what Jesus was all about. He was not all about inflicting pain and suffering on anyone, least of all an unwanted child. He was also not in favor of killing people to prevent them from performing medical procedures. And therein lies the quandry: Is abortion a sin? Is it murder, like the Right to Lifers would have you believe, or is it the same as removing a cancerous tumor?

If you were to listen to the latest speal about stem-cell research, the right-wing would have you believe that it is a crime to take a flake of skin from your left arm, because it is living tissue after all. At the same time, the pro-choicers are sending out t-shirts proclaiming the fact that the wearer has had an abortion, and is ding-dang proud of it! I rather doubt that either of these is truth. first of all, a flake of skin is not going to get in your face and cry or yell about being removed. And no woman is proud to have had an abortion, I don't care what they tell you. When they look you in the eye and tell you that it is not a child, anyway, THEY ARE LYING! To you, and to themselves.

Still, I would not tell them that if there is absolutely no way out of the situation they are in, they still cannot get an abortion. They would just go get one anyway, through some other means, possibly injuring themselves, or worse yet, taking 2 lives instead of one. So, abortion may not be advisable, or preferable, but it should be available. And with that said, an opportunity for some ministering comes up. Again, so called christians FAIL MISERABLY at this. They stand outside of these abortion clinics, harrassing and shouting and chanting and making these poor souls miserable instead of embracing them and telling them how loved they are, and then picking them up after the act is done and comforting them, telling them it is ok, they are forgiven, and they are loved.

If you have had an abortion and need help, seek out the Heart ministry. They are there for you. If you are considering an abortion, and would like to talk to someone about it, please seek out the Heart ministry and a doctor before going through with it. You need the clinical and the spiritual assessment of the situation. And if you have wrestled with the subject, and decided to see the pregnancy through to term, good for you! Seek out assistance anywhere you can find it. Ask and you shall receive.

Forgiven or not?

Here is the dilemma: Jesus says that you are forgiven for your sins. He also says that if you do not repent, you can't get into heaven. You can't enter heaven unless you have the faith of a child. He gives a list of things that you must and must not do, but then dies for you on the cross, absolving you of all guilt for your sins, and now to enter the pearly gates, all you have to do is ask, and you shall receive! Have you ever told a child "No" and had them listen to after just 1 time? How many times have you said "No"? Once? Twice? 7 times 77? Confused? Of course!

Why would Jesus tell you all of these things that you normally do, or are tempted to do, or perhaps occasionally do will prevent you from entering heaven? Yes, it is a sin to commit adultery, or to fornicate, but to tell a guy "Hey, if you even look at Britney Spears and think about sex, you have SINNED and can't get into heaven!" is like putting a drop of water on a dehydrated sponge and telling it not to absorb it. It is impossible.

If it were possible for a human to live like Jesus instructed us we should live, what would we need Jesus for? The message from God is that you can't be God, you can't even understand how to pronounce His name, and you can't comprehend His plans. If you could, you would be God. So, to fix this for you, since I have given you guidelines that in some respects are impossible to follow, I am sending a scapegoat for you to take one for the team, and die for your sins.

This doesn't mean you are free to run around sinning, fornicating, cheating on your wife or husband, killing, lying to Congress or your neighbors, and then stealing his Maserati. It does mean that if you fall, Jesus will pick you up. If you fail, Jesus will fix it for you. In fact, it is already fixed, and you have already been picked up. He just asks you to recognize it, and it is so.

Want fries with that?

The art of suggestive selling means that you ask a customer if they want anything else after they have already told you exactly what they wanted. If you go to Circuit City, they ask you if you needed any blank tape, or a CD cleaning kit to go along with your mega-boom trunk speakers. If you go to Home Depot, they ask if you need any hydrangias to go with your pneumatic pressure washer. And of course, at McDonald's, no matter what you have ordered, they ask if you want fries.

Of course the idea is to extract just a little bit more money from you. It is only 45 cents, after all, or only another $5! Surely that can't cause you any grief! It is so easy to give in to suggest sales. I mean it must be! Consider my previous post about the 3 gargantuan shoppers. I think they skip the "Do you want fries" line and go straight to "How many Super Sized Sundaes should we pour on your biggie sized fries?"

You can find heaven in a McDonald's though. Anything on the menu is yours, if you ask and pay the price. Christianity is like that. All you have to do is ask, and you will receive God's blessings in abundance. And fortunately for you, Jesus already paid the price.

IXOYE anyone?

We've all seen them. The little fish on the back of every good Christian's car. Or how about the bumper stickers? "God is my co-pilot." Or the one-upper "If God is your co-pilot, who is at the controls?" Or how about "Jesus loves you. Everybody else thinks you're an idiot!" I actually like that one.

I have a real problem with the rest of them. "What would Jesus do?" You can bet your life he wouldn't spend his money on bumper stickers professing his faith. Much to the contrary, he'd keep it to himself, except to go forth and minister to those who needed it. Now, I know its ok to be excited about something you are involved in. I've got Bengals bumper stickers on my truck, and support them every Sunday they are in town. I love the game of football, and even though I was born in Baltimore, and secretly cheer for the Ravens, when they are in Cincinnati, I am screaming "Who-DEY!" as loud as everybody else. And that is really all the bumper stickers and little fishies are, a way to say "I am excited about my faith".

But they do expose people a little too much. Christians have the fish. Some spell it out, some are empty. Then, the atheists chime in with their Darwin amphibean. So some Christian gets offended and one-ups the atheist with a Truth fish eating the amphibean. I like to think of Jesus as being the answer when Obi-Wan's instructor says, "There's always a bigger fish."

I can hear Jesus saying, "Don't waste your money on buying things to show me what a good Christian you are! Go out and do something with it instead. Buy that homeless guy a hot bowl of soup, or put him up in a hotel for the night. Sit down and dine with him, and tell him what I am all about. Then I will know you are sincere."

You don't have to go around eating up atheists with your truth fish. Instead, why not take them out for some seafood?

Fat City

I was in the midst of an enormous family with lesser manners, lesser clothing, and lesser means yesterday. I was shopping with the wife and kids at Babys R Us when we overheard the rantings of an extremely large young woman with her equally large husband or brother, standing next to their biggie sized mother on one of those electric carts made for fat people. After my initial wave of disgust, I strolled past them with my 11-month old daughter (she has a twin brother who was with her mother, both equally offended by the enormity of the situation!)and talked quietly about finding the insulated sippie cups we were searching for.

I later felt guilty for having been so judgemental. Here I am, spouting off about what it is to be a Christian and looking down my nose at people. My wife is even more spiritual than I, and she too was guilty. I never said I wasn't human, and neither did God. It was one of those instances where I realized I do have faults, and have a very difficult time getting past them

These people were rednecks and fat. They had been given the opportunity to waste their days away in front of Oprah with a box of Cheezits, Ho-ho's, bologna sandwiches, Chips-Ahoy, Double Stuffed Oreos, and chocolate milk. Because they now have the ability to mobilize people who don't care to walk anymore, fat people have no incentive to get moving. Especially those with little self esteem or desire to do anything but laze around, eat, have children, and live off of welfare.

I was on a mission trip to Wheeling, West Virginia a few years ago and actually heard people talking this way! This is their life! They don't even consider college a remote possibility! Their focus is on having more children to increase their welfare checks. And we as Americans encourage the attitude by providing new ways to be lazy. It is a tragedy for the American way of life, and I believe contributes to imminent downfall of our decadent society. The divide between the classes is growing, and with it goes the understanding.

 

Cure for Porno

Why is porn such a crime in Cincinnati? Why are churches so adamant that porn is ruining the American family? First and foremost, because they do not want responsibility for the demise of western civilization and culture, and for the destruction of the very family they are so proud to tout as their contribution to the nation. Without the religious nuts and conservative puritanical approach to life, the family certainly would've been wiped off the face of the earth, right?

Quite the opposite is true. If these people would step up and take some responsibility for their families instead of carting the kids off to daycare so they can make a huge combined income to fuel their Hummer, and maintain their Lexus, and 16 bedroom house for their 3-member family, and play 18 holes every night, not to mention pay the bill for the Viagra prescription for Grandpa and the short shorts for their teenaged daughters ... you get the idea. If they would own up to the fact that they have allowed their families to deteriorate because of their selfish pursuit of stuff, and actually teach their children that their are better ways to spend their time and money than on bimbos with their legs spread and every venereal disease known to man, they wouldn't provide so much fodder for the porn industry. Instead of changing laws and trying to force the business out of business, focus on the real problem. Look in the mirror.