That's a powerful piece of writing. Schaeffer does a nice job of giving an overview of the short history that got us to where we are today. In his book, he also implicates the liberal left on the abortion issue in a way that I found very illuminating. When ideology turns to warfare with entrenched sides, no one wins -- not on any issue.
I really agree with his notion on pro-life being a part of our culture and not necessarily a result of laws.
It is such a strange thing that liberals and conservatives have politicized the pro-life/pro-choice issue so far as to devalue the worth of both the born and unborn.
"Obama is trying to lead this country to a place where the intrinsic worth of each individual is celebrated."
Surely by these definitions we can find some agreement, some small sliver of common ground -- and not and not only on the issue of abortion but also on what rights and compromises we can agree on in this wonderfully pluralistic society we live in.
This morning, C-Span 2 showed an interesting forum on this topic that was sponsored by Jim Wallis and tied in with his recent "Great Awakening" book on faith and politics in "post-Religious Right" America. (Not if Huckabee has anything to say about it though!)
Several of the speakers mentioned the growing interest they and the groups they lead have in pursuing social and economic justice and expanding the vision of Christian ethical responsibility that they present to their congregations and the culture in general. They found a lot of fault in the way that moral issues had been politicized to the point that the questions no longer related to what's right or wrong, but how they help or hinder other related political agendas.
Wow. Great article. I especially liked this line. But if our highest aspiration is to be a consumer with no thought or care for our neighbor, we will remain a culture in which abortion is not only inevitable but logical. I am a weak pro-choicer. There are two things that put me in that camp rather than pro-life. One is that I cannot shake the notion that forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy to term, regardless on the circumstances of the conception and pregnancy, smacks of slavery. The other is the company the pro-life camp keeps, which is not usually very "pro-life" in the holistic sense at all. He's right.
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Thanks for the link Julie. Frank mirrors a lot my thinking these days. I posted some excerpts from the article at my place.
That's a powerful piece of writing. Schaeffer does a nice job of giving an overview of the short history that got us to where we are today. In his book, he also implicates the liberal left on the abortion issue in a way that I found very illuminating. When ideology turns to warfare with entrenched sides, no one wins -- not on any issue.
I really agree with his notion on pro-life being a part of our culture and not necessarily a result of laws.
It is such a strange thing that liberals and conservatives have politicized the pro-life/pro-choice issue so far as to devalue the worth of both the born and unborn.
"Obama is trying to lead this country to a place where the intrinsic worth of each individual is celebrated."
Surely by these definitions we can find some agreement, some small sliver of common ground -- and not and not only on the issue of abortion but also on what rights and compromises we can agree on in this wonderfully pluralistic society we live in.
Polarization will never get us there.
This morning, C-Span 2 showed an interesting forum on this topic that was sponsored by Jim Wallis and tied in with his recent "Great Awakening" book on faith and politics in "post-Religious Right" America. (Not if Huckabee has anything to say about it though!)
Several of the speakers mentioned the growing interest they and the groups they lead have in pursuing social and economic justice and expanding the vision of Christian ethical responsibility that they present to their congregations and the culture in general. They found a lot of fault in the way that moral issues had been politicized to the point that the questions no longer related to what's right or wrong, but how they help or hinder other related political agendas.
Wow. Great article. I especially liked this line.
But if our highest aspiration is to be a consumer with no thought or care for our neighbor, we will remain a culture in which abortion is not only inevitable but logical.
I am a weak pro-choicer. There are two things that put me in that camp rather than pro-life. One is that I cannot shake the notion that forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy to term, regardless on the circumstances of the conception and pregnancy, smacks of slavery. The other is the company the pro-life camp keeps, which is not usually very "pro-life" in the holistic sense at all. He's right.
Add me to the pro-life, pro-Obama camp.
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