22 May 2007

When physicians are the sick.

Aspiring abortion doctors drawn to embattled field

I have been thinking about abortion lately, and have had a few conversations about it. It occurred to me that while most students (sadly, not all) at Biola naturally and strongly are repulsed by the very idea, this is not so in the real world. In fact, there are many in society who are diametrically opposed to all that "anti-abortion" people have to say. According to abortion rights activists, (1) they aren't killing people because fetuses aren't people; and (2) even if fetuses are human, doctors and patients get to decide who lives and who doesn't. Whom we allow into the world is a matter of convenience. Really, the lines are becoming clearer. These days it seems fewer people are using the former argument, and more are beginning to use the latter. Talk about a culture of death, as Al Mohler puts it.

Anyway, the LA Times article I posted above made me so angry, and sickened. Apparently, performing abortions is now a sort of crusade, a civil rights movement, dangerous and heroic and vehemently pursued. What horrifies me most is that the doctors who routinely perform the gruesome task not only become callous toward the "procedure" but feel moral obligation and even self-righteousness as they continue to perform it. Good has become evil; evil, good; and those who are supposed to bring life to the sick, weak, and dying have become messengers of death. Who will protect us?

I ask again now, as I ask so often - rhetorically, in part, but I really do wish there were a sensible answer: Why has this evil become so good in their eyes?

I simply can't fathom any other answer than this: sin has entered the world. Thank God, so has Jesus.

17 May 2007

One statement, two considerations

"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."


It's a simple but powerful statement, I believe. The one quoted above I mean. And completely true. God cares and grieves for injustices, tragedies, and effects of sin such as these. It might sound a bit maudlin, but I don't think it's in the least trivial or unemotional for Him. God is never mastered by his passions, ever, but he is a God of complex and deep, deep emotion evoked by the condition of his people. The Spirit groans, Jesus wept, God gets angry. He also rejoices and laughs and delights. We can do that to him. Not because we wield influence but because he cares for you. That's my first point.

I also would like to point out, secondly, that the above quotation is from a speech at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast. Already I feel skepticism rising, at least from myself. And the speech was given by a man with long hair and only one name - Bono. No eye rolling, please. Consider: whatever you might think of Bono's politics, his professed beliefs, his accent, his music, his hair... he's right. I can think of nothing about his words that is untrue about God. God is good and great enough to bestow common grace on all people, even those who may never be saved. All lives, all work, all good deeds are of value to him. As Augustine said, all truth is God's truth. I hope that God helps me to be humble enough to accept profound insights and beautiful Truth from anyone though whom he chooses to speak, even if that particular spokesperson isn't someone I consider qualified. This sounds like a hard thing to accept, but after thinking through it I see nothing unbiblical or unreasonable about it.

This is hard to say because I feel alternately cliche and sacriligious... but thanks, Bono.

Now if you please, you may visit the ONE campaign and see what they're up to lately.

01 May 2007

Invisible Children news.

Here (ABC News) and here (Pasadena Star News) are two articles about the recent "Displace Me" human PR campaign (I don't know what else to call it) for Invisible Children. Good stuff, and I'm glad they're getting some public, even national (if somewhat hidden) attention.

Biblical generosity: a compendium

Is great plenty always a blessing? Are we a generous people? What does true generosity mean?

Gen 12:2
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

Proverbs 11:28
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

Psalm 112
1Praise the LORD!
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!

Luke 14:13
"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Matthew 20:14
"'Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' So the last will be first, and the first last."

2 Corinthians 8:1-5
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints--and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

Nehemiah 5:14
Moreover, from the time that I [Nehemiah] was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.

Esther 2:18
Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.

1 Chronicles 26:9
The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.