Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Pro-Life Issues

Weighing on my mind lately has been the fact that so many Jews and Christians voted for Obama. While I understand that not everyone shares my worldview and I don't expect atheists to live according to a Judeo-Christian code of ethics, It's hard for me to imagine a God-centered worldview that allows this course of action. I believe that when a person makes a decision, he or she will be held accountable for it. I'm a sinner and will be held accountable for many things. But I did not, and never could, cast a vote to put a man in office who, by the power vested in him by my vote, would enact policies that did not protect or value the sanctity of human life. Obama will someday be held accountable for his position against the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act and his position in favor of partial birth abortion, and I believe that those who put him in a position to influence these life-and-death issues will also be held accountable. It just boggles my mind that people who believe in the God of the Bible could elect a man with these kinds of beliefs and such a pro-choice voting record, a man who believes that babies born alive during late-term abortions should be left for dead.

I understand that the issue of human life is bigger than abortion. I personally am opposed to the death penalty, for example, and I know that poverty, war, and disease are robbing untold lives around the world every day. I also understand that many believe that being opposed to the war in Iraq/Afghanistan is as much a "pro-life" issue as abortion because of the loss of lives for our troops, and may have cast their votes accordingly. There is a big difference, though, even if you truly think our country's actions in Iraq are not the right course of action at this time. Our men and women serving in the armed forces choose to put their lives on the line for their country, and they should be honored for that brave choice. Unborn children never get that choice, or that honor. They are deemed nothing but a few cells, a blob of tissue.

Jessica has written a very good post on a similar topic: Wanted Children. Go read it!

4 comments:

  1. Amen, Sarah! We couldn't agree more.

    Love you.

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  2. Sarah - very wonderful comments, thoughtful, life-affirming, and Godly.
    SteveDad

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  3. While I agree with most of your comments and think that partial-birth abortions is (or anything past first-trimester abortions, for that matter) is absolutely disgusting, I voted against Obama for many other reasons, some of which may or may not relate to various Judeo-Christian views. Obama's abortion stance makes me find him all the more distasteful, but numerous other issues also repel me on a religious level. But I also think that his social policies are crap, that his economic policies are crap (as do several economist friends of mine), that his foreign policies are crap (and scare the crap out of me!), and that his big-government liberal ideas will only change the core of this country in ways I think it should not be changed.

    None of that was eloquent because I've used up my eloquence in other debates. However, I never will be a one-issue voter and truly wish that Christians could look at all the issues instead of just one (abortion) or, at the other end of the spectrum, just those which don't engage their conscience (economics).

    Sigh. Canada?

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  4. Anyssa, it's probably clear from my other posts on political topics lately that my reasons for not voting for Obama certainly extend beyond the issue of abortion - I also disagree with his positions on foreign policy, socio-economic issues, and of course, big government. I don't consider myself a "single-issue voter" because I don't make decisions based on a candidate's position on one issue. That said, my post was articulating my thought that being a Christian as I understand it means that I cannot in good conscience vote for a candidate who will enact pro-choice policies, so perhaps I am a single-issue voter after all - depends on your definition I guess.

    The Bible doesn't tell us in so many words what God thinks of economic and foreign policy, but it is clear that God detests hands that shed innocent blood. So even if I agreed with Obama on other issues, I couldn't have voted for him, and it's hard for me to understand the justification going on in the minds of Christians who did (i.e. most of my friends).

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