My sister forwarded me this Facebook post.
I read it. There is one main, fundamental, deadly error, aside from all the good and bad of this post.
He talks about esteeming human life as the pinnacle of Americanism and goodness of government ("more important than freedom, however, is the humanity which underlies it, gives and a beautiful spectrum of meaning to it"), and then he turns around and advocates continuing to give tax-payers' money, against their will, to an institution that advocates, encourages, funds, and performs abortions ("Planned Parenthood... receives several hundred million dollars from the government... it... offers abortion clinics... i see no reason why funding such an organization with my and others' tax money poses a problem).
He never addresses the scientific and philosophical issue of whether a fetus is a human person. If a fetus is a human person, then aborting it is literally murder. Murder is the most evil, vile, destructive, anti-American, soul-damaging action that a human being can perform.
Everything else in the post melts away when this reality is brought to light. Everything.
It does not matter that Hitler resurrected the German economy because he was a murderer. It doesn't matter that the Soviets flew to the moon, because they were murderers. It doesn't matter if I help a woman plan her parenthood if I also help her murder her unborn child.
While there may be good things Planned Parenthood does ("Planned Parenthood offers STD and pregnancy tests, counseling for rape and incest victims, support lines for women in abusive relationships, pelvic exams, pap tests, screening for breast cancer, information as well as equipment to keep one's sex life safe and thoughtful, and more"), all of it - all of it - gets pushed aside in the face of life and death. And I believe abortion is a matter of life and death.
Now, I am not a black and white man. While I believe that God knows what is good and what is evil, and while I believe that objective good and evil exist, I do not believe that it is always simple for a human to discern between them. I believe the situations humans cook up become complex, spectral, and grey.
And I want to respect that.
But that said, the one of Satan's best strategies is to take one of the worst evils he can find, and couch it in the best-looking context he possibly can.
There is a fundamental difference between doing the right thing wrongly and doing the wrong thing rightly.
And I think Planned Parenthood does the wrong thing rightly.
Walking through the Bellagio casino, David tells me "this is the nicest I have ever seen trash look". It doesn't matter that the slot machines are visually beautiful and made out of the choicest metals and plastics. They're still gambling machines.
Looking at Planned Parenthood makes me think "this is the nicest I have ever seen murder look". It doesn't matter that the organization is filled with friendly faces and free pelvic exams. It's still a murder machine.
I could engage all of the other issues and nuances and moving parts, but this one major flaw stands out to me. You cannot esteem human life as the single most important thing in the whole world, and then flippantly throw it out the door if it means that other good things get accomplished. It's upside-down.
God, I sincerely ask you to bring your wrath down upon Planned Parenthood and your love down on the individuals who work there, and raise up a pro-life alternative. Amen.
I read it. There is one main, fundamental, deadly error, aside from all the good and bad of this post.
He talks about esteeming human life as the pinnacle of Americanism and goodness of government ("more important than freedom, however, is the humanity which underlies it, gives and a beautiful spectrum of meaning to it"), and then he turns around and advocates continuing to give tax-payers' money, against their will, to an institution that advocates, encourages, funds, and performs abortions ("Planned Parenthood... receives several hundred million dollars from the government... it... offers abortion clinics... i see no reason why funding such an organization with my and others' tax money poses a problem).
He never addresses the scientific and philosophical issue of whether a fetus is a human person. If a fetus is a human person, then aborting it is literally murder. Murder is the most evil, vile, destructive, anti-American, soul-damaging action that a human being can perform.
Everything else in the post melts away when this reality is brought to light. Everything.
It does not matter that Hitler resurrected the German economy because he was a murderer. It doesn't matter that the Soviets flew to the moon, because they were murderers. It doesn't matter if I help a woman plan her parenthood if I also help her murder her unborn child.
While there may be good things Planned Parenthood does ("Planned Parenthood offers STD and pregnancy tests, counseling for rape and incest victims, support lines for women in abusive relationships, pelvic exams, pap tests, screening for breast cancer, information as well as equipment to keep one's sex life safe and thoughtful, and more"), all of it - all of it - gets pushed aside in the face of life and death. And I believe abortion is a matter of life and death.
Now, I am not a black and white man. While I believe that God knows what is good and what is evil, and while I believe that objective good and evil exist, I do not believe that it is always simple for a human to discern between them. I believe the situations humans cook up become complex, spectral, and grey.
And I want to respect that.
But that said, the one of Satan's best strategies is to take one of the worst evils he can find, and couch it in the best-looking context he possibly can.
There is a fundamental difference between doing the right thing wrongly and doing the wrong thing rightly.
And I think Planned Parenthood does the wrong thing rightly.
Walking through the Bellagio casino, David tells me "this is the nicest I have ever seen trash look". It doesn't matter that the slot machines are visually beautiful and made out of the choicest metals and plastics. They're still gambling machines.
Looking at Planned Parenthood makes me think "this is the nicest I have ever seen murder look". It doesn't matter that the organization is filled with friendly faces and free pelvic exams. It's still a murder machine.
I could engage all of the other issues and nuances and moving parts, but this one major flaw stands out to me. You cannot esteem human life as the single most important thing in the whole world, and then flippantly throw it out the door if it means that other good things get accomplished. It's upside-down.
God, I sincerely ask you to bring your wrath down upon Planned Parenthood and your love down on the individuals who work there, and raise up a pro-life alternative. Amen.
Thanks for this post, Louis. I appreciate that you acknowledge that right and wrong are not always easy for people to discern, but you still speak out about what you believe is right.
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