So many stories have circled around the web this week, It’s impossible to talk about them all, but these stories truly should get our attention. One question that I kept asking was can we justify these actions by staying ignorant. How much rope do we give “ignorance” before it hangs us? We are called to always seek the truth, we always want to know to truth before we make an informed decision. How much of that can we make while we refuse to open our eyes?
Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. (Ephesians 4:18)
1. Planned Parenthood Exposed. The biggest and ongoing news has been about Planned Parenthood and what really goes on in these clinics. There has been an outcry on both sides of the fence–one side says that it violates the woman’s rights, the other says that it needed to be exposed. Personally, I’m happy that it is all coming out in the open. There are so many examples that I can think about throughout history that doesn’t justify being in the dark. I’ll just share one:
- After WWII was over there was the liberation of concentration camps. Across Germany, civilians were told to view what was actually going on in these camps. I would suspect that many had an idea what it looked liked–but their imagination could never really come to grip with the reality of it. Town after town, people were brought in to help bury the remains of those who died at the camps.
[Tweet “In the digital age, one cannot stay in ignorance very long.”]
Of course this is the first one that readily comes to mind, but it reminds us that ignorance is not an excuse. If you stand on a belief about something, anything, then you should very well know what it is you believe. If you truly think that a human child is a clump of cells at 11 weeks, then look it up to see what an aborted child looks like at 11 weeks.
Ignorance has a double edge sword in our culture because one cannot really stay in the dark for long. We have access to the internet, images, and honestly the truth if we have time to sort through the lies. This exposure brings about the truth of what really happens when women abort their child.
On erroneous judgment: This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man “takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.” In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits. CCC1791
[Tweet “To keep ourselves in the dark doesn’t excuse us of our sins; it convicts us.”]
Now some may continue (and still do) defend the practice of abortion, regardless of what comes out in the news, or how much knowledge that they can find on their own. Some may continue to defend it because they have had one, and don’t want to seem evil, or malformed. If that is the case, I pray that those people will not grind their feet in their stubbornness, but humbly ask God for forgiveness. There is no need to continue to walk that path when they can be forgiven for their sins.
2. If you don’t think Satan is real, think again. Another article that jumped out at me was that in Detroit, a 9 foot statue of a demon was unveiled. Not only was it unveiled, but the people who attended the ceremony signed a paper (or contract) stating that they give their souls to Satan. The people chanted “Hail Satan” as they unveiled the statue. The plan was to never keep the statue in Detroit but to move it to Arkansas where the group (for the Satanic Temple) wants to put it across a monument of the 10 commandments. A challenge to religious freedom laws.
I will continue to pray for the people who attended this unveiling. Most already know what they are doing when they attend, but others I suspect had just went along with the flow because it seemed “cool” and “counter-cultural.” The truth is, if you are a Christian, and you firmly believe in everything that Christ teaches–you are counter-cultural.
[Tweet “If you believe in #Christ these days, you are being counter-cultural.”]
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I would like to think that America is waking up from its slumber when it comes down to issues of life and death, but if we look at news reports, the job is to quickly put us back to sleep, an believe that “all is well.” But it’s not. How can we idly sit by while babies are killed–and we know they are babies (always knew) because while the child is sitting on the petri-dish, the doctor exclaims “another boy!” (will all excitement).
We can live our lives in darkness, and all the evils that it allows. But truth is, we allow these evils. Relativism allows these evils. Truth only has one color. Truth only has one flavor. If we start to say what’s true for one person but not true for another, then we’re muddying up the waters. We’re allowing confusion.
[Tweet “We wake up to the truth, only to be put back to sleep with a lie.”]
Not sure if many of us have noticed the correlation, but if you deny a human the right to be called a human at it’s developing stage (before it’s born), then you will certainly deny the human the right to it’s end of life. If we have no problem snuffing out life before it begins, then we will certainly pass laws in this country to snuff out life when we think it’s lost it’s “usefulness.”
I shudder to think that many children (many of even my generation) who survived by being born, will only be euthanized when we lose our usefulness. May God have Mercy on us and our nation.
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