Through the God-given wisdom of Solomon, we are told:
Yes, rescue those being dragged off to death -
won't you save those about to be killed?
If you say, "We knew nothing about it,"
won't He who weighs hearts discern it?
Yes, He who guards you will know it
and repay each one as his deeds deserve. - Proverbs 24:11-12
Is there a more succinct definition of what it means to be pro-life ? Yet, how many of us dare to rescue those who are being dragged off to be raped or beaten to death, pleading for their lives as they are pulled out to sea in a riptide, sink beneath the ice, or are simply being silenced permanently in a medical setting? How many stand up for those who cannot defend themselves?
We have seen that in the past, so many chose to do nothing. So many were immobilized by fear and self-interest. Now we must ask about the present: "Is there a safe haven for those being victimized, and if there is such a safe haven, does it protect all those who are being victimized?" Or, "Do we make great efforts to save only those who have managed to make a splash in the media?" While our hearts grieve for the young or famous who are victimized, we must ask for much more, "Do we care about the forgotten wasting away in abusive settings?"
Do we desensitize ourselves to their plight by labeling them as the elderly or the disabled and then think nothing about them at all? Do we feel the same way when it is our mother and father who are ignored, abused, beaten, and even killed in healthcare settings? ... our mothers and fathers who we know not just as "the elderly" but as real persons ? When their time comes, we protest - finally and tragically much too late!
Thousands and thousands die one by one hidden behind the veil of privacy. Separated and out of the sight of mainstream society! They all fall. Eventually, we all will fall.
Yes, it's something very different when it is your son, your daughter, your niece and nephew who are sick and die! It's different when it's your wife, your husband, your loved one who is harmed and then killed! In our work, we must recognize that every patient and every resident is someone's loved one as well as a child of God. Do we love them as much as we love our own? The dear Lord does!
Many elderly suffer from chronic conditions and pain as well as depression and loneliness. Many who reside in facilities or other homes are left hungry even when food is provided on a tray nearby because obscenely, nobody takes the time to help feed them. Nobody eases their thirst by raising a cup to their mouth. Many are shuffled off to death in dozens of ways and nobody says a word (Matthew 25:31-46; 1 John 3:17) Did it make the news yesterday or today? Will it make the news tomorrow? If it does make the news for a day or so, will we rapidly forget their urgent needs for relief?
Facility owners pad their own pockets by reducing the staff scheduled to care for the residents, so both staff and residents end up experiencing what can only be called a "hell on Earth." I have worked in such facilities and have experienced this for myself! I don't have to interview anyone to know what the truth about it is.
But how many of us risk their jobs, what they own, or even their own lives for those being injured or even slain? How many thousands of nurses - who could be your neighbor named "Mary" or "Joe" - in healthcare settings say, "I've seen patients killed," but then do not come forward to inform the public and take a stand to fight it? How many have seen the killings year after year and have done nothing significant at all?
The Medieval knights held to a code of chivalry that combined bravery, personal honor, loyalty, chivalry, and valiant combat abilities with a Christian dedication to serve and protect the weak. Yet how many of us still hold to such a code of honorable conduct? Most of us do not even remember such things. We simply look to our own interests as man has done for millennia.
Of course, you and I may say that we are afraid! Yes, we fear losing whatever it is we have or are - even our own lives. Every one of us has fear, but that's the point. Real courage in the face of evil enables us to act even though we do have fear, because we know that if we do not act, others will continue to suffer or die.
How many of us are willing to serve as soldiers or police in order to defend the nation or stop crime? They risk their lives every day and know that at any moment they may die. They also have fear of losing what they have. They serve and protect the people so that we can enjoy all the qualities of a just society.
What does a just society provide? To name just a few: safe passage walking or traveling, honest commerce in buying and selling of goods and services, just punishment for those who violate the rights of others and the law, opportunities for education and access to health care for those in need, freedom to think and communicate and worship as one is guided to do, the ability to enjoy art, literature, music, and free exchange of ideas, and many more things. A just society protects the people from threats of all kinds and establishes an order that encourages the culture of life!
No such society can exist when there is chaos, rioting, and anarchy on the streets. Such a society cannot exist when terrorists are blowing up young girls and boys at concert halls, trains, buses, or planes. Those who encourage and participate in these are enemies of the peace. They threaten the work to be done in service to the people and hide their faces on the streets and hide their names on the internet. They are not willing to publicly make their case in reasoned debate, but seek to shut down the activities of those they oppose. They seek to silence any who disagree, while cowardly hiding behind their masks.
Do we or they even know what it means to be a man of courage anymore? Or a woman? A real man and a real woman? There is such a thing. Who dares to dream dreams of a just society? Who dares to risk his or her life or career for the vulnerable? Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Nelson Mandela worked toward a more just society in their own land. Mother Teresa served with her hands and heart to provide just care and love for those most in need.
Each of them had doubts, fears, and knew what it meant to face violence and death. But instead of cowering in a corner, they reached within for great courage and strength of will to persevere under terribly challenging circumstances. All of us have been given that same capacity for courage and strength of will!
Yes, we who are ordinary men and women can touch others deeply. We may work at a seemingly lowly job and may never be famous, but many can be comforted and uplifted. Can we live as we were meant to live - giving from our hearts and pouring ourselves out till the end?
Of course, many of us don't do that at all. We live hollow lives and escape from the reality around us. We sit back and might very occasionally write a check to donate to a charity and then think we have done what we need to do and consider ourselves among the "good." But we still forget about the needy. "Others will take care of them!" we say to ourselves as we try to convince ourselves we need do nothing more.
Some may volunteer one or two days in a month or a year or ten years. Is that enough? Are we willing to sacrifice our comfortable ways of life and continue year after year to achieve such a change? Will we put our shoulders to the task we are called to accomplish (Zephaniah 3:9-13)?
My Spanish professor, Reinaldo Ayerbe-Chaux, had us read Miguel de Cervantes' book, Don Quixote , a perhaps bewildering account of a quite mad idealist who was in many ways more sane than the supposedly sane people around him. He still clung to his dream of achieving justice and vanquishing evil.
The lyrics to "The Impossible Dream" 1 - from the modern-day production, Man of La Mancha based on that book, do touch those of us without a hardened heart and demand that we ask ourselves whether we are engaged in such a quest or calling, or whether our lives have lost any lofty purpose at all.
Not so long ago, the people all around the world would gather and sing songs praising the great heroes of the past and present. They held shared ideals that united the people into strong nations. Those who condemn and mock those who remain true to their ideals only demonstrate their own depravity (Psalm 1). Having ideals does not require that we be unrealistic, but it does require that we work hard to achieve our goals!
As with most important things in life, describing the meaning of such a work as Cervantes' Don Quixote could involve lengthy works and would invite heated debate. Should we understand him to be mocking our individual search for meaning or rather, is he encouraging us to acknowledge it and understand that every man and woman is called to undertake such a knightly quest at least in some small way, and that we must remain true to it till the very end of our lives ?
There is no question Cervantes "pushed the envelope" in his time and dared to challenge the idea that the elites - aristocratic nobles and the powerful among the priestly class - were better, wiser, or more noble. Has anything changed in that respect? While ordinary citizens may be punished harshly, aren't the wealthy and powerful still left unpunished when they violate the laws and oppress the people (Isaiah 1:17; 26:10-11)?
Though the elites of different eras and places may fashion socialist, fascist, purely militaristic, or other types of totalitarian regimes, in our time we must still beware of the elites' never-ending and varied efforts to further empower themselves and exploit the rest of us. The tools to monitor, control, and enslave the vast majority of people are exponentially more powerful than ever before.
Though the elites profess as always that they are better equipped to achieve their utopian vision, I would like to inquire if any of us are any better, wiser, or more noble than those who have come before us? From every source of news and information and our experience throughout the world it is obvious that we are just the same seriously flawed human beings we have always been!
And what are we? Anatomically, every bit of our physical, bodily makeup and genetics is similar to - but certainly not exactly the same as - some other animals . Yes, animals! We share in the characteristics of animals since we have to obtain food directly or indirectly from plants. The plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen for us to breathe while animals take in that oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Far from being a "pollutant," it is utterly necessary for all life on Earth. Have we not learned about animals' and plants' interdependence?
For those concerned about so-called "man-made global warming" due to the levels of carbon dioxide, it is known through the release of researchers' own documents that much research data has been unethically modified to make warming appear much more significant, and even research conclusions have been fabricated. The models put forward by proponents of this hoax, have consistently been wrong and many of them fly around in personal jets that spew thousands of times more carbon dioxide into the air.
Al Gore, one of the most famous proponents, built his $9 million mansion on the ocean shore in Montecito, California. If "global warmist" leaders believed their own propaganda, they would never live near the shore, fly those personal jets, or own and drive huge SUVs. They are Leftists bent upon increasing the elites' power in global government. The global warming fear-mongering is solely about accumulating global power for the socialist elites.
We must use common sense and authentic science: the Earth has had many periods of warming and cooling. Any warming that occurs may be eliminated fairly suddenly through regularly-occurring volcanic eruptions on land and under the seas since immeasurable amounts of volcanic dust and ash - and yes, immeasurable amounts of carbon dioxide - are released into the air, blocking the sun's warming rays and resulting in cooling worldwide. Though these major eruptions might only occur hundreds of years apart, they do occur and will occur in the future precipitating what we know of as "Mini" ice ages! Most of us do not think about this volcanic activity, but it is much more influential on climate than is commonly considered.
In addition, we must recognize the process of glacial advancement and retreat in which rock underneath is crushed into fine dust that enriches the soil. After the glacial retreat, a warm, approximately 10,000 years' interval between Ice Ages occurs in which the soil is depleted. Vast numbers of forests sicken and their trees die. With lightning strikes, more and more wildfires break out, spread to larger and larger areas, throw smoke into the air, and again, block the sun's rays from warming the Earth. Anyone who doubts this can spread a layer of rock dust in an area where the trees have been dying and you will see them return to vibrant health after a year or two.
Carbon-dioxide is not an evil compound that must be eliminated, but of course, we should reduce real toxic industrial pollution and keep the air and environment clean. Our lives depend upon it. And, yes, we do share in the characteristics of animals: our bodies are multicellular, our cells do not have cell walls as plants do, and we have the ability to move independently, among other common characteristics. Have we forgotten these basic facts? Is it too humiliating to even think about this?
If it weren't so, how could insulin from pigs and cows formerly be used to treat humans who had diabetes? If it weren't so, animal testing of possible treatments for human diseases would not have any utility. Animals take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide as we do. We share in the physical characteristics of vertebrates as we, too, have spines. We share in the physical characteristics of mammalian animals since we too are warm-blooded, have hair on the skin, and females give birth to live offspring and nurse the young.
If we are to be pro-life - serving to protect human life as a sacred gift from God - how are we to understand this seeming contradiction? What difference does it make if some are killed or not? What makes humans so special? Are we really any better than animals? Those who are not pro-life clearly say that we are not. In many ways that men and women behave, they are absolutely correct. Some of them believe the animals are even superior to humans, so they seek to reduce the human population and then eliminate it.
Contrary to the fantasy that has been promoted through the arts and media, animals are not people and are not at all uniformly benign creatures. Dogs may attack and kill strangers and even their owners under many circumstances, even though they have been "gentle as a dove" for years beforehand. Birds peck and attack each other to get at little bits of seed and worms.
In fact, every species will defend its territory and attack when competing for resources and expanding into other territories. Animals have their own constant battle for life, and death stalks them just as it stalks us. Life is a struggle for them just as it is for us, though only we are foolish enough to imagine that even if we are lazy and sit around all day, we will still somehow prosper (Proverbs 24:30-34). Animals, even ants, set a better example in some ways than many people!
What's the difference? We are proud of our civilizations, societies, and the sacrifices we make for others, yet animals make sacrifices for others of their kind. They have colonies, packs, and other groupings of their species. Worker bees slave all their lives to bring honey to the hive. Ants constantly do the same. Whales, dolphins, chimpanzees and gorillas live in pods or small family units, communicate in some form of language and will fight to protect those in their group. In fact, they are capable of much that might be thought of as "human," even mourning for those who die.
Are we humans really so "great?" Look at the stories told in literature, movies and other entertainments. What do they tell us? Men and women regularly engage in power struggles through violence and war, sometimes use violence in sexual reproduction, grab what they can to survive, bully and pick on the weaker and different sometimes to the point of death, care for their own young until they are ready to live independently, etc. So do birds, mammals, other animals, and even the primates.
So, why should we care? We share so much with the animals and much of our lives is spent doing things that animals also do to survive. We just have certain advantages in that we can modify our environment as we go about surviving.
That is only part of what makes us different. With a rational inquiring nature, mankind is capable of technological advancement and shared acquired and accumulating knowledge about the world that allows vast improvements to be made over time. Unique among all creatures on this Earth, mankind has:
To sum these up, we have a capacity for reason, language, inquiry, wonder, longing, religion, morality, aesthetics, creativity, imagination, aspiration, humor, and much more.
Do the animals have these qualities? No. Though many extol the wondrous beauty of Nature and the intelligent behavior of the magnificent great apes, the whales, dolphins and other animals, there are differences. While we must respect the animals in Nature and avoid harming them, they are not human nor are they as "good" as one might fantasize when we personify them. Rape, being forcible, coerced sex, is common in Nature - though it is not considered "rape" when it is done by animals - even among the higher mammals such as the great apes and dolphins, for example. Killing others of their own species also occurs!
With all these capabilities, what makes us truly human ? Living an ordinary life and seeking our own food, pleasure, wealth, and survival do not make us superior to the animals! Building great monuments is something only we do, but does it make us superior ? Even defending ourselves and others around us does not make us superior or different.
What makes us notably human is our awareness of what is truly good and evil, and our ability to choose to use our reason and other abilities to pursue that good and avoid the evil. We all also have the capacity to choose to open our hearts to direct our faith toward God and to experience the blessing of a loving relationship with Him.
Perhaps it is simply original sin and man's self-invited estrangement from God that make it possible for the quest to exist, necessary for us to follow that quest, and finally, a blessing of the most sacred nature that we need to and actually do most humbly return to Him! In so doing, we discover what being truly human is all about.
Only if we recognize what a real human is meant to be can we begin to understand the mission pro-lifers serve or why we exist at all.
Yet, even if we do understand this mission, we must be aware of the threats to the work! So very, very few in the pro-life movement are even mentioning the threats to our mission. If any of us voice traditional Judeo-Christian views publicly to note the threats to our society, they will be derided as bigots, racists, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes (prejudiced against those who are foreign or different), and generally evil individuals.
In other words, the self-anointed "politically-correct" judge those who remain true to traditional values as evil. What has always been considered evil activity is now to be promoted while those who adhere to and affirm traditional morality are to be, and are being , condemned (Isaiah 5:20).
Because these are not ordinary times and the future of our society as a whole, as well as the future of pro-life advocacy as we have known it, and the lives of the innocent are seriously threatened, it is important to think about these questions that get at the heart of what our lives are about and what they may soon look like.
The rights we take for granted are threatened through the bullying of those with traditional Judeo-Christian values, through intimidation, violence, mob action, and the acquisition and misuse of government powers against us. Laws and ordinances that arise out of anti-Semitic or anti-Christian worldviews are being enacted and enforced.
Why do Leftists and other secular humanists - and really all of us when we harden our hearts and choose arrogance rather than humility - hate those who hold traditional Judeo-Christian views and reprimand us for our sinful behaviors? One reason is that they irrationally conflate who they are with what they choose to think, believe, or do!
They choose to violate the Divine Law. When those of faith condemn their activities as immoral, they feel they are personally being attacked and directly threatened.
They cannot understand how others can love them yet condemn their behavior. They reject the position of those of faith who tell them, "We love you, but we condemn the sin" as Jesus lovingly said to the prostitute who had been threatened with stoning, "Go and sin no more." He loved, but did not accept the behavior.
Those who reject God arrogantly and stubbornly tell others, "If you really love me, you must accept my choices in life!" Ask yourself if the prostitute would be justified in telling Jesus, "I won't believe You love me unless you condone prostitution!" Like petulant children, we whine, "I want to do whatever I want to do and You can't stop me!" and then demand that God change His law to conform with our wishes, rather than us humbly changing our ways! 3
War as well as various biological threats and diseases also threaten the lives of people everywhere. In fact, the very lives of those who might save the innocent are also threatened (Revelation 18)!
Brute militarism, socialism, Islamism, or the many consequences of secular humanists' activities have risen up to pose significant dangers. Many of us are woefully ignorant because we have been deceived through indoctrination, twisted half-truths, and outright lies repeated for decades on end.
The major media is controlled through its editors to censor any facts or explanations that do not contribute to the approved political agenda. For decades, the media has refused to publish the truth about what is happening in our healthcare, educational, and governmental systems as well as elsewhere in society. All faces of evil knowingly use deception to succeed in imposing their agenda and those who control the media use deception as well.
Have we realized that what were considered virtually universally-accepted societal standards and values have been widely rejected in much of today's popular culture of death? How many have noticed that politicians and other leaders who just a few years ago affirmed these traditional values have suddenly reversed themselves and adopted completely antithetical and immoral positions?
How is it that suicide - which was universally condemned - has now become a virtue to be guaranteed to anyone who wants it? How is it that the ability to have someone kill one's own "baby" - if one wants him or her, that's how mothers think of the fetal or embryonic human being within - has now become a sacred right? How is it that imposing death upon the ailing through various means is now considered honorable and a dignified death?
Though the major media has paid little appropriate attention to these vital questions, our lives and the lives of our loved ones will be threatened by these changes. Not only that, Jews and Christians are actually being exterminated in the Middle East and many nations of the world, as well as being attacked here in the USA. 4
This is not a time to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that life is going to go on normally as it has mostly done in the West for the past few decades since the Vietnam War. Though there have been wars since then, none have involved so many young Americans. Through the terrible and huge sacrifices of the few, the rest of us have been permitted for many years to live relatively peaceful, undisturbed lives.
Now, hostile forces are acting to bring changes to the West and the East that will affect us in our own communities! None of their planned goals will create circumstances that allow any of us to continue to sleep through life while a dark agenda spreads over many lands. What happens to charitable work when increased societal chaos is promoted, martial law is imposed, violence and even war breaks out in our own neighborhoods, or other calamities ensue? Those who are pro-life must think about these things, be aware and prepared for changes that disrupt the normal course of our lives.
Links to entire Article
1 Joe Darion & Mitch Leigh, " Lyrics to The Impossible Dream , from the musical "Man of La Mancha" or hear it sung at: video excerpt: The Impossible Dream , 1965. [ Back ]
2 Andrew Lansdown, " Differences Between Humans and Animals ," September 1, 1995, AnsweringGenesis.org [ Back ]
3
Kimberley Strassel, "
The Intimidation Game: How the Left Is Silencing Free Speech
," June 21, 2016 Twelve Books Publishing.
Theodore Shoebat, "
Christian Man Asks Thirteen Gay Bakeries To Bake Him Pro-Traditional Marriage Cake, And Is Denied Service By All Of Them
December 12, 2014 Shoebat.com.
Staff, "
Court Rules Bakery Illegally Discriminated Against Gay Couple
, May 30, 2014 ACLU of Colorado.
Heather Clark, "
Washington State Supreme Court Upholds Ruling Declaring Florist Must Service? Gay Weddings?
, February 17, 2017 Christian News.
Todd Starnes, "
Christian bakery closes after LGBT threats, protests
", September 03, 2013 Fox News. [
Back
]
4
Maria Abi-Habib, "
Christians, in an Epochal Shift, Are Leaving the Middle East
," May 12, 2017 Wall Street Journal.
Staff, "
Christian genocide
", Dec 12, 2015 Jerusalem Post.
Bob Unruh, "
'Muslim convert' beheads woman in U.S. heartland
", Sept 26, 2014 WND.com. [
Back
]