Anyone can
copy and use all of my posts.
I love to listen
to podcasts. As I was looking around for an interesting subject, I came across,
The Daily, which is with the New York Times. The subject was, “The Effort to
Punish Women for Having Abortions.”
This was a
subject I deeply cared about because I have been watching the news on what is
happening in the U.S. since Roe vs Wade was struck down. What I have seen has
horrified me; trying to force a 10-year-old to carry a child to birth,
arresting and deciding to prosecute a mother who bought abortion pills for her
teenage daughter, women who are miscarrying being turned away from hospitals
because the doctors don’t want to be charged for helping a woman abort a baby.
The next big
news was hearing the Christian Right want to take away our right to have
contraceptives! This was hard for me to believe, but yes, it is true. It’s part
of their plan for women! How is that possible? Are we going to have no right to
try to have our babies when we want to? Do these crazy Christians think
contraception is a sin? Do they want women to have 10 children in a row?
Honestly, I have no idea.
I must tell you
I am a Christian. I love Jesus, but I am not crazy, neither do I want my
Christian beliefs forced on you or anyone else. Jesus did not force anyone to join
his movement, he merely said, “Follow me.” He has given the whole world the choice
to be a Christian or not.
But what I
heard on this podcast was truly horrific. There are people on the far-Right who
want to give women the death penalty for having an abortion. The pastor in this
podcast said the women had committed murder and therefore must die. He then
quoted the Old Testament of the Bible to defend his reasoning. He said, “An eye
for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.”
Okay, that
law was meant for the Jews around 3,000 years ago. God had asked them to be his
people, his nation on earth. They agreed to that and so God gave them lots of
laws besides the 10 Commandments. These were civil laws, like if someone stole
an ox or accidentally killed someone. Every nation needs these kinds of laws.
Were those laws for everyone in the world? No. Israel was a Theocracy, God was
their ruler. And actually, if you didn’t like all the laws etc. you could just
move away to some other country. You weren’t forced to stay.
When Jesus came, he
told the people there were new laws now. He did not change the 10
Commandments, but he did abolish all the other laws God established with the
Jewish nation. He said, “You have heard it said, ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’
But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you (insults you)
on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; if someone wants to sue you
and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; and if someone forces you
to go one mile, (Roman soldiers did that so someone would help carry his bags)
go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from
one who wants to borrow from you.”
Jesus continued, “You
have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you,
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so you may be children
of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the evil. If you love those who love you,
what reward with you get? Do not sinners do that? If you greet only your
friends, what are you doing more than others? Do not pagans do that? But strive
to be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:38-48
Jesus was
starting a new religion, one based on unconditional love. Yes, God loved people
in the Old Testament, but times were very different then and God’s laws were
actually more merciful than the laws of other nations. I believe God chose his
own nation so the memory of God would not be lost down the ages.
Most of the world
back then was pagan. They worshipped Baal and Molech who demanded child sacrifice.
Sex was part of their religions, which is probably why it was so popular. Most
of those nations were not peaceful, they wanted to conquer other nations. There
were so many gods in those days, and God needed some people who would write
down God’s words and deeds for generations to come.
Okay, so if
someone brought to Jesus a woman who had an abortion, what do you think he
would have done? It’s very easy – nothing. He would have let her go her way. That’s
exactly what he did for a woman who had committed adultery.
The religious
leaders (sound familiar) brought a woman caught in adultery. They told Jesus
she should be stoned to death as the law of Moses said. Then they asked, “What
would you do?” They were testing him.
Jesus did
something strange. He bent down and began writing in the dust on the ground.
Then he said, “Let him who has never sinned be the first to cast a stone at
her.” Then he continued writing on the ground. When the crowd of men heard this,
they left one by one. (Some scholars believe he was writing the sins of the men
who were accusing her.)
After they left,
Jesus stood and asked the woman, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one
condemned you?” She replied, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn
you, now go and sin no more.”
Jesus said at the
beginning of his ministry, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only son, that everyone who believes in him shall not die but have eternal
life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but
to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned because he has not
believed in the name of God’s one and only son.
John 3:16-18
Jesus did not
come with judgement at that time. Judgement Day is still in the future where
everyone will have to give an account to God for what he has done in this life.
Until that day, we should never judge people for religious reasons.
The banning of
abortion is the Church joining the State to force their religious beliefs on the
whole country, if they can. Religion and State should never unite because to do
so always ends in persecution, imprisonment and death. I urge everyone to read
the history of religious persecution. It has happened in the past and is
happening now, here and in other countries.
I also urge every
woman to vote for the Democrats from now on, unless you want to have your
rights taken away from you.
The
Effort to Punish Women for Having Abortions - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Host:
Sabrina Tavernise Reporter: Elizabeth
Dias
