Would you like to know one of my pet peeves?
When people are single-issue voters/thinkers.
“I vote for the Conservative party because they’re pro-life.”
“I could never vote for the Democrats because they kill babies.”
(Side note on the above: Shall I begin by stating that most Christians are used and played-like-a-fiddle by the Republican party? By waving a pro-life banner or making that a line on their candidate statement, they sew up votes. Never mind that they never DO anything about abortion. Abortion is a dead issue in the Western world and I hate to be the one to break it to you. It’s done. It’s a law and it’s never going away. If a Republican President – and a bossy ideologue one at that, mainly Republican appointed Supreme Court, Republican congress, Republican Senate, Republican mayors and mainly Republican Governors are unable (unwilling?) to bring abortion to repeal, then I’m sad to say for most American evangelicals, it ain’t gonna happen. So put that one aside with the other laws you hate and accept it. And then fight it in other ways. You obviously can’t repeal it in the court of law, so repeal it in the hearts of the broken. And vote about something that has a snowball’s chance in hell of being enacted.)
Here’s the thing: before I am anything else – Canadian, Western, Wife, Mother, Daughter – I am a Christ-follower.
Some people have accused me of being anti-life because I don’t consider abortion to be a voting issue any longer. They have also accused me of not being a “real Christian” because I am vehemently against the war in Iraq (even those evangelicals that clamour against pacifism with the theology of a “just war” can simply be ignored…this is not a just war and never was.). And I get accused of being an America-hater (isn’t America God’s chosen nation?) because I think that Bush is a dangerous man. I am against capital punishment. I believe in universal health care. I am pro-life and yet pro-woman. I think that Guantanmo should be closed. And I think that Christians don’t read enough.
See here’s the thing: I believe, as Christ-followers, that we are called to a consistent ethic of pro-life.
That means wherever there is a choice – even if it’s just in my heart of hearts, I choose life.
Beautiful, glorious, messy, disgusting, free-will-filled, humanity-on-its-knees-and-head-raised-with-arms-stretched-out LIFE.
(From Dr. David Gushee) I want to propose today that what has been called the consistent life ethic (or consistent ethic of life, or seamless garment approach) is the best single statement of Christian moral vision currently available on the landscape of Christian thought. It is a perspective that emerges from Scripture, has strong roots in Christian tradition, and is quite relevant to contemporary experience.
(From David Gushee, March 7, 2007)
“Every life means every life, without exception.
That includes two-month-along developing human beings in the womb,
poor babies in Bangladesh,
impoverished children in ghettos,
abused wives and children,
civilians in war zones,
wounded soldiers at Walter Reed,
imprisoned detainees in the war on terror,
aging people living in nursing homes,
mentally handicapped people,
people convicted of heinous crimes.
Everyone.
Therefore, I oppose
abortion,
euthanasia,
war,
murder,
poverty,
abuse,
lack of adequate health care,
torture,
cruelty,
degradation
and the death penalty.
As John Paul II said, our God is a God of life, a God for life. Because I am a Christian, I look for every opportunity to avoid adding more suffering and death to our vicious world. If there is any way to solve a human problem that does not involve creating even one more dead body, I’m for it.
God loves people. He made us with the capacity to flourish. He calls us to love our neighbors. One aspect of that love is helping our neighbors to become all that God made them to be.
Therefore I am pro-human wholeness.
I support
loving and nurturing family life,
racial reconciliation,
restorative justice,
gender equity and
quality education for everyone.
I support the life of culture and the mind,
beauty and the arts,
science and technological advancement in the service of human well-being.
I oppose structures and behaviors that discriminate improperly between groups of people,
block their access to these essentials of human flourishing,
and therefore limit the fulfillment of their God-given potential.”
(Me again…)
The things that turn my stomach don’t change with someone’s nationality. Whether it’s an Iraqi baby or a Canadian baby, I long for them to experience life and love and beauty. As a mother, the thought of another child being hurt, abused, bombed, abandoned or neglected can keep me up at night. If I believe it’s wrong to torture Canadian citizens, it has to be wrong to torture Afghanis. If I believe it’s wrong to underpay a woman, it has to be wrong to underpay a minority. If I believe that I have the right to worship as I choose and not have someone else tell me how to do so, then I have to believe that other religions have the same rights. If I believe that our people have a right to basic needs like food, medical care, shelter and education, then I have to work or contribute to making those things a reality for those that are just as loved by God as I am. If I believe that God has created the world and believes it’s good, then I darn well better be a good steward, making wise choices that show my respect for that.
Let me let you in on a secret: Canada, America and the Western world – including the ideal of democracy – are not the hope of the world. God is. And who is the extension or representation – the body, if you will – of Christ here in the beautiful world? We are.
Politicians (even ones claiming to be “born-again Christians, just like you”) are not going to save us. Even enacting a law to repeal abortion is not going to save us (if anything it will create desperate women). Agreeing with President Bush as though he is God’s chosen one is not going to save lives. Bombing the crap out of Iraq will not lessen terrorism (as evidenced by the chaos and civil war of the country).
We, as ones who claim to know the true Author of life are invited to his activity. We have been invited by God to be a part of making space for Him here and now. Cloistering ourselves from the world because it’s either scary or complex will not make space for God in the world.
We bring Hope, Peace and Love with us to the darkest corners of humanity – including our own hidden places.
So get off your ass and make room for life.
