The nation has been in an uproar over the latest Supreme Court decision to not interfere in the newly instituted Texas law that protects the life of an unborn baby after 6 weeks. It has enflamed old political embers that have set, burning under the surface. The most aggressive argument for progressive Christianity is that Christians are hypocritical in their stance on abortion laws because they only care for the unborn and disregard life after the womb.  This is not true and is a disingenuous argument. 

I felt it necessary to write this blog response after interacting with two different social media statements this week that I am pasting below for context. One is from a well-known activist. The other form a personal relationship that exudes similar philosophy. But neither hold up under the shallowest dig into pertinent data. Second, they do not hold up under the weight of their own judgement. By calling the masses hypocrites, they self-indict without recourse. 

Before moving on, I write this post not out of a personal sense of animus, but out of the generalized sense of standing up for the good of Christianity in our culture. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and perceptions on issues both large and small. However, those that peddle mass blame, based on those personal positions without supporting material, also should be confronted for clarification. Personal opinion does not automatically represent truth, regardless of how self-satisfying said opinions feel to present.

Here are the two posts alluded to from my interactions this past week.

I find these statements wholly without merit.

Here’s why:

My four children are examples of what like-minded Christians do every day. In 2004 my wife and I made a choice to foster-adopt a sibling group through our state’s foster system. Was it easy, no. Were we tempted to give up, yes. For the first two years, we were not entirely sure an adoption would even be possible since they were not legally separated from their birth parents. But we did what thousands of couples do every year. We made a choice to commit our lives to four children who had no other option. Our oldest, at the age of 9, told us a few weeks after moving in with us that everyone at school knew the kids who were in the foster system. When we asked how they knew, he told us, “Because we are the kids whose clothes smell like plastic trash bags.” We threw it all out. Every stitch from their old life went in the garbage. We purchased new clothing for them. New shoes. New hairbrushes and toothbrushes. New toys. We gave them their own space and their own bed. We gave them back their own childhood that could now be experienced in safety and love and care. And we told them that they would never again have to move on to a new foster home. That was the most practically meaningful thing we said. They relaxed. They felt a sense of relief, and they were able to settle into a long-term life without fear of when the next move would take place.

We are not special. We are Christians, and we believe, like others across the country that we could make a difference. So, with our church family surrounding us in prayer and practical helps, we made the jump from zero to four in a course of 2 weeks. If there was someone who could pass judgment on others doing or not doing enough, I could. I have lived it. And I am deeply offended at third parties desiring to lecture the body of Christ on taking on a life-altering decision they are unwilling to assume themselves.

Now that I have that out my system, here are a few data points to consider:

• Yes, the majority of “Pro Life” defense and political capital is found in defense of the preborn child. It is also where the most societally initiated premeditated death occurs. It seems to a rational person this SHOULD be the fight in which to engage. In 2019 Texas aborted more than 57,000 babies.
• Texas saw more than 6,000 adoptions in 2019.
• According to Ethicsdaily.com, “5% of practicing Christians in the United States have adopted, which is twice the number of all adults who have adopted. … 38% of practicing Christians had considered adoption…” 
• Roughly 15% of the 6,000 hospitals across the United States are faith affiliated.
• It is overwhelmingly the faith community who stands up to fight calls for euthanasia, the most famous being the case of Terri Shaivo who was euthanized in 2005.
• Christians and churches across the United States are forming teams to be trained on assisting with Afghan refugees as an expected influx will be hitting our states in the next few weeks.

All of these compassionate actions constitute caring for life after birth. This is all done based on a Christian view of life. Politics is simply a reflection of that view.

The record number of adoptions in Texas in 2019 coupled with the stat of 38% consideration shows that, in fact, Christians are keenly aware of a need they feel is important in society. This post-birth reality does not mean all people of faith are able to commit to adoption. There are other factors to consider as to why they choose not to adopt like financial considerations, health and age of the adoptive parents, etc. However, that lack of ability should not be a basis of argument that it is unimportant. It simply is not true.

If you know Christians who vote with a primary view on the preborn, so what? That is not a reflection of not caring for all of life. That is a straw man argument.  If you are a progressive Christian and your primary voting history shows you vote for candidates who support open borders and are pro-abortion, should prominent Christians post generalities attempting to shame you for “only caring for life after birth”? Of course not.

Christianity across the ages has made not only this nation, but our world a better, more compassionate place in which to live and raise a family. To smear Christians with ambiguous, non-sensical argumentation and solely based on a very limited scope of people, is at best silly; at worst, evil.

Christians continue to serve at the forefront of societal needs. They can be found in medicine, foster care, end of life care, education, and caring for the homeless populations – and they should. Every domain in American culture has and will continue to be influenced by a Christian view of society and how to best serve the culture in which we have been placed. 

Broad, over generalized, and biased political positions do not reflect much reality apart from the mind and mentality of their originator. They more often, are self-condemning. Attempting to shame the populous for personal satisfaction has more to do with the state of one’s own faith and less to do with others’.

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