I see them out there every week. Marching, protesting, waving their banners of bloodied baby bodies.
Their cause is obvious; they want the world to see the horrors of abortion. Their right is true; America is a land of freedom of speech. Their approach is wrong.
I pulled my car over to where they were standing, and asked if I could take their picture. They were hesitant, but when I told them that I was a local pastor’s wife and I wanted to share their cause on my blog, they lit up.
After the last camera click, I asked if they knew of any other businesses that held offices in the buildings they were protesting. They didn’t.
I proceeded to tell them: A planned parenthood clinic. A fertility clinic. A mental health clinic.
Oh, and the state’s only Child Trauma Center; the place where kids who have experienced horrific violence and unimaginable trauma go for healing. This is where they post their bloody, threatening signs.
Regardless of one’s political or religious beliefs, whether pro-life or pro-choice, the manner in which we share our opinions is paramount. As a follower of Christ, I know I’m walking a forbidden line by challenging pro-lifers. But, there has to be a better way to pursue a cause.
If a pro-life person is willing to fight vehemently for the rights of an unborn child, at the expense of damaging or scaring already traumatized, emotionally fragile, born children, what is the gain? Is it okay to visually terrorize young children in an attempt to guilt broken women and pursue a political agenda? Where is the benefit to instilling anger, hatred and condemnation, under the guise of sharing the love of Jesus? Seriously? This couldn’t be more wrong.
I know it’s a revolutionary thought, but certainly more good could be done by sharing God’s love in a manner that is actually loving.
If we care about the choices a person makes, let’s care about the people. If we value life, we should value all lives.
I realize this isn’t a well-worded post, or even well-processed. But, I’m just fired up. And angry. And disappointed. And, quite frankly, disgusted.
Great post. Thank you!
Beautifully written, Ellen.
I’m with ya.
Thank you for writing this. It needs to be said.
Ellen, I couldn’t agree more!!!
I am sorry for your ordeal with the boys .I agree we need to share the truth in love ( not that I hit that 100%)They turn the attention to the messenger instead of the message .Their efforts would better be served at a crisis pregnancy center .The true emotional needs of the one in crisis and the unborn are shoved aside for trying to shock the public ,and all they do is anger even those who share their belief..
I was stuck at a red light right next to a row of pro-lifers and their 5′ tall bloody signs (and less than a mile from her preschool). The entire 3 minutes that I was sitting there, I had to distract my 4 yr old so she would not see these horrible pictures. I was so offended and disgusted at what these protesters were doing. It was the wrong place, the wrong time and the wrong way for that protest.
It is God’s meesage we are to love one another. Most of the people who are going into those clinics are ,as you stated, broken and hurting. Wouldn’t they be much better served if instead of picketing and making life more difficult we chose to love them. Demonstrating the love and grace of God is a much more effective way to reach those who are in need. Those are just my thoughts on it.
Girl, you hit the target and said it well. I agree with you. This kind of demonstration does more damage than good. These and others that display their signs of judgment and horror distort and hide the good news of Christ and the hope He offers to all.
Very well written! Congratulations on stating things so well.
Ellen I loved that. You are 100% right. I used to have to lead my kids past the pro-lifers tent at the Fair. They used to have several very large, color photo’s outside the tent of babies in garbage cans. I used to walk up and complain.
Very well put.
great capture on that photo! that red glove… the light on his face… the word…
Wonderful post Ellen, I only wish more people could read it.
If abortion wasn’t legal, there would be no protestors against it. People need to see the truth about what they ARE doing to unborn BABIES when they have an abortion. Too many women are brainwashed into believing that the life inside of them is just a blob of tissue. With all the technology and knowledge that we have today regarding pregnancies, there is no reason for these lies to be spread. Instead of being angry with protestors, why not help spread the truth about abortion, step up to the plate and help in any way that you can to stop abortion. Isn’t that what God would want? Write to Pro-Life and give them ideas and helpful insite on how to better spread the truth. Doing nothing is the same as allowing abortion to happen. When one votes for a pro-choice candidate, whether it be as President, or mayor, it is allowing abortion to continue and they will have to answer to God, just like the doctors and women involved in abortion.
By the way, Pro-Life DOES have signs that are not brutal and disgusting. They have signs that show what the baby looks like in the womb.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa23/holymusic55/Pro%20Life/ProLife-IamyourcreatorYouwereinmyca.jpg
I hope you’re not really a Pastor’s wife, as your words don’t line up. If you read the Bible, you will find many examples of righteous anger. God Himself has righteous anger (hence, the flood). Jesus had righteous anger when he knocked over the tables because people were using the church to sell things. Righteous anger is good. Without it, nobody would fight for what matters. Loving is important, but it’s not going to end abortion.
I hope you are as dedicated to protecting your children from television as you are from the truth from the Pro-Life signs. There is far worse images on tv than those signs, and the signs are the truth. It’s important for your children to know the truth about what goes on and to pray for the end of abortion. If they are blind (shielded from you) to the truth, they will not know how important it is to take action against abortion.
The woman who went to court to make abortion legal (Roe vs. Wade), wanted an abortion because she had “been raped.” Come to find out, AFTER the court ruled in her favor, that she got pregnant by her boyfriend. She later got saved and regretted her actions to legalize abortion. She then started speaking out against abortion. I’m sure she’s had a heavy weight on her shoulders for the cause of so much innocent shed blood.
Rarely do I weigh in, but here I am. I am a pastor and condone this message. Yes, we guard what our boys watch …and they hate it when we refuse to watch some PG movies because of violence or the mixed messages in them. Yet, the biggest mixed message is Jesus people angrily opposing hurt people who are making selfish decisions. Proud of you Babe, for being what you preach. Oh yeah, we also believe in women who can speak in and out of the church.
I agree with Jen’s pro-life comments in the sense that abortion isn’t good; however, I think Jen misunderstands Ellen’s argument. Ellen isn’t condoning abortion, rooting for it, or saying that it is permissible; rather, she is saying that our voice must match our message. The actions of these protestors is hateful and without compassion. Don’t say you are showing the love of Christ while you belittle and humiliate confused and scared women. These tactics are a poor reflection on Christ who showed compassion to those women who were caught in the snares of sexuality. There are classier ways to promote this good cause, please stop making Christians look like Jerks and rethink your voice.
I just backspaced through all the stuff I typed out (at 90wpm, I can vent A LOT), all the stuff I really, really want to say (but I’m not as brave as you?). I’ll just repeat myself – I’m with ya. <3
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. This definitely is an issue that brings up a flurry of opinions, emotions, and experiences!
Jenn & Pastor Dan – I especially thank you for sharing your thoughts. As Pastor Dan pointed out, there are several examples in scripture of righteous anger. I just think it’s interesting that it was usually focused on the religious persons. Those who were enslaved in painful and sinful lifestyles received the most grace and kindness from Jesus. He absolutely knew right from wrong, and definitely drew lines to separate us from sin. But, he encircled those caught in these situations with arms of grace and mercy. He reserved his anger for the pharisees and judgmental believers. Interesting.
All of this makes me think… I now have a question for you. Would Jesus be an activist? http://www.ellosy.com/?p=1113