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Saturday, July 6, 2013

What unites the extreme Gay Rights and Pro-abortion Activists?


LOVE THEM BOTH
ABORTION: KILLS ONE, HURTS ANOTHER
We were having a graduation party for the graduating 8th graders and their families at a community church.  It was a wonderful event inclusive of a praise and thanksgiving service in the church worship area itself.  After the dinner and service we had fire pits going outside so the kids and parents could continue to talk with each other.

The church's pastor and I were two of the last adults around the fire pit.  He asked me, "Do you know what unites the extreme Gay Rights and Pro-abortion Activists?"

Do you?   What do you think unites them?

During the service part I put in a little pitch to get some more of the students active in our Prolife club at the school, of which I am a chaperone, adviser.  The Pastor had been active in the prolife movement many years ago.  I had heard many stories about being active in the eighties during the Clinton era.  These were the days of Operation Rescue, when prolife activists tried to block access to the clinics and block the abortionists, whether their cars, or the abortionists themselves from entering the clinic.

Some of these events ended in prolife and proaborts being in jail together.  In one such jail experience, my friend's mother and her friend, whom he described as resembling the church lady from Saturday Night Live, were in with a goth looking woman with a super-short black haircut, and the numbers 666 tattooed on her forehead.  This woman began using crude gestures and language toward the prolife women.  They gave her a look that said the equivalent of today's expression, "Really?!"  Then one said to the other, "We need to pray for her."

So they did.

And then, this 666 lady began to scream!  My friend was in the male side of the jail and he could hear this screaming.

"Get me out of here, NOW!  I need out of here right NOW!"

He yelled over to his mother, "Mom, are you OK?"

She yelled back, "Yes, Son.  We are just praying over here.  Everything is fine."

And the screaming continued.

Reminds me of a verse from my reading on the back patio at sunset last night:

Let us lay traps for the upright man, since he annoys us
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our sins against the Law,
and accuses us of sins against our upbringing.
He claims to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child of the Lord.
We see him as a reproof to our way of thinking,
the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
for his kind of life is not like other people's,
and his ways are quite different.
In his opinion we are counterfeit;
he avoids our ways as he would filth;
he proclaims the final end of the upright as blessed
and boasts of having God for his father.
Yet people look on, uncomprehending;
and it does not enter their heads
that grace and mercy await his chosen ones
and that he intervenes on behalf of his holy ones.

When the count of their sins has been drawn up, in terror they will come
and their crimes, confronting them, will accuse them.
Striken with remorse, they will say to one another
with groans and laboring breath,
Clearly we have strayed from the way of truth;
the light of justice has not shone for us,
the sun has not risen for us.
We have left no path of lawlessness or ruin unexplored,
we have crossed deserts where there was no track,
but the way of the Lord is one we have never known.
What good has arrogance been to us?
What has been the purpose of our riches and boastfulness?
All those things have passed like a shadow,
passed like a fleeting rumor. -- Wisdom 2:12-16, 4:14b-15, 4:20, 5:3, 5-9

You must of heard this week of how in Texas, after the blue-shirted prolife people finished singing "Amazing Grace", and remarkably after finishing the line, "I was blind but now I see" (IRONY!), an orange-shirted proabort for killing babies after 20 weeks gestation came into the camera and said "Hail Satan!" and stuck out her tongue.  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/07/02/watch-abortion-supporters-chant-hail-satan-while-pro-life-activists-sing-amazing-grace-outside-texas-capitol/

So let us not be blind!  Let us see!  And let us pray, and let us praise and thank our God who intervenes on our behalf, who if we are holy, or pray, or praise, or bear any fruit it is through his grace, his loving and powerful inviting presence among us.

The answer to the pastor's question?

"Do you know what unites the extreme Gay Rights and Pro-abortion Activists?"

You know don't you?  It is Satan and the evil spirits.  If you think I am a loon, I would disagree and quote Billy Graham, "I've never seen the wind, but I've felt the effects of the wind."  Satan and evil spirits are part of unseen reality.  They can be denied, just like gravity.  But when you jump off a building you come to realize the reality of both.

When God's children, created in his image to know, love and serve him are murdered it is only Satan that is served.  If you venture into comment land on some of the proabort blogs you'll soon notice some of the screen names like "BrazenQueer".  Some of these folks are not gifted with amazing logic or rhetorical skills.  Some compare getting a baby killed in a violent, dismembering, unaestheticized murder to getting treatment for cancer.  Seriously!  One woman, who said she is a lawyer, asked me why I didn't have our students picket outside of a cancer treatment facility.

It is easy for me to be a prolife activist.  I had a personal need to do something to bear fruit.  I love praying, reading my Bible, attending Mass and making holy hours, but I thought I was on the very low yielding side as far as a disciple of Jesus Christ was concerned. 

"It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit
and be my disciples." -- John 15:8

Prolife activism now is not like the Operation Rescue days.  We go to be a prayerful presence to give the women entering the center pause.  We go to be a prolife presence praying and holding signs that give the passer-bys pause.  We pray that God will intervene in the hearts and minds of the women, the men who are the parents of the unborn babies, in the hearts and minds of the clinic workers and the NARAL affliliated volunteer escorts, several of whom are recruited from college campuses and are in their late teens or early twenties.

This "Hail Satan" moment is not isolated outlier event. It is just a moment when the veil is lifted, and some in the broader population have a chance to have an epiphany ah-ha moment.

Please join us in the prolife cause.  We are going to witness for life in downtown Chicago today, in approximately one hour.  It is tense down there, and the spiritual warfare is actually palpable. 

Please pray for all involved. 

We trust in our Sovereign, All-Powerful, Merciful, and Loving God to intervene on behalf of his little ones and behalf of us, his praying and grateful children who place all our trust and all our efforts and our whole lives in his providential hands.

"The retribution of God from heaven is being revealed against the ungodliness and injustice of human beings who in their injustice hold back the truth.  For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them, since God has made it plain to them:  ever since the creation of the world, the invisible existence of God and his everlasting power have been clearly seen by the mind's understanding of created things.  And so these people have no excuse:  they knew God and yet they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but their arguments became futile and their uncomprehending minds were darkened.  While they claimed to be wise, in fact they were growing so stupid that they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an imitation.
That is why God abandoned them in their inmost cravings to filthy practices of dishonoring their own bodies--because they exchanged God's truth for a lie and have worshipped and served the creature instead of the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
That is why God abandoned them to degrading passions:  why their women have exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices; and the men, in a similar fashion, too, giving up normal relations with women, are consumed with passion for each other, men doing shameful things with men and receiving in themselves due reward for their perversion.
In other words, since they would not consent to acknowledge God, God abandoned them to their unacceptable thoughts and indecent behavior. . . .  They are well aware of God's ordinance:  that those who behave like this deserve to die--yet they not only do it, but even applaud others who do the same."  --Romans 1:18-28, 32

The quote "ever since the creation of the world" struck me, because there is also a correlation there, haven't seen the study, but have seen the slick Darwin fish with feet on the back of one of the male escort's cars parked at the abortion clinic.  Those who are not blind are keen to the history that the half-baked theories of Darwin on the origin of the species were their ticket to help indoctrinate many that the invisible existence of God and his everlasting power are not to be seen clearly in the creation of the world.  Surely there are adaptations, and mutations among plants and animals that result in classifying new species, but there is no amount of magical thinking that could lead me to accept lightning hitting organic soup to create life, etc., etc.  But if it justifies living lawlessly and worshipping the creature (oneself, one's friend, one's lover) in place of the Creator, then better publicize, and defend and teach as many children as possible this theory as fact and declare anyone that believes God created the world as an uneducated fool.

"So no matter who you are, if you pass judgment you have no excuse.  It is yourself that you condemn when you judge others, since you behave in the same way as those you are condemning.  We are well aware that people who behave like that are justly condemned by God.  But you--when you judge those who behave like this while you are doing the same yourself--do you think you will escape God's condemnation?  Or are you not disregarding his abundant goodness, tolerance and patience, failing to realize that this generosity of God is meant to bring you to repentance.  Your stubborn refusal to repent is only storing up retribution for yourself on that Day of retribution, when God's just verdicts will be made known.  He will repay everyone as their deeds deserve.  For those who aimed for glory and honor and immortality by persevering in doing good, there will be eternal life; but for those who out of jealousy have taken for their guide not truth but injustice, there will be the fury of retribution."  -- Romans 2:1-8

That being a very useful reminder.  If I seem in any way to be judging proaborts or homosexual activists, I am not.  I do need to repent and make reparation and persevere especially in praying so that I can do good:

"Remain in me, as I in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
unless it remains part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is thrown away like a branch
--and withers;
these branches are collected and thrown on
the fire
and are burnt." --John 15:4-6

I am actually hopeful and will pray that if anyone happening to see this blog post at some point that they will come to repentance and prayer and for standing for the life of the unborn, and above all for lives conformed after Jesus Christ, following his teachings and the truth of God's commandments.

God's mercy is there for all of us!  Praise be to God!

"So, my dear brothers, keep firm and immovable, always abounding in energy for the Lord's work, being sure that in the Lord none of your labors is wasted." -- 1 Corinthians 15:58

5 comments:

  1. A wonderful piece Colleen!

    You are right that Satan unites people who support these evils, but it is the idolatry of liberal ideology that leads them there. N.B. your Romans 18 quote in the NAB is headed "Punishment of Idolaters". All that we can hope to do is pray for them and engage them when their hearts are open.

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  2. Thanks for stopping over George. I realized I messed up the "Name" entry pretty quickly on your link-up form. I'll get it right next time.

    You make an important point, I will be thinking more about. I have an inner conflict going between zeal and not enough gentleness to qualify for what Scott Hahn calls a "contagious Catholic" in his Rome Sweet Home book. I have a little book from the Pro-life Action League that coaches on how to share the Pro-life message. It says when in conversation with someone on the other side to use "Pro-choice". It acknowledges that many on the pro-life side cannot use those words. The "Pro-choice" side has standardized on "anti-choice" to label us. The booklet makes clear the labels are unimportant and waste time getting to the heart of the truth and need to get what is persuasive spoken. I could easily write 1000+ words on why "pro-choice" is a very upsetting label to me and hard for me to use, but it would be worthless really in terms of persuading anyone. Similarly for a long time I stopped shy of using the word murder for what occurs in an abortion, but an older friend of mine who regrets an abortion said it was OK to say "murder" because that is what it is. Well it is OK for her because she regrets her abortion and is an activist, but it isn't going to get anything more than a shut-down from someone that isn't in the same post-conversion place that she is.

    I did have my first real counselor session with a young woman on Saturday. It was such a wonderful moment, and it only happened because she needed to use my phone. For the time being she is keeping her baby, is hoping for a boy, against the pressure of her mother who was angry that she would not get the "surgery". She took the contact information for the crisis pregnancy centers, and I so hope that she follows-up with them. I think if I put this experience, that came after I've been active, visiting centers twice a month for over 1.5 years, together with your comment, I learn patience and trust are what is most important to making a difference, versus erring too much on the side of zeal without gentleness, sensitivity, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Totally agree need to pray for them that God draws them to his son, and need to die to self to avoid the harshness that shuts down opportunity for conversation.

    On lesser point I was actually using The New Jerusalem Bible 1985 translation. I'm not a fan of the NAB. I like both the New Jerusalem and the RSV2-CE (especially the Study Bible with Scott Hahn et all commentary) better. Although when I am studying I have the ESV Study version out too as it helps me see the similarities and divergence of thinking behind non-Catholic friends beliefs and interpretations. My latest puzzle is how Calvin and Particular Baptists were fine with the Elect being chosen before time but are not able to accept Mary being kept free from "depravity"/original sin and all sin from conception. They both require the same type of counter-temporal abstract thinking, and extrapolation from the literal words of scripture.

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  3. Sorry George, I read your NAB comment wrong. I just realized you were making a point of what the heading was not saying that I was using the NAB. It does begin with idolatry. The pattern was the same in the OT. Idolatry - possibly starting with intermarriage with worshippers of Baal, after the Lord was clear of the dangers of this, then within not too long child sacrifice to Molech (some pro-choicers will even accept this point in conversation, that it is child sacrifice). But no matter how clear that seems to us, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 is clear that without the Holy Spirit these insights are mocked as folly.

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  4. Colleen, that pastor is right on about what unites those two groups. Both groups are obsessed with lust for one thing. Their hatred for the unborn child is frightening. To have not a shred of compassion for even late term babies being ripped to pieces is inhuman. Yet, these same people will cry over trees, animal habitats being disturbed, etc. They do the most outrageous, crude and hateful things on behalf of their cause. It seems to me that it can only come from a plan hatched in the depths of hell. No one benefits from their evil plans, because homosexuals suffer from horrible diseases and die much younger than heterosexuals. Where abortion is concerned, they destroy the child and leave the woman severely wounded in her heart, and perhaps physically as well.

    On the bright side, so happy you were able to counsel that young woman. What you said to her was inspiring. I pray she wlll be able to persevere and resist her mother's coercian.

    I will continue to pray for your pro-life ministry. Thank you for being on the front lines!
    Love you xo

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  5. I love hearing from you, Patricia. Just saw news today that there were jars of feces, urine brought in to the TX legislature to be thrown onto those supporting the after 20 week ban. Goes to the despicable behavior observation. As Blessed Mother Teresa said, "If abortion isn't wrong nothing is wrong." When some join us for the first time they are really surprised and perplexed by the other side. From my more recent Bible studying I think the difference is the grace and teaching of the Holy Spirit and the absence of it due to the blindness that follows putting one's self or one's lusts ahead of God and his laws. The women themselves going in probably have bigger chance for conversion. They have pressures on them and many times emotional pain especially depression. Love can get through that!

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