Children Deserve Better

My doctoral supervisor, Dr. J. D. Payne had a post on Facebook today that is bothering me greatly. He shared  a statistic that I wish was not true, but it is true. Every 5 hours a child dies in the US from abuse or neglect. I can not read those words and not think how horrible, evil, and wrong that is. In Mark 10:14, it reads, "But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.'"

Psalm 127:3 states, "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward." Children a gift from God. Abuse and neglect should not be words that are ever used in the same sentence with a child's name. Our society is in desperate need of a revival. Below is a link to a video clip from BBC concerning this issue.

Children Deserve Better

Sad, Sorry and Sick

I was born in Canada. To be more exact, and in a sense to be more Canadian, I grew up seeing myself as an Albertan. For those of you not familiar with Canada, that means I was born in the Canadian province of Alberta. I suppose like most people, I hold a measure of pride toward my birth place. Today though, I am feeling sad, sorry and even more so, sick about the province of my birth. Attached below is a link to an article that describes how a Court of Queen's Bench judge in Alberta gave a woman in Alberta a three year suspended sentence for killing her own child. The woman will not face any jail time for taking the life of her child, though the article points out, she might have to serve 16 days for through the child's body over the fence into the neighbor's yard. Writing those words makes me sick to my stomach. The legal system in the place of my birth is seemingly displaying a higher level of concern over littering than over life. As the article displays, the judge's logic is that since abortion is okay, then we need to be understanding of an unsupported mother after the baby is born.

I have some many struggles and issues with that logic. First, I still do not see how abortion is right or good. Second, why is a province that is so progressive and affluent, is there reason for a mother to be unsupported. Why do we need to be understanding of an unsupported mother? Why are we not supporting the mother? Why  are we not heart broken over the life of a baby being taken? I am sad, sorry and sick today.

Baby Thrown over the Fence

9-11

September 11, 2001 is a day that probably any born in 1994 or earlier can not and will not forget. Living on the West Coast on that day meant that many of the events of that day were already happening before we were awake. My first memory of that day was the clock radio alarm going off and the voice of the morning radio host saying, "The FAA has just closed all American airs space." Trying to wake up, I was confused. It was not April Fool's day, so the host was not making some kind of odd joke. I quickly ran down stairs and turned on the television and began to have some sense of the horror of the day.

A bit later in the morning I received two phone calls that underlined for me the seriousness and impact the hijacking of those four planes would have. The first call came from a friend who worked for Morgan Stanley. On a normal day, Morgan Stanley had 2700 employees working in one of the towers of the World Trade Center complex. My friend quickly told me that she had been sent home from a local Morgan Stanley office. She then told me words that felt like a baseball to the stomach. She said, "Lloyd, I talk to those people every day." Though I lived thousands of miles from New York, the terrorist attacks felt very close.

Not much later I received another phone call. A male voice asked me, a pastor, to give him at least one good reason why he should take out every Muslim he saw that day. His anger was real and intense. The events of 9-11 were creating reactions of fear, sorrow, and anger. That night a mosque 20 miles from our home was vandalized.

Ten years later, I still find myself feeling emotions when I see video clips or read accounts of the events. 9-11 is what historian call a generational marker. It is an event that leaves an imprint in the lives of many. Yesterday I was directed to a video clip of a man whose was to have been the pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 that day. Flight 11 was the first plane to hit the World Trade Center. Though the clip is 15 minutes long, I think it is worth the investment of your time.


In My Seat

What is the Source of Your Ethics?

I believe life is a precious gift from God. As a college student I watched a film loop that showed the fertilization of an animal’s egg by a sperm. It was amazing to me to watch everything that happened as a new life began.  That same class also informed me about significant improvements in reproductive technologies and the ethical challenges that were being raised by those technologies.

I am neither a reproductive scientist nor an ethicist. I am certain that I have much to learn in both areas.  Yet, after reading the article linked below from the New York Times magazine and the link critique I believe many reproductive doctors and ethicists may also have much to learn. The article discussed the subject of reducing a double pregnancy to a singleton. Typing those words bothers me a great deal. The process is a kind of selective abortion, in which a woman chooses to end the life of one of her two babies. The article offers a type of emotional rationale for such a procedure, yet at the same time, the second paragraph quotes one of these women as viewing the procedure as allowing the couple to exercise control. I find that incredibly arrogant and demeaning to the life of the child.

There was more to the article that bothered me. A physician, who previously published an article against this procedure on ethical principles, is now doing the procedure. In explaining why, he is quoted as saying, “Ethics evolve with technology.” Those words make my stomach churn. Do right and wrong change because I have a better developed tool? Does technology really inform our ethics?

I do understand that technological developments challenge our ethics and force us to think about issues that we have never considered. But that is very different from suggesting that ethics change simply because technology allows us to do something we previously could not.

I am concerned and even convicted that our desire for control and our dream to have certain and comfortable futures can lead us to change our ethics. Instead of life being precious, it is something to be manipulated. Instead of a child being treated with dignity, a child is manipulated according to our selfish whims.

Sadly the article reminds us that we live in a culture that is eager and open to wander away from God and God’s values.  We need to repent and return to ethics informed by God’s truth and not our technology or our transitory desires.

New York Times Magazine Article - The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy

Albert Mohler's Commentary on The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy Article

Here is an article from Slate magazine that raises issues about the ethics of these, in Slate's words, half abortions. I would not say that I regularly agree with Slate, but I think this article is helpful.

Half Aborted article from Slate

Video to Watch

Sadly, though God has displayed His invisible attributes and eternal power through creation, not everyone will accept that God exists. The following video can help equip you to give noted reasons why someone who does not believe there is a God should reconsider that conclusion. Please take a few moments to watch it.

What About Those Who Don't Believe in God?

A Video to Watch

A member of Central sent me a link to this video. Please take 11 minutes and watch it and then ponder deeply the complete message. We need the completeness that Jesus has given us.

The Gospel

Thinking About Giving

A week or two ago, one of the other pastors at Central shared with me the video linked below. It is a short two minute clip that talks about giving and I think challenges us to think about the why God and the Bible call us to give. Money and issues related to giving are always a little bit tricky for most of us. As a pastor, I am well aware that churches are often viewed as just being after people's money. I also know that verses like 2 Corinthians 8:7 call us to grow in the grace of giving and in 2 Corinthians 8:24, Paul connected of giving as proof of our love. Six years ago I had the privilege of speaking with a respected Christian leader. He had served as a missionary, a pastor, and a seminary professor. He had and has a heart to see people come to Christ and grow to maturity in Christ. He said a number of things to me that day, but one thing has stuck out to me, both as a person and as a pastor. He said, "Money is the final frontier of the Lordship of Jesus Christ."

Money and giving are issues that we wrestle with as people. I believe finances is an area where we desperately need God's help. Please take two minutes and watch the video link, and then think about what God is asking you to with your money and your giving. If you have questions or comments on this subject, I would love to hear them.

Why does God want your money?