Posted on 12/17/2012 11:03:53 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Recently I saw a t-shirt that said, "The Virgin Mary was an Unwed Teenage Mother." That's true and it reminded me of an interruption that took place at a Quebec pro-life conference back in October of this year. LifeSiteNews.com says about a dozen pro-choice protestors descended upon an evangelical church where the conference was being held, chanting blasphemous slogans, one of which was a French pro-abortion sing-song against the Virgin Mary: Ah si Marie avait connu l'avortment, on n'aurait pas tous ces emmerdement.s. Translated this means, "Oh, If Mary had known about abortion, we wouldn't have to deal with all this nonsense." [1]
Mary was surely a remarkable young woman. When the angel Gabriel came to her and announced she would bear the Messiah as a virgin, Mary embraced the will of God knowing the sacrifices it would likely bring (Luke 1:26-38). The plans for her marriage would be scuttled. For when the news of her pregnancy reached her espoused husband, Joseph, he would seek to put her away privately.
It was only after Joseph was confronted by an angel himself that he decided to follow through on the marriage (Matthew 1:18-20). Her pregnancy would also cast a shadow of scandal over her and her family. This was seen in a skirmish Jesus had with the religious leaders of his day, when he referred to them as children of the devil. They in turn viciously shot-back at Him with the intimation that He was a bastard child, born of fornication (John 8:41).
By today's standards in a culture of death, this teenage mother would have been urged to abort her child. But what if it had been possible for Mary to abort Jesus? In his book, What if Jesus Had Never Been Born, the late Dr. D. James Kennedy writes at length about the immeasurable impact Christianity has made on the world. Kennedy rightly argues that hospitals, universities, literacy and education for the masses, capitalism and free enterprise, representative government, the separation of political powers, civil liberties, the abolition of slavery, modern science, the discovery of the new world by Columbus, the elevation of women, benevolence and charity, higher standards of justice, the elevation of the common man, the condemnation of adultery, homosexuality and other sexual perversions, which has helped spare the human race, as well as save many from great heartache, a high regard for human life, the civilizing of barbaric and primitive cultures, the codifying and putting to print many of the world's languages, the inspiration for some of the world's greatest pieces of art and music, the countless changed lives from liabilities to assets in society – all have their roots in the Judeo-Christian ethic. [1]
Indeed, if Jesus had never been born it would have created a huge black hole bankrupting the world of the sweetest of treasures.
Of course, the birth of Jesus was unique in that God was taking upon Himself the form of a man. That is much of the beauty of the incarnation of Christ. In that act God dignified and imbued every human life with an inherent value. When God robed himself with human flesh, he was communicating to every age this dramatic declaration, "Everybody is somebody special."
During this season of the year, millions of people across the country will enjoy watching the 1946 Frank Capra film classic, "It's a Wonderful Life." Jimmy Stewart stars as George Bailey, whose life takes an unfortunate turn and he wishes that he was never born. As George stands on a bridge contemplating suicide, an angel sent from God comes to show him through a series of experiences how the world would have been impoverished without him. Then the angel says, "Strange, isn't it? Every man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole to fill, doesn't he?…You see what a mistake it would be to throw it away."
Unfortunately, we often don't see the real costs abortion precipitates. I'm not one accustomed to quoting Joseph Stalin, but in this case I think it's appropriate. Stalin is reported to have said, "A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic." Abortion in America is not just statistics, its 55 million tragedies – 55 million "awful holes" in society.
Today thousands of women are considering an abortion. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, they find themselves in the difficult circumstances of having a child in unfavorable conditions. Surely it crossed Mary's mind that when Joseph found out that she was with child, he wouldn't marry her. Then how would she and her child receive proper support? Surely she thought of the possible humiliation and shame she and her family might undergo. Yet, the Bible teaches this unwed teenage mother accepted God's will and trusted Him implicitly. This is what every woman facing an unexpected and problematic pregnancy ought to do.
Make no mistake. I am not in any way suggesting Mary had been sexually impure. But the situation she faced and its similarities to that of many women who encounter the question of abortion each day is striking, nonetheless. Si Marie avait connu l'avortment – if Mary had known about abortion – if it had been available to her in her own time – if she had chosen an abortion – life would be like Jack London's character, Wolf Larsen said in "Sea Wolf": "Life? Bah! It has no value. Of the cheap things it is the cheapest." [3] It was because of Jesus' birth, the birth of the Son of God – Almighty God Himself identifying with humanity by becoming flesh that every life is sanctified – every life is deemed special. Abortion is throwaway life filling our world with dreadful and profound holes.
________________________
[1] http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-abortion-protesters-storm-church-chanting-if-mary-had-aborted-we-wouldn
[2] D. James Kennedy, "What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?" Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tenn., 2001, pg. 3
[3] http://www.jacklondons.net/writings/SeaWolf/toc.html
-- Rev. Mark H. Creech is executive director of the Raleigh-based Christian Action League of North Carolina Inc.
RE: BTW anyone know how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
I didn’t know they were that tiny. How did the Shepherds see them anyway? Via Microscope? :)
Yeah, but . . . according to modern feminazis and the dummycrat party, she was not with child . . . she was with an obligate parasite, not to be called a child unless and until she, the mother, wants it. So, I'm still right.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html
THE DIDACHE: The Lord’s Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations
Chapter 2. The Second Commandment: Grave Sin Forbidden
“Thou shalt do no murder; thou shalt not commit adultery”; thou shalt not commit sodomy; thou shalt not commit fornication; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not use magic; thou shalt not use philtres; thou shalt not procure abortion, nor commit infanticide; “thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods”;
Would Obama support Mohammed’s mother’s right to reproductive freedom?
The Bible does not anywhere state Mary’s specific age at the Annunciation (though typically Jewish women at the time would have married at 13 or 14...usually to a much older man. That perhaps explains why St. Joseph is not mentioned later in the gospel, as it is assumed he had passed on)
Joseph thought to “divorce her quietly” (i.e. call of the engagement) to avoid exposing her to the law (which at the time was pretty brutal, not unlike what an unwed pregnant girl in Muslim cultures might experience today).
The Angel told him to “have no fear taking Mary as your spouse”. From that we would assume that they were actually wed at the time Jesus was born (and, in fact, it seems unlikely they’d both have to go to Bethlehem at the behest of Roman authorities were this not the case).
For a lot of this you have to make rational assumptions because the Bible is not specific.
A liberal would gladly have wanted abortion to be available for Mary.
But not for losers like Mohammed and the Obamadork.
A moumentally stupid question. And I’m not even a Christian.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2968973/posts?page=27#27
Abortion & abortifacient herbs were widely used in ancient times. I’m certain Mary DID know of abortion.
Shows how much these stupid atheist protestors know. In their arrogance, they think of themselves as so much more enlightened than our ancestors. Stupid fools.
Don’t know about legality, but I think Hammurabis’ Code had a fine set for someone that causes a miscarriage through assault. Most of the ancient penalties were for abortions that were performed against the husband’s will.
I believe they used herbs, heavy metals, sharp objects, things like that.
Just search history of abortion
They shouldn’t be dancing anyway.
Ah si Marie avait connu l’avortment, on n’aurait pas tous ces emmerdement.s. Translated this means, “Oh, If Mary had known about abortion, we wouldn’t have to deal with all this nonsense.” [1]
Actually, my admittedly limited grasp of French tells me that “nonsense” is a very loose translation of “emmerdement”. To translate it more exactly would require the use of a vulgar term for bowel movements.
“What I’d really like to know is where in the Bible did it say she was a teenager?”
I think that’s just an assumption, but it’s probably a fair one. I’d guess that 15 was about the average age of betrothal for a woman back then.
Conceived as the light entering the temple (John 10:22 / John 8:12)shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiachI start by reading John 1:14 under the illumination of the Ru'ach HaKodesh.
John 1:14 And the WORD became flesh,The word for Tabernacle, mishkan, is a derivative of the
and [fn]dwelt among us,
and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth.[fn](1:14) Or, tabernacled; i.e. lived temporarily
σκηνόω Strong's G4637 - skēnoō
1) to fix one's tabernacle,
have one's tabernacle,
abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent),
tabernacle
2) to dwell
same root and is used in the sense of dwelling-place in the BibleThe verse also provides illumination as to
Yah'shua being the Shekhinah glory.Shekhinah means the dwelling or settling, and denotes the dwelling
or settling of the divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.Here is a very visual source:
Jesus' date of birthJust based on scripture.
Again the first clue to the birth of Yah'shua is John 1:14 as cited above.
Important events in the life of Yah'shua occurred
on YHvH commanded Feast days as metaphors of the feast.Conceived as the light entering the temple (John 10:22 / John 8:12)
Born on the Feast of Tabernacles.(John 1:14)
Circumcised on the Feast of Simchat Torah ( Joy of the WORD)
Bread and wine of the Pesach.
Death as the Lamb of G-d on Hag Matzoh.
Rising on the Feast of First Fruits.
Sending the Ru'ach HaKodesh on the Feast of Shavuot(Pentecost).Who knows if the final trump will occur on the Feast of Trumpets
Seek YHvH in His WORD.
You’re quite right, stuart. Een the ancients could find a midwife with a sharp stick, extracts of herbs and spices... I’m told that’s what the prohibitions against magic in the Bible were partly about this: drugs that could cause death, blindness, sterility, miscarriage: any substance used with malice.
The Catholic Church lied to you...
I didn’t know they were that tiny. How did the Shepherds see them anyway? Via Microscope? :)
The better question is: How large is the pin???
Oh well. I am staying Catholic anyway. It is the one true religion afterall.
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