Posted on 09/20/2006 6:23:31 AM PDT by freepatriot32
You defied all statistics. Lucky you.
Your guardian angels worked overtime!
Baptist ping
Exactly. Despite the way society seems to look askance, they FINALLY learned what causes pregnancy and how to avoid it.
Shame is a very useful tool to inhibit immoral and stupid (and socially expensive) behavior. When shame went out the window, so did thinking about the results of one's actions.
And creating a human life is the most egregiously harmful thing one can do if it is not done in the proper context.
LOL!!!
ping
Still, I think the central thesis of this article is accurate: we as Christians need to make sure we don't lecture at single mothers. Once the horse is out of the barn, it's kinda too late to preach at them about how they shouldn't have sex outside of marriage. At that time, it's time to help them clean up the mess as best as they can. That would mean, for instance, helping the young girl with child care and having men in the church community take an interest in that child's life since he needs positive male role models.
We have a young lady in our church who is 15 and pregnant. Her parents are alcoholics and abuse drugs. That is the only life this girl has ever known. She was introduced to our church via some mutual friends. This little girl came in with a rebellious attitude, but her rebellion was stemming from feeling unloved and the fear of of rejection. You would be amazed at the turn around in her. She has accepted Christ and is encouraged that even though she made a mistake, He loves her and so do we. We didn't shame and blame her because she behaved unChrist like and got pregnant. She is learning how to behave in a Christian like manner because she is being TAUGHT (discipled). This young lady is now living with another couple in our church, is in school and has all the resources of our church behind her to help her be a productive member of society.
"Christianity Today" is a sort of "moderate" publication with articles like the one from this author who is described as a "Christian" and "feminist."
In my mind the modern feminist movement is inspired by Karl Marx and his 20th Century "descendents", Communists.
Just like John Paul II had to deal with "liberation theology" and its Marxist priests and theologians, Evangelicalism is filled with confused people who are drawing inspiration from secular leftism and mixing it with their Christian tradition.
Getting to the opening of the article, make no mistake that Margaret Sanger and her followers today in the "teen pregnancy" movement want to make sure that babies aren't born. They are obsessed with overpopulation and would prefer abortion to birth for young girls and its in that context that Christians should reach out.
A couple in Maine were arrested recently for abducting their own daughter to take her for an abortion.
As a father of two teenage daughters, I know their getting pregnant early would cause problems and make relatives feel shame. However, killing isn't the answer to the bad decision that led to the pregnancy.
The "teen pregnancy" Planned Parenthood crowd assumes that young people always have sex but if I may be blunt these nerdy liberals probably just have their hands down their pants.
That's about the extent of their sexual experience.
Our church was very open to an unwed mother, until she had her second, and then third child, still unwed.
Please tell me that.
What? Is she serious? Is God in the business of just "giving" babies to teens these days? Has this author not told her daughter how babies are created, and that the daughter's actions have EVERYTHING to do with whether she will be "given" a baby? And the daughter would certainly be an anomaly to have two parents who would assume the responsibility to care for this child. How common would that be in today's world?
Very common unfortunately.
Kid should be packed off the an unwed mother's home, and baby out for adoption,.
If they've repented, no problem...
That excuse has been tried many times since though.
Correction: Of course you know I meant "two-PARENT" home, as in husband and wife. Sorry about that.
This is probably the toughest part about being a Christian.
Divorce is not a problem any more and dumping your wife for a young hottie - even if you are a Christian - is a non-issue. However, once upon a time my uncle (a doctor) had a man come in and remove his wife's records because he found out my uncle was a divorcee.
Somewhere in between those two extremes is where we need to live. Divorce is a bad thing. Some kinds of marriages are worse. G-d hates divorce but G-d gave Moses a law about how it should be accomplished "because our hearts are hard."
We must walk a tightrope. It is commanded of us by Jesus. If you encourage someone to sin it would be better for you if a millstone were tied around your neck and you were cast into the sea. But let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
We don't like walking the tightrope but the Christian can do no less.
I wish I were better at it.
Shalom.
To the boy.... Mine would be that, when God gives you a baby, you are responsible to love and raise it. You are responsible to give your child a name and take care of your family. It means when you become a parent you become a grown up. I would be here to guide and help if you need it but it would require some changes in your life. You would need to get your GED and go to work. Diapers and baby supplies aren't free. It's a very hard job , being a young father but you do what you have to do.
I don't either. Unfortunately, I do know some that by their efforts NOT to "stigmatize" have gone all the way to another extreme - I'll call it indulgence - and in doing so have watched more than one unwed mother of one child become an unwed mother of multiple children.
I refuse to attend the showers and celebrations for women pregnant out of wedlock. I will give them something practical privately, but I will not say that it is a good thing.
But...but... you say...she didn't have an abortion.
Well to me that is a given that one does not murder. One does not celebrate NOT murdering.
Of course I knew what you meant. The only proper two parent home is one where there is a husband and wife. :o)
Shame is also a useful tool for bring a person to repentence and back to G-d, which is what the Church should do.
But there's a way to handle shame. Handled as a loving act of a loving community it can restore the shamed to grace. Handled as the punishing act of a vengeful community it will drive a person away.
Shalom.
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