Posted on 10/09/2018 9:41:11 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
But that is what she expected.
Like some people on this thread she very judgemental about having any sort of standards or saying that something is wrong and should be avoided.
Wondering how someone could have their child shredded is way to "judge-y".
It is like disapproving of her mugging little old ladies. What kind of narrow minded person does that?
Except she is a pro-life speaker.
She doesn’t say what the church actually did - other than it sounds like they never talked about it. Our pastor makes a big point about how the church IS for sinners. And how important it is to have someone that you can “confess” to (Protestant), open up your heart to, to be accountable with.
While he does mention various sins from time to time (greed, lust, etc.) - I don’t think that I’ve ever heard him talk about abortion specifically.
I think that with some better examples on how her sister was treated, and some concrete ideas, this could be an okay article. It sounded like a lot of it was her, and the women polled, ideas on how they THOUGHT the church might handle it.
One of our Sunday School pastors stresses how
1) God created the universe, and it is designed a certain way.
2) His commands throughout the Bible are so that we can live in joy and relationship with Him and others the way that the rules of the universe are designed.
3) When we don’t follow those rules - things don’t work properly. Like trying to put gasoline in a diesel engine. (The engine part is my idea - there is probably a better metaphor).
“ However, she cannot honestly expect the church to say that what she did was OK. “
I think I missed the part where somebody said the church should say it was OK to concieve out of wedlock
The real issue is not the conceiving out of wedlock.
The real problem is what’s going on that results in the pregnancy.
Because sex outside of marriage is not OK as long as there’s no oooops, pregnancy.
Pregnancy is just the visible sign of the sinful behavior, and since it’s the girl who ends up pregnant, and not the guy, SHE’S the one with the ruined life.
It’s interesting how people treaty the pregnancy outside of marriage as the issue like it would be OK if the girl didn’t get pregnant.
In many cases, abortion is the LAST thing a woman wants - it's not a decision she makes in a vacuum. It is sold as an "easy out". Today, it's: "Don't want to be pregnant? You don't have to be, you can get an abortion for a few hundred bucks and then go on with your life.". Why do you think the excuse "it's not a baby, it's only a blob of tissue" was thought up? EXCEPT, for most women it is only the start of problems in their lives. When you have the boyfriend/husband/father/mother/friends/boss, etc. bringing pressure, it doesn't really remain her "choice". Sadly, yes, even married women get pressured into ending their pregnancies. Given certain circumstances, just about anyone is capable of terrible things.
Only after there is genuine repentance and confession, will forgiveness and healing begin. This is true for EVERY manner of sin.
Indeed, the blame game always backfires. Now, if she had taken responsibility for her actions, discussed tis situation with her family and maybe even with the ladies of the church, she would have found that there really was support and guidance to be found. She said she was 21, ooow, that’s legal right? Too bad it isn’t a very mature age for most big decisions especially ones made in a likely vacuum of shame and self judgment.
The church, as profoundly stated by a previous poster, is “us’”, not some entity that has no face.
As for the individual instances, sure, there is going to be variance regarding how individuals and even congregations react. For example, when m y then 19 YO daughter told me and her mother that she was pregnant, it floored us. We never expected that to happen ( like most parents of faith...) Anyway, of course I was rather shocked and my initial reaction was one of surprise, incredulousness and sadness.
My tender and gentle soul of a wife embraced her and told her it will be a wonderful blessing to have a grandchild (our first) and I followed her lead and told her she was my princess regardless of what ever may come. Well, she married the dude, then divorced him after child #2. These precious children and their mother lived with us for 4 years while she got her feet under her, now Miss Emma (8 YO) and Miss Mieke (7 YO) are the apples of my eyes and they know it.
I tremble with apprehension for those who would kill their unborn, especially if they had the support of their families. All too often, women like this gal sit on the pew or in their bedroom in daddies house and hide beneath their shame and in fear. Too bad. The scriptures indeed tells us to ask and we will receive, good measure, pressed down. It also states we don’t have because we don’t ask. Where or how could the church ( some ethereal entity in her mind) have intervened unless she told it ( them)?
I am pretty sure she didn’t get knocked up in the back of the youth group class room or in her folks upstairs bedroom.... She played, she paid, no, rather she played, the precious unborn innocent died, she is distraught and needs to blame someone else too. Glad she works in the same serious situation she is moving through, her “penance” maybe?
Forgiveness is there, but mostly she has to confront her own self-righteousness before she can know she is forgiven by the Creator God and family and even the church she has found to be culpable in some unfathomable way.
Jesus’ blood was shed for this sin. He paid for it, she is free if she would only receive it from the hand of her Loving and Gracious Lord.
Ditto times who knows how many times.
Jesus asked a paralyzed man what he wanted Him to do? He said “no one is here to help me get into the water when an angel stirs it”.
Jesus is more patient than I, I would tell him “So what? That’s not what I asked. What do you want me to do for you”?
Jesus is asking her the same question. He is not asking her what is wrong, but what she needs Him to do in her life.
People are far more concerned with “judgementalism” than with whether the judgements are true.
Let me know if the nonjudgemental churches lead to less out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion.
Some of the families I know who seem to have the most severe issues with kids getting pregnant out of wedlock are very strict, traditional Baptists.
Don’t know what it means exactly.
If this is an accusation against the church it would seem that some evidence should be in order.
Mathew 18
15 But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. 16 And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.
I believe it would work in an institution as well as a personal situation.
Does this girl know the scriptures well enough to even criticize the Church.
Mpackard,
I do not see what she means. Ally is attempting to gain ‘victim’ status which is what passes for strength in today’s society and I will not allow her to attain this status.
Of course, to attain victim status, she needs to be victimized by someone or something so she chooses the church, which is a non-person and therefore, unable to independently defend itself. She purposely did not blame a specific person in the church such as a priest or even the members of the parish council. If she did, she would have to itemize how those individuals victimized her, which of course, none of them did.
You are also at fault for supporting Ally’s demand to gain victim status by what you posted above. Ally needs to acknowledge her mistake, take responsibility for it and stop demanding to be a victim of the church or of anyone else. She is only a ‘victim’ of her own poor choices.
JoMa
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.