I am not a partier. (Just how are you supposed to spell that, spell check?) No one in my family is a partier either. I do not even have any close friends who party. However, since I am in college, I frequently come across other students who live it up on the weekends and sometimes during the week too. They seem to love the idea. They seem to have tons of fun partying. They get to drink, meet people...some do drugs or hook-up...I hear their stories; I see that they think it is all worth it. But is it really?
I don't get it. I mean, I am of age. I enjoy having a drink every now and again, but I cannot understand the love of partying. Most of the time, people act retarded when they are drunk. They can even get violent. Plus there's the fact that if you are using, you're worsening everything - destroying braincells with alcohol AND drugs. Then if you are sexually active at a party, odds are you don't actually know the person or their STD's. The thought of getting an STD from a party hook-up is just splendid. What do you do when the night's over? Stay and spend the night? or go drive drunk with the possibility of getting a DUI and getting jail-time (or wrecking and injuring yourself and/or others). And, as much fun as you have, half the time, you can't even remember what happened by the next day. Then too there's that tremendous head-ache from the hangover...that lovely sense of grogginess. It just makes the whole scene appealing.
For real. What the heck? Why does our culture think that partying is awesome? People seriously get STD's, other health issues, DUI's, Jail-time, loss of driver's license, loss of job, and bad grades all for a terrible lifestyle. I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy but it seems to me that for these reasons, partying is a waste.
Regardless of what I think though, what I believe through God's word solidifies it. The Bible says in multiple places something similar to what it says in Ephesians 5:18 "And do not get drunk." And then in 1 Corinthians 6: 18-20 it says, "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
Partying does not glorify God. I realize that most who party are not Christians and don't care what the Bible has to say about drunkenness and immorality. However, if you are reading this and are a Christian, you can use these verses to help you to reach those you have come across who are partiers. They are lost people. They need Jesus' love. They need to know that there is more to this life than this. They need to know that partying will last for a day in comparison to eternity. Maybe they justify it by saying that they'll change their lifestyle later, but...that may be too late. God cares about them and wants them to turn to Him - NOW. It kills me that so many people are separated from Him just because the fun of this life is more important.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Abortion Ends Life
The topic of abortion is a very touchy topic in the American culture. Women's rights movements say that women have the right to choice and should be able to decided what they want to do with their body. This movement and Planned Parenthood justify abortion through statements like, it is a blob of tissue, it has no feelings, it's like cosmetic surgery...These groups nullify the action of abortion.
It is legal, so is it right? What about the morning after pill? Maybe people don't support a surgical abortion, but the pill is not abortion...or is it? It is a woman's body, but what about the man who fathered that baby - doesn't he have a say in this? Just when does that blob of tissue become a "baby" because even late term abortions are legal...? Isn't the earth getting overpopulated, abortion helps that problem, right?
Almost everyone has heard of Roe v. Wade. It is one of the most controversial cases in our history. Christians/Catholics/Protestants detest it. Women's Rights Activists/Abortion Clinics support it. Since the act was passed in 1973, 57,596,687 abortions have been performed. This is no small number. In fact, it is obscenely large. The truth of the matter, we have taken the lives of 57,596,687 babies. Truth is ugly sometimes.
Now to get into my logic on the matter. Besides the fact that I am a Christian and I do believe that God "knits you together" in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13), I believe that abortion takes the life of a baby. When I say abortion, I am including late term, mid term, and even the morning after pill. I believe that life starts at conception. Think about the science of it. When a sperm penetrates an egg, a chemical reaction occurs. Otherwise, why would we need the morning after pill to put a stop to it? So we all agree, a chemical reaction occurs. With that point accepted, people sometimes argue that the heartbeat can't be heard until around 8 weeks. They argue that until the heart is beating, there is not life. I disagree. I think that life begins at conception. I think this because from the moment conception occurs, this baby has begun to develop. Immediately cells begin splitting and building - all to develop this baby. (I'm not a science major, so forgive my non-technical terminology!!) At the end of the pregnancy, everyone knows that a baby is born. When a baby is born premature, it's a baby. When a woman miscarries, people think, "she lost the baby". Just like other mammals, during the entire pregnancy, the being within is the same as what it will be at the very end of the pregnancy. A kitten does not start as a puppy to be born a kitten. In the same way, a baby does not start as a lifeless blob of tissue. It is tissue, but it's not lifeless at all. To help support my point, I want to share an argument I was once taught...
Scott Klusendorf, a pro-life advocate suggests that there are just four differences between the unborn and the born. These differences are size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency. He states that the living have these differences as well. There are short people and tall people; they are different in size but neither is less of a human. There are toddlers and adults; they have very different levels of dependence but are both human. There are people who can be on the moon and people on earth, yet they are still people no matter their location/environment. There are people who live solely because they have a pacemaker; but they are still people regardless of their dependency.
What about the legality of it? If it is legal, it must be okay. This is a bad argument for several reasons. It goes back to the famous motherly quip, "If your friend jumped off a bridge would you jump too?" Anywhere that Shariah law is in effect (this is the Islamic law) it is permissible for a woman to be beaten and raped legally. Following me? It is LEGAL for a woman to be beaten and raped. In America, this will get you put in prison. We think this is morally wrong. Yet it is legal in those countries. Just because abortion is legal does not make it right.
Then there is the argument that the earth is getting overpopulated. Abortion cures that. Well I have news for you. The earth is not overpopulated. Consider the population density of New York City per square kilometer: 2,050. Now consider the square kilometers of the United States: 9,826,675. The earth has a population size of 6 billion people. It is growing but not quickly. This means that (6 bil/US sq. km) there would be 610 people per square kilometer if the entire world moved into the United States. This is nowhere near as crowded as New York City. We are not overpopulated.
An unplanned pregnancy may be inconvenient, it may be unwanted, but it is not an issue to be solved by abortion. Abortion takes life. If you do not want this life put your child up for adoption. Do your research. Check with multiple sources before deciding that you have a lifeless blob of tissue growing inside of you that must be aborted.
Some sources:
http://www.prolifetraining.com/Five-Bad-Ways.asp
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
http://rtlindy.com/
It is legal, so is it right? What about the morning after pill? Maybe people don't support a surgical abortion, but the pill is not abortion...or is it? It is a woman's body, but what about the man who fathered that baby - doesn't he have a say in this? Just when does that blob of tissue become a "baby" because even late term abortions are legal...? Isn't the earth getting overpopulated, abortion helps that problem, right?
Almost everyone has heard of Roe v. Wade. It is one of the most controversial cases in our history. Christians/Catholics/Protestants detest it. Women's Rights Activists/Abortion Clinics support it. Since the act was passed in 1973, 57,596,687 abortions have been performed. This is no small number. In fact, it is obscenely large. The truth of the matter, we have taken the lives of 57,596,687 babies. Truth is ugly sometimes.
Now to get into my logic on the matter. Besides the fact that I am a Christian and I do believe that God "knits you together" in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13), I believe that abortion takes the life of a baby. When I say abortion, I am including late term, mid term, and even the morning after pill. I believe that life starts at conception. Think about the science of it. When a sperm penetrates an egg, a chemical reaction occurs. Otherwise, why would we need the morning after pill to put a stop to it? So we all agree, a chemical reaction occurs. With that point accepted, people sometimes argue that the heartbeat can't be heard until around 8 weeks. They argue that until the heart is beating, there is not life. I disagree. I think that life begins at conception. I think this because from the moment conception occurs, this baby has begun to develop. Immediately cells begin splitting and building - all to develop this baby. (I'm not a science major, so forgive my non-technical terminology!!) At the end of the pregnancy, everyone knows that a baby is born. When a baby is born premature, it's a baby. When a woman miscarries, people think, "she lost the baby". Just like other mammals, during the entire pregnancy, the being within is the same as what it will be at the very end of the pregnancy. A kitten does not start as a puppy to be born a kitten. In the same way, a baby does not start as a lifeless blob of tissue. It is tissue, but it's not lifeless at all. To help support my point, I want to share an argument I was once taught...
Scott Klusendorf, a pro-life advocate suggests that there are just four differences between the unborn and the born. These differences are size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency. He states that the living have these differences as well. There are short people and tall people; they are different in size but neither is less of a human. There are toddlers and adults; they have very different levels of dependence but are both human. There are people who can be on the moon and people on earth, yet they are still people no matter their location/environment. There are people who live solely because they have a pacemaker; but they are still people regardless of their dependency.
What about the legality of it? If it is legal, it must be okay. This is a bad argument for several reasons. It goes back to the famous motherly quip, "If your friend jumped off a bridge would you jump too?" Anywhere that Shariah law is in effect (this is the Islamic law) it is permissible for a woman to be beaten and raped legally. Following me? It is LEGAL for a woman to be beaten and raped. In America, this will get you put in prison. We think this is morally wrong. Yet it is legal in those countries. Just because abortion is legal does not make it right.
Then there is the argument that the earth is getting overpopulated. Abortion cures that. Well I have news for you. The earth is not overpopulated. Consider the population density of New York City per square kilometer: 2,050. Now consider the square kilometers of the United States: 9,826,675. The earth has a population size of 6 billion people. It is growing but not quickly. This means that (6 bil/US sq. km) there would be 610 people per square kilometer if the entire world moved into the United States. This is nowhere near as crowded as New York City. We are not overpopulated.
An unplanned pregnancy may be inconvenient, it may be unwanted, but it is not an issue to be solved by abortion. Abortion takes life. If you do not want this life put your child up for adoption. Do your research. Check with multiple sources before deciding that you have a lifeless blob of tissue growing inside of you that must be aborted.
Some sources:
http://www.prolifetraining.com/Five-Bad-Ways.asp
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
http://rtlindy.com/
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