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Reading
across the different responses on your Q&A to questions concerning social
issues, I am a little confused about what exactly we should be doing about
the abortion issue. Here in Ireland, thus far abortion is still technically
illegal (although we have anecdotal reports that illegal abortions are carried
out in our hospitals and in fact both the morning after pill and contraceptives
are widely available), and the work of mainly Catholic campaigners and
politicians, as well as the declining influence of the Church, have, in my
opinion, kept the open season from being declared on the unborn. Are we just
buying time, or are we wasting time in an illusion? If the prolife movement
closed down, I think abortion would be introduced into Ireland in the morning
or soon after. What then should Catholics be doing about abortion, particularly
in those few countries where it has not been introduced? Should we not be
concerning ourselves with trying to ensure the law protects the unborn and
trying to show the world the horror of abortion? In Ireland, there is still
a pretty strong prolife ethos, which can be preserved through a continuous
dialogue with the public, to counteract the propaganda of those who wish
to see it introduced. Or should we just let the society collapse in a heap,
and instead concentrate on being the very best Christian witnesses we can
be, and pray for the unborn instead, including outside the clinics and referral
agencies, which is very effective? I know there is a danger of narcissism
and of people ‘losing themselves’ in the prolife cause, in a way
that you have described elsewhere on your site, but to do nothing in terms
of action, either campaigning, political lobbying, marches for life, or street
educational outreach, would strike me as a dereliction of duty, failing to
do things that could be done and have saved lives in the past. Having said
that, things do seem to be going to pot in general, but I still have hope
for the abortion situation in Ireland. What is the best way to keep abortion
out of Ireland?
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 he prophet Jeremiah (12:4) asked
a similar question to God Himself: How long must the earth mourn, the
green of the countryside wither? because of the wickedness of those
who dwell in it . . . because they say, “God does not see our
ways.”
Jeremiah, though, was not alone
in lamenting the evil in the society around him; other prophets, too, cried
out to God. In compassion, God spoke to them; He promised relief—He
gave them His word. And when this Word was made flesh, what did He tell
us?
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He proposed another
parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven may be likened to a man who
sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and
sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew
and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder
came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done
this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them
up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot
the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at
harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds
and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my
barn.”’” |
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—Matthew 13:24-30 |
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This is a hard thing for us to
hear. Christ tells us that patience and
trust in God must be fundamental to Christian life.
When confronted with evil, Christians must not try to eradicate it themselves,
but must wait for the hand of God to give judgment. This is hard to hear
because impatience and human pride so characterize
the modern world that Christians, in identifying so
much with the world around them, have lost their identity as
Christians.
Christian
Identity
In the early years of the
Church—indeed, during the first few centuries of
Christianity—Christians lived in the midst of pagan and heathen societies.
Consequently, Christians survived by strengthening their Christian identity.
That is, their focus became the definition and preservation of true Christian
doctrine.
This focus on doctrine, however,
was not just a matter of abstract theology. It applied directly to practical
matters of everyday life. Just look at the epistles of Saint Paul, who was
among the first to put this doctrine into writing so as to defend and preserve
true Christian conduct in the early Christian communities.
But (especially in regard to
your concerns about abortion) look also at two early Christian documents:
the Didache and the Letter Attributed to Barnabus. Both of
these documents provide detailed descriptions of Christian behavior, in regards
both to the practice of virtue and also to the avoidance of immoral
conduct.
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In regard to
abortion, the Didache says, “Do not murder a child by abortion
or kill a newborn infant.” The Letter Attributed to Barnabus
says, “Do not kill an unborn child through abortion, nor destroy it
after birth.” |
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In all of this, though, notice
to whom the writers speak: to Christians.
So where have all the Christians
gone?
The Politicizing
of Christianity
In her early years, the Church
lived in a hostile, anti-Christian environment. Although she tried to convert
the pagans and heathens to Christianity, her primary appeal was to her own
children.
But once the emperor Constantine
made Christianity the formal religion of the Roman Empire, everything began
to change.
Slowly, over time, Christians
lost their inner mystical sense of alertness to the hostility of the world.
After all, once the world was declared to be Christian, Christians could
let their guard down. In so far as they could define society itself as Christian,
they need not be concerned with maintaining a personal
spiritual battle with society. Thus a profound sense
of inner mystical battle ultimately gave way to a complacent conformity to
external practices. Essentially, this has been the identity of Western society
for centuries.
But now, in the world today,
we are experiencing the unravelling of this complacency. We are witnessing
the slow disintegration of “Christian” society. We watch in horror
as society shakes off the “burdensome yoke of Christian morality.”
We weep as the green of the Irish countryside withers.
The Christian
Task: To Become Christian
No one can stop the slow
disintegration of “Christian” society by stepping in front of it.
It’s a losing battle because the underlying spiritual battle was lost
by “Christian” society centuries ago through its own arrogance,
complacency, and neglect.
So what can we do?
We need to convert ourselves
back to Christianity.
We need to stop telling society
how to live, and we need to start telling ourselves how Christians
are supposed to live.
We need to start living
genuine Christian lifestyles so that we can
witness our faith to
those who have lost all faith.
Rediscovering
Christian Identity
Imagine if today all Christians
had the solid Christian identity witnessed by the Didache. Imagine
if we could say things such as these:
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Christians respect
the fundamental reproductive nature of sexuality. |
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Christians do not
engage in sexual acts outside the sanctity of Holy Matrimony. |
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Christians do not
dress immodestly. |
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Christians do not
concern themselves with glamor, or lust, or greed, or competition, or specious
entertainment. |
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Christians do not
divorce. |
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Christians do not
kill an unborn child through abortion, nor destroy it after birth. |
Yes, imagine if today all Christians
had a common Christian identity and refused to engage in the
wickedness of the world around them. What if all
Christians refused to be duped by the
entertainment industries? What if all
Christians refused to subscribe to cable TV, refused to play video games,
refused to go to movies, refused to buy newspapers, refused to waste time
chatting and texting on cell phones? Think of the power that Christian money
could have in influencing the world.
But now, sadly, Christian money
has no more power than the filth it wallows in. That’s why we are in
the mess we’re in today.
Therefore, as long as
baptized women abort their own children, there
will be no stopping abortion.
No
advertising—no sponsor—just the simple truth . . .
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