DoggyStyle82, I disagree with you. You do have a place in this discussion. Your opinion is just as important as any woman's. I would like to thank you and Diva_56 for being so open in your feelings. I can respect people who can come out in the open and say "Midwestdiva, I think what you did was wrong" more than I can respect those who are silently judging me while reading through this thread.
Now, I realize that I have been very vocal on this topic, so hopefully
this will be my last post.
There have been many who preached the 6th commandment, Thou Shall Not Murder. There is no way to argue against that, except with the "When does life actually begin" argument. I honestly don't know when life begins, so I will just assume for argument's sake that life begins as soon as a sperm enters an ovum. If that is the case, I am a sinner guilty of murder. Now some have asked, how does a Christian commit a sin like this? Let's take a look at Christianity.
There are some out there who believe that Christianity is merely about following rules and regulations. They usually know these rules very well. I'll list some of them for you: Don't take God's name in vain, Do honor thy father and mother, Don't commit adultery, Do love your neighbor as yourself, Don't kill. You all catch my drift I'm sure. People like this existed in the Bible as well. They are called Pharisees and Sadducees. Now the Pharisees and Sadducees were very intelligent men. They knew the law inside and out, and kept the laws almost as well. However, as intelligent as they were, they were unable to grasp a very important concept-grace. Matthew 9:10-13 NIV states "While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this Jesus said "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means:
I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
I am more than happy to take my place at this table with the rest of the "sinners".
To further explore the concept of grace I now turn to Ephesians 2:1-9 NIV. "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature, objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of god-not by works; so that noone can boast.
Not By Works. This is key information. One cannot earn salvation by doing, or not doing anything. Such a legalistic approach to salvation is consistently condemned in scripture.
Now, am I saying that if one simply has faith they can throw the rules to the wayside? Absolutely not! All things work together for the good. If one has faith, they will want to please the Lord by following his rules. However, even a person with strong faith will sin. Because this person know the difference between right and wrong (the rules and regs), they will feel guilt at have disappointed God. Some will use this opportunity to repent and ask for forgiveness. If you have any questions about my repentance, please refer to my first post. I don't want anyone here to get the wrong idea; your personal opinions of me are not that important. I am just trying to educate.
Now back to the subject matter at hand. It has been said that "we need Jesus". I agree wholeheartedly. But I have to wonder, will doing away with abortion bring about a moral revolution? Will our young ladies, who no longer have the option to abort unwanted pregnancies suddenly discover the virtue of virginity? I seriously doubt it. Abortion is not the problem. It is a symptom of other problems. When we are able to solve these other problems, abortion will no longer be necessary.
I apologize for the length of my post, but I wanted to do some Bible study as well.
Peace and Blessings.....
[This message has been edited by MIDWESTDIVA (edited October 10, 2000).]