A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" ... Hebrews 9:27 (The Bible) I sometimes think man is the stupidest creature God ever created. In fact, God, Himself, repented that he made man and wiped everyone out -- save for Noah and his family -- in the Biblical story of the Great Flood.
As I look about me, at the awful mess we have made of everything, I have to wonder why God didn't just knock a hole in the bottom of the Ark and finish the job.
It is said that even the angels are puzzled over God's love for mere mortals. They, too, were created by the same God, and created before man. But even with their seniority, they fall into second place, behind man, in God's favor. They MUST be frustrated.
Man is most certainly the most arrogant of all God's creations, bar none! Since shortly after our creation, we have been trying every way we an think of to deny the existence of our Creator. It doesn't work, of course. It just makes us look even more stupid -- devoid of good sense OR judgment.
We have tried to elevate ourselves to "godhood" with only minimal effect. We can actually get people to worship us IF those people are even more stupid they we. Not to mention, those worshipers have a tendency to murder a would-be god when they discover the wannabe god is, in fact, NOT a god, at all.
Human beings worshiped by other human beings only leads to trouble -- BIG trouble.
Right about here, I suspect I ought to present by bona fides. I am a believer of the
Christian variety. So what, EXACTLY, do I believe? Fair question. Here is the answer:1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:
10. The forgiveness of sins:
1l. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.
Many of you will recognize the above as The Apostle's Creed: "The Symbolum Apostolorum" was developed between the second and ninth centuries. It is the most popular creed used in worship by Western Christians. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator. It has been called the "Creed of Creeds." SOURCE: http://www.creeds.net/ancient/apostles.htm
Our belief is FAITH and faith is the belief in things not seen. Nowhere in the creed a above does it say: "I KNOW." It says: "I BELIEVE."
As long as there are believers there will be non-believers. Man is a free agent. God granted us the right to be stupid and reject his offer of beneficence.
I am under no illusion that my scribbling here will change any minds. That is not my intention. I am a commentator. I comment on the passing scene and, most often, it is the passing scene in which I am caught up.
I mentioned man's inherent stupidity above. All the evidence one needs to support my accusation of man's inferior intellect is the continuing quarrel amongst us over abortion.
I believe abortion is wrong, quite likely a sin, and unquestionably homicide. My position is based on my faith.
I can accept abortion in cases of rape, incest, and in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. Even then, I feel a heavy guilt that the life of a child is required to spare the life of an adult, or to make amends for a cruel act imposed on one adult by another. There is something intrinsically wrong about all those choices. I cannot escape my conscience.
Look. There is no way to approach the issue in the public forum without pain. It simply cannot be done. In my opinion, abortion should never have been introduced into the public forum, and most certainly not in the aggressive manner some abortion supporting organizations have chosen.
To demand that a person of faith pay for the commission of what they believe is a sin by another person is itself the highest form of sin there is. It is forcing a person to commit sin by supporting another in the commission of a sin. I am given to understand there is a special place in the afterlife for those who indulge in such fist-shaking in the face of God.
If one believes, as I do, that life begins at the moment of conception, then there is no point in the pregnancy cycle when that child can be considered anything less than a living human being.
Ultimately, a decision to end the life of a child should be between the parents of that child and their God. Yes, I intentionally used the plural of "parent." The father has equal responsibility for that new life and should, I believe, share the responsibility in any decision to end that life.
Any impartial analysis must admit there will not be an answer to this question nor a cessation of the debate. Once the debate/discussion/argument/quarrel was introduced into the public forum it was akin to opening the mythical Pandora's Box. The genie cannot be returned to the bottle. It is, I believe, a part of man's curse for demanding the knowledge of good and evil.
Having abortion laws interwoven into the fabric of America's code of justice only insures it will continue to divide Americans. It will bring shame to some. It will enrage others. Some will be genuinely perplexed -- but only a few.
The issue of whether abortion is right or wrong, moral or immoral, a sin or not, has now been graven on our collective conscience, and on our hearts. It is indelible. Such is the power of any debate relating to the life and death of a child.
The moment we chose to impose government mandated payment for abortions a part of America's heart was ripped open. We have only now begun to realize there is more than one way to "pay" for abortions. We are paying as a nation and we will continue to pay as our national pain grows more intense.
There simply is no justification for taking the lives of millions of babies. Their blood stains us all with stains that cannot be cleansed and will not fade. Such is the value of a single child's life, let alone the lives of millions of children not allowed to live and love among us.
This is NOT any easy topic on which to comment precisely because it is such a painful subject. But I have chosen to make these remarks because a friend and fellow commentator once wisely -- and bluntly -- told me: "Somebody HAS to say these things."
© J. D. Longstreet
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