Lately i've been struggling with the issue of defined "sin". Obviously, there are points in the Bible where God clearly denounces some things multiple times, and deviation from those is considered sin (i.e. 10 commandments). However, the rest of the Bible's messages sometimes intertwine and even at times contradict themselves, and a lot of the things considered "sins" by the Church today are very gray areas, not clearly defined in the Bible.
Can you truly depend on your intuition and the brain and soul God gave you, in addition to cues from the Holy Spirit on these gray areas?
What if this area remains gray for years, despite your best efforts to sort it through and prayers for guidance?
What if you finally form an opinion and it turns out to be wrong?
What if you disagree with certain views of the Church as a whole, because what they preach doesn't make sense to you?
How do we decipher which "laws" in the Bible we are supposed to take literally and which we can realize were put in place for a culture and time very far from where we are now? How do we deal with contradictions between the old and new testaments?
Your thoughts...
6.22.2008
6.03.2008
More thoughts
I have recently begun volunteering at CareNet, which is a Christian-run national crisis pregnancy center, and there just happens to be one in Mt Vernon. It has been great so far, the volunteer training is intense though...classes, reading, videos....it has taken me forever to get through it! Its been really great though, since my eventual goal is to be a midwife for teenagers that have crisis pregnancy situations.
Being Christian-based, CareNet is obviously very pro-life. Until I started going through the training, I ashamedly admit that I wasn't exactly sure where I stood on abortion. Ironically, I am anti-war and anti-death penalty, but couldn't bring myself to fully call myself pro-life! I never called myself pro-choice either, I just wasn't sure, having a medical background and working for an OB/GYN who discussed abortions like they were no big deal and a normal part of life. Well, after being fully educated about the abortion procedure and its after-affects from a surprisingly un-biased standpoint (I was bracing myself for a fire and brimstone "Christian" lecture about abortion being of Satan) from Carenet, I can now confidently call myself pro-life in every aspect. Along with my pacifist-prone nature, it is not up to us to end any human life, whether born or unborn.
I am all for empowering women to make choices concerning their bodies, but when it comes down to it, abortion is the selfish way out. If a baby is carried to term, whether it will be parented or put up for adoption, everybody will know about the pregnancy, which can be avoided by aborting. The ONLY reason that abortion should even be discussed in my opinion is if carrying the child to term will endager the mother's life. Have you ever been told or read about the abortion procedure in depth? It just about made me cry. Look it up if you have never heard about it. It is absolutely horrifying. And yes, the procedure is usually relatively safe and has little side effects medically. (Not to say that there are never side effects or situations that will leave the woman sterile for the rest of her life)...but the emotional and psychological trauma is unmatched. Just hearing stories from fellow volunteers/coworkers at Carenet of girls who have come in post-abortion an absolute mess, wishing someone would have warned them what it would be like. It makes me devastated for the girls, and for the babies who had no chance to make their mark on the world.
I was surprised by the statistics that show that adoption is not chosen very often by women in crisis pregnancies. That also made me sad. There are SO many couples in the world who are infertile, and would be amazing parents. There couldn't be a better alternative to abortion out there! Either way, you are "giving up your baby". The difference is between ending the baby's life, and GIVING them a good life. Both are traumatic for the mother, but only one is traumatic for the baby AND the mother. Giving a child up for adoption is one of the most selfless, loving things a mother could ever do.
Just some things I've been thinking about lately, and just another thing I'm figuring out and praying about in my walk of faith that makes SENSE to me.
Being Christian-based, CareNet is obviously very pro-life. Until I started going through the training, I ashamedly admit that I wasn't exactly sure where I stood on abortion. Ironically, I am anti-war and anti-death penalty, but couldn't bring myself to fully call myself pro-life! I never called myself pro-choice either, I just wasn't sure, having a medical background and working for an OB/GYN who discussed abortions like they were no big deal and a normal part of life. Well, after being fully educated about the abortion procedure and its after-affects from a surprisingly un-biased standpoint (I was bracing myself for a fire and brimstone "Christian" lecture about abortion being of Satan) from Carenet, I can now confidently call myself pro-life in every aspect. Along with my pacifist-prone nature, it is not up to us to end any human life, whether born or unborn.
I am all for empowering women to make choices concerning their bodies, but when it comes down to it, abortion is the selfish way out. If a baby is carried to term, whether it will be parented or put up for adoption, everybody will know about the pregnancy, which can be avoided by aborting. The ONLY reason that abortion should even be discussed in my opinion is if carrying the child to term will endager the mother's life. Have you ever been told or read about the abortion procedure in depth? It just about made me cry. Look it up if you have never heard about it. It is absolutely horrifying. And yes, the procedure is usually relatively safe and has little side effects medically. (Not to say that there are never side effects or situations that will leave the woman sterile for the rest of her life)...but the emotional and psychological trauma is unmatched. Just hearing stories from fellow volunteers/coworkers at Carenet of girls who have come in post-abortion an absolute mess, wishing someone would have warned them what it would be like. It makes me devastated for the girls, and for the babies who had no chance to make their mark on the world.
I was surprised by the statistics that show that adoption is not chosen very often by women in crisis pregnancies. That also made me sad. There are SO many couples in the world who are infertile, and would be amazing parents. There couldn't be a better alternative to abortion out there! Either way, you are "giving up your baby". The difference is between ending the baby's life, and GIVING them a good life. Both are traumatic for the mother, but only one is traumatic for the baby AND the mother. Giving a child up for adoption is one of the most selfless, loving things a mother could ever do.
Just some things I've been thinking about lately, and just another thing I'm figuring out and praying about in my walk of faith that makes SENSE to me.
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