Women and Rights

It's interesting that in Romans 13, after outlining the Biblical perspective on the role of government,
the apostle Paul writes this:
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

We are called to conduct ourselves in a manner consistent with the character of Christ - He embodied love.  He said that He had come to serve and to give His life.  He spoke truth and spoke boldly, but it was also coated in compassion.  And, we are called to display His love, to walk in His light.  When we speak, we can strive to reflect the tone of our Savior; Paul tells us to speak the truth in love.  That does not mean we are to be timid or silent with respect to issues in our society; rather, we weigh our words and depend on the Spirit to help us deliver them well.

+++++

What is our approach to speaking out on a variety of issues?   Well, we recognize that as we pray,
God may direct us to speak and act. I think Colossians 3 offers a great guide:
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

The day following the swearing in of Donald Trump as 45th President of the United States, an odd assortment of activists took to the streets in the nation's capital and other cities across the nation and other parts of the world to participate in the so-called Women's March on Washington.  And, while a dominant theme included a pushback to inappropriate, and I would dare say offensive, comments that the new President had made concerning women, what the event actually became is up for debate.

In a reaction to vulgarity, there were reports of the use of profanity - you have to ask...Does referring to oneself as "nasty," using profanity and slang terms that are unacceptable in civil conversation contribute to an understanding of women's issues?   Did authentic women's issues really emerge from this event?

One issue that drove the organizers was abortion.  And, a Christianity Today article referred to a piece on The Atlantic website, which asked, “Is there room in the movement for people who morally object to abortion?”  The CT report said, "Her article portrayed some of the hundreds of pro-life women planning to attend either in solidarity with fellow feminists or in protest."

It added, "Meanwhile, the event organizers came up with their own response: No."  The story said:

“We look forward to marching on behalf of women who share the view that women deserve the right to make their own reproductive decisions,” the group said. Access to abortion and birth control were included among 1 of 16 values and principles guiding the grassroots rally.

And, not all of those 16 values dealt with concerns specific to women.  LGBTQ, immigration, and minimum wage were some of the included issues.

Kate Shellnut wrote the Christianity Today piece, and pointed out:

According to a Pew Research Center report released last year, 40 percent of American women oppose abortion in all or most circumstances, and white evangelical Protestants are far more likely than any other religious group to side against it.

Pro-life evangelical women have long spoken up to advocate for women’s positions in the church and society. They mobilized around various pro-women causes in recent years, even when it meant pushing back against Religious Right affiliations. Last fall, top female evangelical authors and teachers like Beth Moore criticized Trump’s rhetoric around women and denounced the prevalence of sexual assault. As The Atlantic reported, many pro-life women were just as outraged at Trump; they refused to support his presidency and doubt his pro-life bona fides.

Their common ground with the pro-choice feminists marching this weekend goes beyond a common enemy. Lately, evangelicals have formed organizations to encourage women in the workplace and leadership roles, as well as advocating for paid leave as a family values issue. Christian organizations abroad have rallied to offer women’s health care, provide education, and fight the exploitation of women through trafficking, violence, and genital mutilation.

And, groups involved in the March represent a variety of causes, some which run counter to the Christian worldview perspective.  LifeSiteNews.com reported on an article at the NewsBusters website, which said that billionaire George Soros had contributed almost $90 million to groups involved in the March :

In a new report, Alatheia Nielsen at NewsBusters revealed that more than a quarter of the groups listed as "partners" on the Women's March on Washington website are funded by Soros. These include Planned Parenthood, to whom Soros has given over $21 million since 2000, and the Center for Reproductive Rights, to whom Soros has given over $3 million since 2000. Other Soros-funded groups participating include the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Catholics for Choice, Equality Now, NARAL, the National Abortion Federation, the Human Rights Campaign, and Amnesty International.

In fact, the NewsBusters story showed the activist billionaire had sent $32 million to the LGBT group, the Human Rights Campaign.  

Anne Graham Lotz watched the festivities on Saturday - she relates that her choice of a Bible verse to correspond to the birthday of her 15-year-old granddaughter was impacted by those events.  She wrote in a blog post:

With these sights and sounds still fresh on my mind, the verse that I have chosen for our beloved Bell is one I share with you, too: Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

My prayer for beloved Bell…and for the women of the world…is that as she fears God and seeks to grow in her personal knowledge of Him, she would become a woman of great wisdom and understanding who shuns evil and serves Him faithfully.

She also made these comments:

My heart aches for many of the women I saw marching…women who have joined a “movement” that is deceptive and in the end, will be destructive and lead them to a spiritual and moral “grave.”[1] I pray earnestly for them to turn to the one, true, living God, who is the only One who can give them the deep, permanent peace, love, hope, and security we all long for.

She included a footnote for 2nd Timothy 3, verses 6 through 9.

In his Inaugural Address, Mr. Trump said, "The Bible tells us, 'how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.'  We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity."  You do have to wonder if the weekend's activities has anything today with debating disagreements honestly; rather, to further one particular set of values at the expense of deeply held core religious beliefs that are embraced by a significant number of Americans.

Then, there's this quote:

I uphold women's rights...the right to treat her body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, the right to say "No" to giving away before marriage what belongs only to her husband, the right to follow God's plan to have in place a home of security and love before bringing life into the world, and the right to stay at home and raise her children if that's what God places on her heart. I also believe in women's rights for the unborn women...they have a right to be born!

Joel Smallbone of Christian band for KING & COUNTRY, who starred in the movie, Priceless, which will be available on digital HD on January 31 and on DVD, Blu-ray, and on demand on Feburary 14, is quoted at the Variety website: “Part of the DNA of For King and Country is this idea of respect and honor in relationships and women being priceless,” adding, “What we’ve found in our beliefs as men is that people are made equal. The film continues the idea that no one is a commodity and everyone deserves to be loved and loved well."

I wholeheartedly agree.  Women deserve to be:

Valued.

Affirmed.

Respected.

Appreciated.

I would submit, regarding some of these political issues:

Equal pay for equal work - check.

Treated with respect and not assaulted - check.

Not viewed as sexual objects - check.

Not trafficked, bought and sold as objects - check.

But, do women have the "right" to terminate the life of their unborn child?  In the eyes of Scripture, I believe absolutely not.  Those that would hold signs that say "My Body, My Choice," and the like, certainly do not understand the sanctity of the life of the unborn child within them.  But, fortunately, through truth being spoken consistent with the Scriptures and projected through ultrasound technology, I believe hearts are changing.  As I reported last week, the abortion rate is declining.

A Baptist Press article says:

The abortion rate in the United States declined to an all-time low, while the number of lethal procedures dropped below a million for the first time since 1975, according to a new report.

The Guttmacher Institute reported Tuesday (Jan. 17) the rate fell to 14.6 abortions per 1,000 women 15 to 44 years old in 2014, which is a decline of 14 percent since its most recent survey in 2011. In its census of all known abortion providers in the country, Guttmacher found abortions totaled 958,700 in 2013 and 926,190 in 2014.

The Institute suggested that an increase in contraceptive use caused the decline, while also admitting restrictions on the procedure contributed. The article quotes Clark Forsythe, Acting President of Americans United for Life: "Research has shown that life-affirming laws do have an impact on lowering the number of abortions, and with all the life-affirming laws passed since 2010, we have a reason to celebrate the number of lives saved and women protected as legislators worked to defend them from a predatory and rarely accountable abortion industry," He added, "But another factor in lower[ing] the number of abortions is the power of beautiful pictures of life inside the womb, through ultrasound...Such pictures are worth more than a thousand words when it comes to helping people understand whose lives are on the line."

So, in summary, we remember that:

The Bible teaches that life is sacred, and that the choice to terminate the life of an unborn child is contradictory to that view.

Also, recognize that there are well-funded entities that promote a philosophy that stands in contrast to the teachings of Scripture about life, sexuality, and marriage.  But, we have powerful resources - the compelling truth of the Bible and the power of prayer - that can help us deal with issues spiritually when materially we are at a disadvantage.  And, our enemies are not flesh and blood.

Finally, we can learn, as the President said, to "debate our disagreements honestly."  Our purpose is not to win the argument, but to win the heart - that is done through speaking the truth in love.