Taliban?

In the books of 1st and 2nd Timothy, the apostle Paul was training Timothy for a fruitful ministry in times that were hostile to the truth of the Bible. We live in times where the gospel is spreading in amazing ways, but in which its meaning is being challenged. Paul encourages perseverance in 2nd Timothy 4:
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

We can be aware that the Spirit of God is working throughout the earth, bringing people into a saving knowledge of Christ.  He is available to do His work in the lives of people around us and in our churches, but we have to humble ourselves, as His Church, bought by His blood, in order that we can see spiritual awakening.  We live in desperate times, and that should produce in us a desperation for God, to see Him move in our midst. 

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Does this passage from 2nd Timothy 3 sound familiar? Does it perhaps describe the times in which we live?
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

The state of Texas has now implemented legislation that will protect a significant number of pre-born babies, babies who have a detectable heartbeat.  It's a dramatic affirmation of the sanctity of life, yet we have a tremendous amount of drama that has been demonstrated by those who support the taking of an unborn child's life.  Even though the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of Texas lawmakers to enact this important legislation, the opposition to it has been fierce.

So, cue the name-calling.  According to Faithwire, there are those that are using the phrase, "American Taliban," to describe those who want to protect life.  Among those mentioned in a recent article: former news anchor Dan Rather who said on Twitter that it is “worth noting that many of the same people attacking the Biden administration for leaving women’s rights behind in Afghanistan are eager to control women’s bodies and choices in the United States.”

Filmmaker Michael Moore, who had, according to the article, likened Southern Baptists to "religious nuts," similar to the Taliban, also said, following the withdrawal of American military personnel from Afghanistan that it is “time to fix ourselves and strengthen our own democracy and defend it against our own domestic Taliban.”

MSNBC writer Dean Obeidallah said, in response to the legislation, that “the Taliban aren’t the only ones trying to impose their will on women’s bodies and choices.”

However, Lila Rose of Live Action provided a different perspective when she wrote: "Thinking of all the inestimably precious lives that will be spared today [and] their new lease on life.”

And, professing Christian commentator Delano Squires, writing at The Blaze, pushed back strongly.  He said:

It's hard to understand how the people who don't want babies dismembered in the womb would be seen as the backward theocrats while the people who would legalize abortion up until birth would be seen as caring and compassionate.

Is this piece, which hits some of the themes contained in some commentary on Jason Whitlock's online show, also traces the progression of the plans that some have for children who are actually born, writing: "The left seethes with apoplectic rage whenever it feels abortion is being threatened, but it also has plans for the children who actually are born. Its first goal is to get the babies out of the arms of their mothers." He contends that, "Part of the left's motivation is the knowledge that recruiting the next generation into its culture war requires thousands of hours of basic training."

Squires then explores the progression:

That instruction starts in day care and moves to the school for some children as young as three. Once there, many kids are bombarded by teachers who have swapped a focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic for racial narcissism, activism, and protesting. Los Angeles teachers' union President Cecily Myart-Cruz recently admitted this when she claimed that it was fine if students didn't learn multiplication last year because now they know the words "insurrection" and "coup," as well as the difference between a riot and a protest. She is not alone. The Chicago Teachers Union claimed, "The push to reopen schools is rooted in sexism, racism, and misogyny."

He also states: "American children face attacks on all sides, from their personhood in utero to their minds in the classroom. The last ten years have been marked by growing intensity on the gender identity battlefront...," and issues the call: " It's time for parents in this country to use their own weapons — prayer, petition, public pressure — to fight for what they hold most dear."

Don't speak out too strongly, though - those that are accusing pro-lifers of being the "American Taliban" may force you out of your job.  Newsweek reports that the now-former head of video game manufacturer Tripwire...

...tweeted on Friday that he was "proud" of the U.S. Supreme Court for declining to block a Texas law that would ban virtually all abortions after six week in what reproductive rights activists are calling a threat to Roe v. Wade. The court voted 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the three liberal judges in dissent.

"Proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. As an entertainer I don't get political often. Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer," he wrote.

When David Closson of Family Research Council was on The Meeting House recently, he underscored parental responsibility to direct the education of their children, and I agree.  We may choose school options for our children, but those options should be not be inconsistent with our Christian values. And, if parents find that there is subject matter that is objectionable they can petition their local school authorities.  In some cases, parents may want to become more involved, for instance, by serving on a textbook committee, or maybe even running for the school board. 

It is not uncompassionate to be pro-life. And, the tired old, recycled, comments about how pro-life people don't care about people once they are born is proven to be a false narrative in a myriad of ways.  Because we possess the love of God, we have the capacity to be the most compassion, generous people on earth, and you can observe how pro-life ministries reach out to the women and the families who come to them for answers. We can confidently defend the lives of the unborn while enriching the lives of the mothers - that is not limiting their choices, but opening up a whole new set of choices for them, including the choice to follow Christ. 

We have to be sensitive to the agenda concerning the young.  When the gay men's chorus stated in that insidious song recently that "we're coming for your children," that was not just a mere parody - it was a statement of intent, and people who do not respect Scripture or Christian values, the same types who get on social media with the hashtag, #taxthechurches, are continuing to attempt to pollute the hearts and minds of our children - we can't afford to be unaware of these schemes.