Sunday, August 8, 2010

Soul

I think I’m supposed to video tape myself reciting Romans 12 from memory this weekend. It’s the big test from the Boundless Webzine Summer Challenge. Romans 12 was broken into three sections with directions to memorize each section. That happened over the past couple of weeks. This weekend we were supposed to sit in front of a video camera, recite the chapter with our eyes closed, upload the footage to youtube, and send it to the webzine people.

Yeah, I didn’t do that.

Screw the iPad. That’s the ultimate reward for winning the contest – a new iPad. If I want one badly enough I’ll buy one. So, if failing to complete this part of the challenge prevents me from winning…that’s alright. I had other things to do this weekend.

Up until today the exterior of my house looked like someone vomited on it and added brown trim. It’s been that way since we purchased the home, and it’s only taken us five years to get around to changing it. I’ve washed the house. I primed all the parts that will be painted white with white primer. Today I primed all the parts that will be painted gray with gray primer. And I fixed a broken window. I also explained to the children for the forty-seventh time in four days that I cannot drop everything that I am doing to play with them. Sometimes life works that way. They need to learn to play with themselves.

I’m certain there’s a better way to word that.

The best part of priming the house today, aside from the facts that the house no longer looks like a frat house bathroom floor the morning after Bubba lost the fifteenth round of quarters, his lunch, and his aim, and my wife is really happy with the color change, was that I was able to pop on my MP3 player and listen to a few of my favorite sermons while I contemplated a truly ugly thought that I came across while participating in the Boundless Webzine Summer Challenge. I’ve been reeling since reading the comments on the Life is Sacred entry. It was in the comments section that a writer expressed his belief that abortion really is not a big deal (Biblically, or otherwise) since the issue in question is not when life begins but when the soul enters the body, and the Bible is mum on that point.

The soul.

That’s where we’re at in the abortion debate. Let’s punt on the question of when life begins. Let’s fall back on the unanswerable. Let’s make the issue the soul. I’ve been reeling since reading that because I frequently find myself caught by surprise when confronted with the depths of depravity where man’s inhumanity towards man is concerned. I find myself caught by surprise because deep down inside, deep down past the scars from life’s tougher lessons, past the sarcasm, I have hope. I have a tremendous amount of hope. When I come across something that challenges my hope, that disappoints my hope, I have to take some time to process my thoughts and regain my bearings.

It’s tough to argue that life begins at a moment after conception, since human life cannot start at a point after conception. If there is no sperm fertilizing an egg there is no human life. In the face of that fact, abortion rights supporters are turning to a search for the soul as an excuse to first devalue human life and then destroy it. In reality, it’s a simply a variation on a theme. Humans have been devaluing and destroying humans for centuries. This is just a new justification. My problem is that it never occurred to me before. I needed time to incorporate this new information into my understanding of the world at large.

Then I needed to hug my children.

God created us. He formed Adam from the land and personally breathed life into his body. We all flow from that first creation. “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” A reward. All the legalism in the world, arguing that the Bible doesn’t provide a hard and fast rule about abortion or when the soul enters the body, will not change the fact that children are a reward from God. And I have to wonder about the world view of a person who doesn’t recognize God’s role in our creation. If He took the time to make us, we must mean something to Him. Maybe we shouldn’t disregard that.

Life is sacred.

10 comments:

Linda said...

yep

Daniel "Captain" Kirk said...

Amen.

Kid said...

I wonder how many pro-abortion people would object to destroying the seedling of a tree. One that is pure white, busting out of its seed, but hasn't even seen the light of day yet.

Unknown said...

Kid, I wonder how many pro-abortion people cry out for animal's rights. Our society seems to have more regard for the roosters in a cock fight or the dogs that Michael Vick killed than for the innocent lives taken in abortion.

Brownie said...

I would argue that the Bible does talk about the person in the womb - and persons have souls. Psalms 139 is pretty clear to me on that. Also - John the Baptist, and Samson was set apart as a Nazarene in the womb... and many others.

Unknown said...

I would agree with you, Brownie, but to the legalist, the Bible does not state, "The soul entered the body on gestational day #1, etc." So, they argue on.

Kathleen said...

AMEN!!

Jedijson said...

Excellent!

jugglingpaynes said...

I'm amazed to read this today as I was writing in my journal about this issue this morning. As I see it, since we don't know when the soul arrives, why take chances? :o)

Seriously, having had three children, feeling that life within me, I could never consider abortion. Then again, all of my children were wanted. Therein lies the difference.

BTW, I'm also a tree-hugging, animal loving save the world type. ;o)

Peace and Laughter,
Cristina

Kid said...

Loud and Clear Arby.