Will society be recalling the abortion procedure with horror in 2018?

I just read through a discussion of 'Libertarians and Abortion' via Facebook notes. I followed a link to an article which was slightly distasteful but included the following interesting paragraph:

"I may be wrong about this, but it strikes me that in a century or so, or maybe even less, we will be appalled that we allowed abortions at all. I do not mean that we should not allow them now; it is merely a suspicion that the advance of our knowledge about the life of a foetus, coupled with an improved ability to prevent conception, will mean that we will be mystified as to how such a primitive and brutal procedure could have become state-sanctioned and commonplace. I can see politicians in 2108 erecting monuments and offering apologies to the unborn dead — divorced from the reality of where we are now, and why. Apologising, in the manner of Tony Blair, with hindsight for crimes which were not considered crimes except by a furious and vengeful minority."

Source: http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/720926/part_2/a-century-from-now-we-will-be-appalled-that-we-allowed-abortions-at-all.thtml

My thoughts aren't ordered enough to comment on the topic as a whole just now. Late last year during CBS Core's anthropology and ethics lectures I'd carefully thought through the issue but the lovely structured argument I'd developed in my head now escapes me.

It's going to require a little more thinking before I will be satisfied with anything I have to say on abortion.

What one person thinks is reasonable, another...

It seems that the Heavenly Man is providing me with a wealth of material to blog about. It’s certainly making me think. I’ve read about persecution, of martyrs, but this is something else. Such faithfulness, is it possible within myself?

One word: rebuked!

I sound like a broken record don’t I? Well, this blog is actually being composed for an apologetic purpose so keep reading.

Bear with me, I’m about to quote from several different authors and I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find quoting tiresome. Regardless, I’m going to share a song that Brother Yun and his fellow believers sung to remind them that following God is synonymous with persecution and that those who truly love and follow him, will undoubtedly endure it (at least skim read it or the rest of my writing and its purpose will be lost on you).

Martyrs for the Lord

“…Those apostles who loved the Lord to the end
Willingly followed the Lord down the path of suffering
John was exiled to the lonely isle of Patmos
Stephen was stoned to death by an angry crowd.

Matthew was stabbed to death in Persia by a mob
Mark died as horses pulled his two legs apart
Doctor Luke was cruelly hanged
Peter, Phillip and Simon were crucified on a cross.

Bartholomew was skinned alive by the heathen
Thomas died in India as five horses pulled his body apart
The apostle James was beheaded by King Herod
Little James was cut in half by a sharp saw.

James the brother of the Lord was stoned to death
Judas was tied to a pillar and shot by arrows
Matthias had his head cut off in Jerusalem
Paul was a martyr under Emperor Nero…”

Reading this list of atrocities actually reminded me of a certain philosophical piece of writing that I strongly dislike and love to critique: David Hume’s Of Miracles. What this song made me think about, nay, marvel over, is how Hume could dismiss the testimony of the apostles. In his article, Hume comes up with a set of criteria for examining the integrity of human testimony concerning miracles and it goes a little something like this:

We cannot conclude that the resurrection was a miraculous event that really occurred based on human testimony because-

A) "There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education, and learning, as to secure us against all delusion in themselves; of such undoubted integrity... of such credit and reputation in the eyes of mankind…"

If Hume ever found such men, I wish he’d let me know considering my present single status. Is there some integrity scale that I don’t know of? How could you decide whether or not a person was good enough or educated enough to be listened to?
I love this from William Lane Craig’s Reasonable Faith: "Although the apostles were unlearned men, all one needs in order to prove that something happened is five good senses and common sense."

B) "Where there is an opposition of arguments, we ought to give the preference to such as are founded on the greatest number of past observations."

Basically, the idea of a man rising from the dead is one that Hume has never observed for himself, therefore as opposed to listening to the testimony of many eyewitnesses stating otherwise, Hume will continue to believe in what he already knows. The thing about this article is that nothing is concrete. It's all about believing in the event which has the greatest probability. He continually leaves open a window of possibility and the resurrection is it.

C) "The passion of surprise and wonder, arising from miracles, being an agreeable emotion, gives a sensible tendency towards the belief of those events, from which it is derived… But if the spirit of religion join itself to the love of wonder, there is an end of common sense; and human testimony, in these circumstances, loses all pretensions to authority."

D) "He may know his narrative to be false, and yet persevere in it, with the best intentions in the world, for the sake of promoting so holy a cause."

I really cannot stand such condescension. Read through the list of cruel deaths again and tell me if you think it is reasonable to conclude that these men believed in miracles because of a love of wonder and then suffered torture and death for it. Convince me that men would die in such a way for the sake of a lie.

The irony is, Hume’s ultimate test for truth is that it would have to be more of a miracle for people’s testimony to be untrue than for the event they were retelling to be untrue. The apostles endured intense suffering, unto death, because they saw Jesus resurrected from the dead. There is no other possible reason for each one of those men to die the way they did. The following is an illustration adopted from William Paley also from Craig’s Reasonable Faith:

"Suppose twelve men, whom I know to be honest and reasonable people, were to assert that they saw personally a miraculous event in which it was impossible for them to have been tricked; furthermore, the governor called them before him for an inquiry and sentenced them all to death unless they were to admit the hoax; and then all went to their deaths rather than say they were lying. According to Hume, we should still not believe such men."

Hume reminds me of an insolent child who simply refuses to accept the truth of the matter by closing his eyes, sticking his fingers in his ears and singing loudly to himself until it all just fades away. Every scripture I’ve ever read concerning spiritual blindness strikes me. Particularly this:

"Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." – Isaiah 6:9-10

It’s all I can come up with to understand how a man who was so reasonable could possibly come to such an unreasonable conclusion.

Am I now seeking the approval of man or God?

I have trouble with sticking to just one book lately. I’m halfway through about 5 or 6 novels because I can’t help myself but trying to keep up with each storyline is getting a little tiresome. For the moment I’ve settled with the Heavenly Man, the autobiography of Chinese Brother Yun. It details much of the oppression and persecution faced by Christians in China at the hands of the government. The faithfulness of Brother Yun and his fellow believers is continually astounding and I’m once again being challenged to think about the sacrifices I would make for the Lord.

It’s funny, I wonder whether or not I could pack my bags and re-locate to deepest darkest Africa to serve God, and yet I struggle to give him perhaps another $10 this week. I wonder whether or not I could endure torture, even death for God’s name, and yet I shy away from walk-up evangelism on campus. I wonder whether I could teach and demonstrate God’s love to an unreached people group and yet my prayer life is often less of a priority than sleep seems be.

Why are the smallest sacrifices so hard to make?

I can only conclude that pride is what keeps me from being disciplined and from continuing to serve God in a way that is unseen. Humans simply can’t help it – adoration, respect, even in the smallest dose, we crave it. Please do not misunderstand me, I do not believe that every leadership position we take on, every talk we give, every event we volunteer for, is done simply to receive praise. Certainly we do these things first and foremost in service of God and others. It is just that when we serve in this way, all eyes are on us and we start to think that the little things are not as important.

I get it now. Why we shouldn’t just strive to do ‘big things’. The little things are actually the hardest to put into practise and yet the best way in which we can be serving God. He is a God who values humility and the one who can come to him everyday for a decent quiet time is just as worthy as the next Billy Graham.

With reference to scripture, Matthew chapter 6 provides three consecutive examples of the ‘little things’ and their importance:

(ESV)
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:3-4

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:6

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:17-18

To sum it up:
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 6:1

It’s just a reminder, really, that the small and ‘difficult’ things we do don’t actually go unnoticed. They are seen and what’s more they are rewarded, by God. I’m pretty sure that the praise of God is worth more than the praise of a world of men.

Being a leader is an amazing privilege and they are sorely needed but perhaps before I put my hand up, I should realise that it’s the concentration on the little things that produces someone worth following.

A leader is best when people barely knows he exists - Lao Tzu