Lutheran Logomaniac » abortion

Nadia

ToddPeperkorn — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:07:51 +0000

Today is the fourth anniversary of the death of our unborn daughter, Nadia. It was a period in our life as a family that was particularly difficult. My uncle had died a few months before, and my mother would die six weeks later. One cannot really compare one grief to another, but this death was particularly painful for us. There is something about the loss of a child that is simply incomparable. You grieve not only for the loss of life, but also for the loss of the future. As a father or mother, you sort of map out the future of your child while they are still in the womb. You know that it isn’t real, but dreaming is a good and godly thing. You dream about their growing up, interacting with the other brothers and sisters, etc. You create a picture in your mind of what will be, of what could be.

Except it isn’t.

Really the way that we survived the whole thing is because of the care of our pastor at the time, Rev. John M. Berg. We did a memorial service, and it was possibly the most comforting thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’ll try and post his sermon here sometime. I read it every year.

The whole matter also brings to my mind the sadness of our culture views life, even in the church. A miscarriage is the death of an unborn child. It is one of the greatest tragedies a family can experience. Yet for many, there are serious questions on whether this is even a life, far less all of the more spiritual issues involved.

My approach as a pastor is fairly simple. In the case of the death of an unborn child, we rely on the mercy of God. God is merciful, and He wants to save them all. We have the example of John the Baptist leaping in his mother’s womb at the greeting of “the mother of my Lord.” This demonstrates to me that A) Children in the womb can have faith; and that B) God wants to give it to them.

When one of my parishioners loses an unborn child, I try to comfort them with these words and that simple reality. We don’t know all the answers. We aren’t universalists. But we do trust in the great and mighty mercy of God, who sent His only begotten Son into the womb of Mary for us. I don’t know all the answers. But I know that God is loving and merciful, and that He longs for His children to be with him.

Bush protects the unborn

ToddPeperkorn — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:33:42 +0000

I would never claim to be a big fan of President Bush. But this is just right. Thank you.

Protests Over a Rule to Protect Health Providers – NYTimes.com: “”

(Via The NY Times.)

In Mourning

ToddPeperkorn — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:45:13 +0000

I had a friend remind me that God is in control, the sun still came up this morning, and that Christ is still Lord of the Church. All of which is true, and for which I am deeply thankful.

But I am still in mourning. I have friends and classmates who are excited about Senator Obama’s election. I am confident that I have parishioners who feel the same way. There is a lot of talk about healing divisions. I am certainly in favor of that, and will continue to pray for the blessing and well-being of our country.

But the facts still remain that Senator Obama is pro-abortion. I don’t think that any amount of spinning and finessing can really get around that simple fact. He is in favor of a woman’s right to choose to end the life of her unborn child. My friend Pr. Esget brought up this salient quotation from the late Pope John Paul II:

When a parliamentary or social majority decrees that it is legal, at least under certain conditions, to kill unborn human life, is it not really making a “tyrannical” decision with regard to the weakest and most defenseless of human beings? … In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is terefore never licit to obey it, or to take part in a a propaganda campaign in favour of such a law, or vote for it…. The moral gravity of procured abortion is apparent in all its truth if we recognize we are dealing with murder.

-John Paul II, The Gospel of Life

It is for that reason that I am in mourning. Maybe things will be better in our nation. Maybe divisions will be healed, the economy will improve, and the blessings that God has given us will continue unabated. But I fear that they will do so on the rotting corpses of the most helpless in our society, our children.

A culture that thrives and expands while it murders it’s own children is corrupt and evil.

So don’t try and steal my mourning because God is in control. I know he is in control, but it is good and right to mourn over the deaths of our children. Furthermore, I think I would say it is sick and wrong not to mourn the death of our children.

God have mercy on us all.

-LL

To Quote Star Wars….

ToddPeperkorn — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:48:49 +0000

“So this is how liberty dies – with thundering applause.”

God have mercy on our children….

The Sign We Were Told to Take Down

ToddPeperkorn — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:40:56 +0000

Our congregation has been a polling station for several years now. It is a good thing to encourage citizens to vote and to support our government and its regular processes. One of the many blessings of our nation is the relatively peaceful process by which we handle elections. Community and civic centers around the country serve as polling stations. Our congregation is one of those stations.

Last week I asked my “sign guy,” Mr. Bill Dissen to put the above sign up in front of our church. I wanted a sign that clearly was conscious of the upcoming election, but that exhorted parishioners (and others) to do something that was not endorsing a candidate or party. Thus the sign: “Want change? Pray to end abortion.”

This morning our city clerk informed us that the sign needed to be taken down or it would be covered. Apparently it might influence voters on how to vote.

We took the sign down.

But it has raised some very interesting questions for me as a pastor. We are given an opportunity to confess the faith in the midst of an unbelieving world. We can do so in a way that is not bitter or vitriolic. But is it moral for a Church to agree to be used for what is a good, left-hand kingdom purpose (polling station) if it then limits the ability of that same church to be a prophetic voice in the world?

I am supportive of our government and its system. I’m not sure about the wisdom of churches as polling stations, because it may limit the ability of the church to be church in the world.

What do you think? Was the city clerk right or wrong? Should churches agree to be polling stations, if they are told they cannot say certain things?