Pro-What

I am not particularly interested in entering into the abortion debate on blog and facebook. I have zero confidence that the complexities and emotion of it can be usefully addressed here. But I do want to share these thoughts from Skye Jethani that express what I believe is a productive shift in the dialogue:

Christians have always been pro-life. During the Roman Empire when infanticide was rampant, it was Christians who retrieved abandoned babies from outside the city walls to raise them as their own. But it was also the church that gave unprecedented dignity to slaves, women, and social outcasts. Some have even hypothesized that it was Christianity's appeal to the disenfranchised masses that fueled its rapid expansion.
But since Roe vs. Wade, the way "pro-life" has been defined by many evangelicals has been very narrow. It has simply meant anti-abortion. But now that seems to be changing. Growing numbers of Christians are embracing a wider ethic of life. Jim Wallis has called for a Christian agenda that is pro-life "from the womb to the tomb." That means valuing people after they are born, and not just before. It means pursuing social justice, equality, education, health care, and human rights. It means fighting poverty and advocating for those without a voice.

I would love to see those who are so decisive in their condemnation of abortion become half as passionate about the lives of those that have been born. They might even earn a sincere audience...