The shift has been subtle. Like the proverbial frog getting cooked in the pot as the heat is turned up in slow increments, it feels like we got here over years. In the 90’s Bill Clinton gave the entire country a framework of discussion surrounding the killing of babies in their mother’s womb. He declared that abortion should be, “safe, legal, and rare.” But that phrase was the way of talking about the issue over 30 years ago.
Euphemism has always served the cause of harsher realities. Breaking one’s wedding vows by having sex with someone that is not your spouse has long been called “an affair”. When someone we love dies, we speak of them “passing away”. When a woman chooses to kill the new human being growing in her womb, we call it “abortion”. And for decades, supporting that killing has been designated by the euphemism, “pro-choice”.
But now the agenda and language has shifted once again. I am hearing people state that they are pro-abortion. No longer, “pro-choice” but actually encouraging, supporting, and celebrating the disgusting acts of dismembering children in the womb. What we call it doesn’t make it any more or less shameful. And yet the ideal that abortion would be rare was held by the most liberal of people just three decades ago. In the past several years, there have been movements to encourage women to celebrate and shout their abortions.
The narrative continues to shift. The brashness of the culture of death increases. We see a candidate for the office of president that cannot even answer whether or not she would support killing a baby in the 7th, 8th, or 9th month of pregnancy.
And at maybe the pinnacle of the recent discussion, was the placement of a mobile abortion clinic outside the DNC. How is this different from the pagan altars of ancient times? The babies killed in this clinic are sacrifices made to the gods of convenience and immorality.
As the temperature turns up in our culture, Christians will increasingly find themselves overwhelmed by the language. We live in times of increasing darkness. I refuse to end this blog on any hope for America. America in herself doesn’t have what it takes to subdue this darkness.
I have hope. It isn’t in a political system. It is NOT based on any hope for changed policy. My hope is NOT that we will return to some good old days. My hope is in Jesus Christ and His church. The mission of the church is to change our culture through the spread of the good news. And if we live in a culture where babies are sacrificed so clearly to convenience and immorality, it is possible that the church bears a good chunk of the responsibility for NOT doing the hard work of evangelism for decades.
My hope is that the church will once again, take up the call to be salt and light. That we will renew our calling to proclaim the good news that Jesus has come to rescue broken and busted sinners. My hope is for changed hearts. How rare would abortion be if the church had kept up the gospel mission for the past five decades instead of turning to a message of therapeutic moralistic deism?
My heart is sad, but not crushed. I am watching the world and observing the trends. And the language of sin, death, and vulgarity abound. How much more should the church be bringing to the public spaces the words of Life?
