I find your observations dead on. Too many people have been taught to arrogantly assert their place of the privilege of the oppressed or privilege of the credentialed. If you want to really solve a problem, you should seek to make others understand it, not just shut them down. It's certainly not easy. It takes humility on the listener's part to gain anything from a discussion of what others face and he knows nothing of, and it's not unreasonable to expect no such thing from a stranger. Still, it's the only route to true understanding, compassion, and eventually love.
There can be differences based on ethnicity. As a pale woman, I need to worry about skin cancer a lot more than my Jamaican sister in law. However, people with her ethnicity need to worry about sickle cell trait a lot more.
My frustration with identity politics is that it glosses over so much of who a person is. The guy who connected best with kids in a boxing gym? A person who had a similar upbringing to them. The best person to talk to about dealing with an amputation? The person who had one or more and now has a good life. I omitted the ethnicities, nationalities, classes, sexes, and all the other stuff about these examples which I have seen in real life because it doesn't really matter.
I also think people who have walked beside you and seen your struggles can have some good perspectives. Do all of them have validity? No. But some of them do. If someone is motivated to help others, they can be misguided but if their heart is in the right place, they can probably be taught and help a lot.
Oh gosh. Yes, it would probably take a lot of words to adequately capture my frustration with this piece. 😬
I will think about writing something, but it’s always an exhausting topic to address because, in my opinion, it’s so spiritually significant that the hordes of hell always seem to attack whoever takes it on. You may think I’m being hyperbolic, but I’m not.
The author is doing a LOT of mental gymnastics to make her point. First she would have you believe that the Bible doesn’t speak to abortion at all. Then she pivots and suggests that the Bible sort of sanctions it. She misrepresents God, the Bible, and the pro-life community throughout the article. It’s kind of a mess. One thing is crystal clear: She really, really needs to justify abortion, and she really, really dislikes anyone who gets in the way of that objective.
I think there are legitimate conversations to be had about bad actors who leverage women’s crises for political gain or people who weaponize Scripture to sadistically punish and control women, but if we’re asking whether or not there’s a Christian case for the defense of abortion, it’s just not there.
In the meantime, I maintain that the Bible is not, in fact, silent about abortion. In Scripture, we see God confer both personhood and purpose to the unborn time and time again. When the unborn John the Baptist entered the presence of the unborn Christ, He leapt in His mother’s womb. Before Jacob or Esau were even born, God had already announced their destinies as the leaders of two nations. We were each created imago dei: in the image of God with a plan and a purpose.
The ONLY times we see the destruction of the unborn in the Bible, it is ALWAYS in the context of a curse. ❤️
Thanks for your response, Kaeley. Think wherever any Christian lands in their convictions re: the Bible & sexual consent, it's an important wilderness for Christian women & men to trek through. Methinks an essay from you would add to the resource stash for trekker backpacks. Sincerely, S Arata
Oh, and here's to your efforts; (see me toast you with an invisible glass]. Your 'devil in the details' articulations re: some of the conundrums in our present, collective US moral landscape? They're a real boon; they feel sourced in both heart faithfulness and objective reasoning. That's something going rare anymore, as mankind's 3, wired-in BS decoders—head/heart/guts— seem to be moving ever farther apart in people. Godspeed.
I find your observations dead on. Too many people have been taught to arrogantly assert their place of the privilege of the oppressed or privilege of the credentialed. If you want to really solve a problem, you should seek to make others understand it, not just shut them down. It's certainly not easy. It takes humility on the listener's part to gain anything from a discussion of what others face and he knows nothing of, and it's not unreasonable to expect no such thing from a stranger. Still, it's the only route to true understanding, compassion, and eventually love.
The soft bigotry of low expectations
I am sorry that you faced racism. That isn't ok.
There can be differences based on ethnicity. As a pale woman, I need to worry about skin cancer a lot more than my Jamaican sister in law. However, people with her ethnicity need to worry about sickle cell trait a lot more.
My frustration with identity politics is that it glosses over so much of who a person is. The guy who connected best with kids in a boxing gym? A person who had a similar upbringing to them. The best person to talk to about dealing with an amputation? The person who had one or more and now has a good life. I omitted the ethnicities, nationalities, classes, sexes, and all the other stuff about these examples which I have seen in real life because it doesn't really matter.
I also think people who have walked beside you and seen your struggles can have some good perspectives. Do all of them have validity? No. But some of them do. If someone is motivated to help others, they can be misguided but if their heart is in the right place, they can probably be taught and help a lot.
Hi Kaeley. This is off-topic, but because I'm not sure if this reached you on the dying bird platform, am sending its link here. Would love to hear your thoughts / resonances / refutations in some future essay. Godspeed on your work! https://valerietarico.com/2012/11/04/the-bible-says-yes-to-legitimate-rape-and-rape-babies/
Oh gosh. Yes, it would probably take a lot of words to adequately capture my frustration with this piece. 😬
I will think about writing something, but it’s always an exhausting topic to address because, in my opinion, it’s so spiritually significant that the hordes of hell always seem to attack whoever takes it on. You may think I’m being hyperbolic, but I’m not.
The author is doing a LOT of mental gymnastics to make her point. First she would have you believe that the Bible doesn’t speak to abortion at all. Then she pivots and suggests that the Bible sort of sanctions it. She misrepresents God, the Bible, and the pro-life community throughout the article. It’s kind of a mess. One thing is crystal clear: She really, really needs to justify abortion, and she really, really dislikes anyone who gets in the way of that objective.
I think there are legitimate conversations to be had about bad actors who leverage women’s crises for political gain or people who weaponize Scripture to sadistically punish and control women, but if we’re asking whether or not there’s a Christian case for the defense of abortion, it’s just not there.
In the meantime, I maintain that the Bible is not, in fact, silent about abortion. In Scripture, we see God confer both personhood and purpose to the unborn time and time again. When the unborn John the Baptist entered the presence of the unborn Christ, He leapt in His mother’s womb. Before Jacob or Esau were even born, God had already announced their destinies as the leaders of two nations. We were each created imago dei: in the image of God with a plan and a purpose.
The ONLY times we see the destruction of the unborn in the Bible, it is ALWAYS in the context of a curse. ❤️
Or a wrestling match … Exodus 21:22-25
Thanks for your response, Kaeley. Think wherever any Christian lands in their convictions re: the Bible & sexual consent, it's an important wilderness for Christian women & men to trek through. Methinks an essay from you would add to the resource stash for trekker backpacks. Sincerely, S Arata
Oh, and here's to your efforts; (see me toast you with an invisible glass]. Your 'devil in the details' articulations re: some of the conundrums in our present, collective US moral landscape? They're a real boon; they feel sourced in both heart faithfulness and objective reasoning. That's something going rare anymore, as mankind's 3, wired-in BS decoders—head/heart/guts— seem to be moving ever farther apart in people. Godspeed.