Planned Parenthood continues to be a popular topic among conservative Christian bloggers and those who respect the sanctity of life. This needs to remain a hot topic because the mounting evidence proving that Planned Parenthood is harvesting organs of aborted babies is as important of a talking point as the Confederate Flag controversy and the Iran treaty and should be more important than the Taylor Swift-Nicki Minaj Twitter war.
However, the mainstream media coverage of the Planned Parenthood revelation continues to be miniscule, so it is up to faithful communicators, such as Russell Moore (www.russellmoore.com), to keep this troublesome issue at the forefront.
This week’s Doyle’s Half Dozen begins with three topics that relate to why Planned Parenthood’s suppling of dead baby organs is such a big deal.
- Abortions are no longer rare
Remember the slogan during President Clinton’s campaign and throughout his administration that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare”? Well, one thing I can assure you, abortion is anything but rare today. Perhaps that may encourage those who support this practice, but consider that more than 300,000 abortions were performed by Planned Parenthood in 2013.
It has been reported that more than 620,000 Americans died in the U.S. Civil War, the largest count by far compared to other American wars. That means the number of babies aborted by Planned Parenthood in 2013 is almost half of the number of soldiers who died during the entire Civil War. That’s only counting abortions in ONE YEAR! Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973, so imagine what the total number of abortions is in the last 42 years.
If that doesn’t disturb you, think about this. A friend brought to my attention this week that more than a third of the pregnancies in New York City are aborted, which includes 63 percent of African-Americans in NYC. More Black babies in NYC are being terminated than are born.
Add this information to what has been recently revealed about Planned Parenthood’s bartering on body parts, and this should prove that we are living in a culture of death. Our society is numb to the repercussions of so-called “reproductive rights,” which to me is a misnomer. America is becoming unproductive on being reproductive.
- Medical Research – treating people as commodities
Here’s what somebody recently posted on a friend’s Facebook comment:
“You should be happy that they’re using aborted fetal parts for research, because that kind of research has the possibility of saving thousands if not millions of lives in the future. They could just throw it away, how would that make you feel? At least they’re serving a purpose.”
This is a common response among those who support abortion and defend Planned Parenthood. I would love for these people to watch the movie Soylent Green which came out in the early 70s and starred Charlton Heston. It’s a futuristic flick that I believe takes place around 2020.
SPOILER ALERT: There’s a food shortage, overpopulation and other descriptions of dystopia, and Heston plays a detective who discovers what the main ingredient is in a processed food being offered to the masses called Soylent Green. It is made up of euthanized human bodies. According to the American Film Institute, one of the top 100 most popular movie lines is “Soylent Green is people!” which is what Heston yells near the end of the movie.
“At least they’re serving a purpose,” someone told my friend. How numbing and insensitive is this? Killing babies in order to save other babies. It’s too ridiculous to believe people think like this. I want to be like Heston and yell “Fetal tissue is people!”
- “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”
Speaking of “fetus,” do you know how this word is derived? It is Latin for “offspring.” Abortion advocates seem to feel better when describing an unborn child as a fetus, but actually using a word that means “descendant or progeny” still reflects a human life not an inanimate object.
I loved reading Russell Moore’s “Planned Parenthood and the Cross,” a magnificent piece which gives this description of Jesus:
“He was an ‘embryo.’ He was a ‘fetus.’ He was a nursing infant. He was a child. He is an adult. An attack on vulnerable humanity is an attack on the image of God. And that image is not abstract. The image of God has a name and a blood type. The image of God is Christ Jesus himself (Col. 1:15). Every human image-bearer is patterned after the Alpha and Omega image of the invisible God.”
Think about this the next time you hear somebody use the word “fetus.”
- Onward available Aug. 1
I am slowly going through my early edition of Russell Moore’s new book Onward, which is available for purchase on Aug. 1. I strongly encourage everyone to read this book. It’s a conglomeration of Moore’s best presentations regarding Christians “engaging the culture without losing the Gospel.” The Baptist Messenger recently interviewed Dr. Moore about his book, which you can listen to here (notice we are giving away a select numbers of books).
Here’s a piece I read today from the book’s chapter titled “Culture”:
“Increasingly, I am convinced that the next generation of Christian witness will be less like the Bible Belt kids I faced at the start of my ministry, with their rehearsed professions of faith and hidden rebellions. The next generation will confront us more with that second sort of lostness, those for whom the Christian witness – right down to the basics – seems foreign and irrelevant and antiquated and freakish. Jesus didn’t hide the oddity of the culture of the kingdom, and neither should we.”
- Saluting Shane
My final two topics involve two great Christian servants who deserve to be commended for their demonstration of faith in Jesus Christ. Shane Hall is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Del City. When I heard Shane became pastor, about two years ago, of this well-known body of believers, I was excited for both him and FSBC because he was recognized as an up-and-coming dynamic young preacher, and this church would be energized from his leadership.
Last October, Shane was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Though he has experienced miraculous moments of healing, which prevented the cancer from spreading, he is scheduled next month to have his stomach removed in order to get rid of the remaining cancer.
Shane continues to preach and to demonstrate his faith. This week, he was the camp pastor at CrossTimbers Children’s Mission Adventure Camp. A couple of weeks ago, he had the privilege of delivering the prayer in the U.S. Congress.
It is apparent that prayer is a major factor in keeping Shane going and serving. Though it may be evident his body is weak, he retains his energetic spirit and encouraging smile.
God, please continue to do great and powerful things in Shane’s life, and may You receive the glory through it all.
- The Passing of a Prayer Warrior
I conclude this week’s DHD with a tribute to Jeannie Elliff, whose husband Tom recently retired as president of the Southern Baptists’ International Mission Board but also was a longtime pastor at Del City, First Southern.
Upon her passing earlier this week, Baptist Press featured an excellent story about Jeannie and her experiences serving as a missionary. You can read it here.
The most significant thing I take from this piece is her faithful commitment to prayer. Her process of praying in her closet reminded me of Miss Clara in the upcoming movie War Room. I wrote a review about the faith-based film that appears in theaters Aug. 28.
Though I did not know her well, I have had great admiration for her husband and his leadership and influence throughout the SBC. Although it is cliché, the phrase “Behind every great man is a great woman” is too hard to deflect in this case.
I do have friends who speak of her admirably, and she had such an influence on many currently on the mission field.
May God bless Tom and their family and provide comfort during this time of grief.