ATTENTION: SCROLL DOWN to get t today's article entitled in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. And PLEASE be sure to note the various PRAYER REQUESTS listed AFTER the posted article. They deserve your intercession. THANK YOU.
“But what about the . . . ?” Has a rare exception every stumped you when making the case for life or anything else? Here’s how to respond with grace and truth.
“Humans have ten fingers and ten toes.” Now that shouldn’t strike anyone as a controversial statement, since almost every person ever born has had twenty digits. But what if someone argued in response that, because there are exceptions to this—people who because of injury or genetic defect lack a digit or two—we ought not describe ten fingers and ten toes as normal or descriptive of being human?
We’d rightly think that a silly argument, of course. So why do we tolerate this same kind of reasoning in modern social debates?
Take abortion. Perhaps you’ve heard someone challenge the prolife view with this exception: “Well what about rape and incest, or the life of the mother?” Or take gender. Folks ask me all the time, “But what about those born with ambiguous genitalia?” These objections stop a lot of Christians in their tracks. But they shouldn’t.
When pro-choice activists insist that we can’t outlaw abortion because some pregnancies result from rape and incest, or endanger the life of the mother, they’re ignoring the fact that in nearly all abortions none of these considerations are factors at all. Rather, healthy babies are killed simply because they’re inconvenient.
Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t support the intentional taking of unborn life under any circumstance. As Live Action President Lila Rose often points out, the unborn are human beings no matter what the circumstances of their conception. Rape and other sexual crimes are monstrous, but abortion doesn’t undo those wrongs, it only creates another victim.
Arguing about exceptions like these only muddies the waters. And sometimes, that’s exactly what the pro-choice side wants.
The same thing happens when someone brings up ambiguous genitalia in the transgender debate. This condition is tragic, and the subject requires great care. But it’s also extremely rare—by most estimates, in fact, occurring in just one in twenty-two thousand births. In other words, when we allow this tiny fraction of a percent to control the entire debate, we obscure the overwhelming reality.
And so, for the sake of discussion, instead of arguing about the exceptions, why not just grant them? When someone challenges you about extreme cases for abortion, try replying this way: “Okay, let’s say we keep abortion legal in these rare cases. What about the other ninety-six percent of abortions that are elective? Can we end those?” Nine times out of ten, you’ll hear crickets.
Likewise, when it comes to gender, grant that in cases of ambiguous genitalia, there really is a biological basis for doubt and that we must rethink medical practices that too quickly label someone male or female if the physical evidence isn’t clear.
By granting the exceptions, we force the other person to face the real questions, or admit they’re using rare cases as wedges for their real agenda.
But more importantly, these exceptions actually prove the principles we believe in. Here’s what I mean: If someone says, “if a baby was conceived in a crime, we have the right to kill her,” that person is appealing to the circumstances under which the baby was conceived. To then argue that abortion should be legal in all cases is to admit that circumstances don’t in fact matter. That my friend, is called a contradiction.
Same thing is true with transgenderism. To argue that biology matters in the case of ambiguous genitalia and then argue that biology doesn’t matter with clearly defined genitalia is nonsense. Our response should be: Biology matters or it doesn’t. Pick one.
Look, rare cases are tough and complicated. But that doesn’t mean that all or even most of the other cases are. So the next time someone argues for abortion or gender fluidity from an exception, grant it and then confront them with the vast majority of cases. And if they refuse, just ask them how many fingers and toes they have.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
Further Reading and Information - The apostle Paul urged Timothy to “be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” Let’s heed that encouragement. Do your homework and be prepared to respond in a winsome and truthful manner to those who would “argue to the exception.”
Resources
A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today's World
- John Stonestreet, Brett Kunkle | David C. Cook Publishers | June 2017 - http://www.colsoncenterstore.org/product.asp?sku=2191_9781434711014
"Reasons given for having abortions in the United States" - Wm. Robert Johnston | Johnstonarchive.net | January 18, 2016 - http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/abreasons.html
"Exception Fallacy description - Changing Minds website" - http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/exception.htm
http://live.opendoorsusa.org/wwl/?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=content-banner&utm_campaign=may-2016
PRAY for the ON-GOING crisis now happening in IRAQ/SYRIA. Pray that coalition forces will be able to destroy the leadership and infrastructure of ISIS.
*For families struck by terror— to receive the care and rest that they need to physically and emotionally heal from this horrific ordeal.
BE Prepared TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST ABORTION
(...because ALL Babies Matter! - http://www.lifenews.com/2017/03/01/why-do-unborn-babies-matter-just-because-they-are/
: Go to: LIFE Training Institute - http://prolifetraining.com/resources/five-minute-11/
Be Prepared TO ENGAGE WITH THE PC CULTURE:
Go to:"Tactics" -
http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2016/04/29/tactics-n2154983
MUSLIM MONTH OF RAMADAM - May 27 - June 25
Please be in prayer that as Muslims world-wide focus on times of prayer and fasting, God will reveal Himself to them through dreams and visions and cause tens and hundreds of millions to turn from the false teachings of Islam to faith in Jesus Christ the Messiah.
"DON'T ARGUE THE EXCEPTIONS - BEATING BAD ARGUMENTS FOR ABORTION AND TRANSGENDERISM" - by John Stonestreet, Breakpoint.org, May 25, 2017; http://breakpoint.org/2017/05/breakpoint-dont-argue-exceptions/MUSLIM MONTH OF RAMADAM - May 27 - June 25
Please be in prayer that as Muslims world-wide focus on times of prayer and fasting, God will reveal Himself to them through dreams and visions and cause tens and hundreds of millions to turn from the false teachings of Islam to faith in Jesus Christ the Messiah.
5/26 - IT'S HAPPENED AGAIN! - "Egypt's Christians Come Under Attack When Gunmen Storm Bus, Killing 26" - Leah Barkoukis: May 26, 2017; https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2017/05/26/egypt-attack-n2332074
Personal Update 5/24 - Check out the JOURNAL section in the column on the right side of this blog page. And THANK YOU for your continued prayers for me.
------------------------------------------------------------------
“Humans have ten fingers and ten toes.” Now that shouldn’t strike anyone as a controversial statement, since almost every person ever born has had twenty digits. But what if someone argued in response that, because there are exceptions to this—people who because of injury or genetic defect lack a digit or two—we ought not describe ten fingers and ten toes as normal or descriptive of being human?
We’d rightly think that a silly argument, of course. So why do we tolerate this same kind of reasoning in modern social debates?
Take abortion. Perhaps you’ve heard someone challenge the prolife view with this exception: “Well what about rape and incest, or the life of the mother?” Or take gender. Folks ask me all the time, “But what about those born with ambiguous genitalia?” These objections stop a lot of Christians in their tracks. But they shouldn’t.
When pro-choice activists insist that we can’t outlaw abortion because some pregnancies result from rape and incest, or endanger the life of the mother, they’re ignoring the fact that in nearly all abortions none of these considerations are factors at all. Rather, healthy babies are killed simply because they’re inconvenient.
Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t support the intentional taking of unborn life under any circumstance. As Live Action President Lila Rose often points out, the unborn are human beings no matter what the circumstances of their conception. Rape and other sexual crimes are monstrous, but abortion doesn’t undo those wrongs, it only creates another victim.
Arguing about exceptions like these only muddies the waters. And sometimes, that’s exactly what the pro-choice side wants.
The same thing happens when someone brings up ambiguous genitalia in the transgender debate. This condition is tragic, and the subject requires great care. But it’s also extremely rare—by most estimates, in fact, occurring in just one in twenty-two thousand births. In other words, when we allow this tiny fraction of a percent to control the entire debate, we obscure the overwhelming reality.
And so, for the sake of discussion, instead of arguing about the exceptions, why not just grant them? When someone challenges you about extreme cases for abortion, try replying this way: “Okay, let’s say we keep abortion legal in these rare cases. What about the other ninety-six percent of abortions that are elective? Can we end those?” Nine times out of ten, you’ll hear crickets.
Likewise, when it comes to gender, grant that in cases of ambiguous genitalia, there really is a biological basis for doubt and that we must rethink medical practices that too quickly label someone male or female if the physical evidence isn’t clear.
By granting the exceptions, we force the other person to face the real questions, or admit they’re using rare cases as wedges for their real agenda.
But more importantly, these exceptions actually prove the principles we believe in. Here’s what I mean: If someone says, “if a baby was conceived in a crime, we have the right to kill her,” that person is appealing to the circumstances under which the baby was conceived. To then argue that abortion should be legal in all cases is to admit that circumstances don’t in fact matter. That my friend, is called a contradiction.
Same thing is true with transgenderism. To argue that biology matters in the case of ambiguous genitalia and then argue that biology doesn’t matter with clearly defined genitalia is nonsense. Our response should be: Biology matters or it doesn’t. Pick one.
Look, rare cases are tough and complicated. But that doesn’t mean that all or even most of the other cases are. So the next time someone argues for abortion or gender fluidity from an exception, grant it and then confront them with the vast majority of cases. And if they refuse, just ask them how many fingers and toes they have.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
Further Reading and Information - The apostle Paul urged Timothy to “be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” Let’s heed that encouragement. Do your homework and be prepared to respond in a winsome and truthful manner to those who would “argue to the exception.”
Resources
A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today's World
- John Stonestreet, Brett Kunkle | David C. Cook Publishers | June 2017 - http://www.colsoncenterstore.org/product.asp?sku=2191_9781434711014
"Reasons given for having abortions in the United States" - Wm. Robert Johnston | Johnstonarchive.net | January 18, 2016 - http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/abreasons.html
"Exception Fallacy description - Changing Minds website" - http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/exception.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory." - Stan
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!"
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS: 1) Pray for President Trump and his advisers, that they would select Godly leaders at the federal level who will be accountable to do an excellent job (or be fired!) ; that he would seek God's wisdom and be enabled to lead our country effectively in the years ahead; and 2) Pray our leaders at every level of government will Spirit-filled, leading us with Godly wisdom and integrity; that they will only pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit Americans today as well as future generations and NOT do any lasting harm.
SUPREME COURT: PRAY that the justices will only hand down decisions that are Constitutionally sound and in the best interests of our country now and for future generations.
World-Wide Prayer Requests:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory." - Stan
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!"
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS: 1) Pray for President Trump and his advisers, that they would select Godly leaders at the federal level who will be accountable to do an excellent job (or be fired!) ; that he would seek God's wisdom and be enabled to lead our country effectively in the years ahead; and 2) Pray our leaders at every level of government will Spirit-filled, leading us with Godly wisdom and integrity; that they will only pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit Americans today as well as future generations and NOT do any lasting harm.
SUPREME COURT: PRAY that the justices will only hand down decisions that are Constitutionally sound and in the best interests of our country now and for future generations.
World-Wide Prayer Requests:
This is a photo of 3 of Asia's daughters holding a picture of their imprisoned mother.
4/26 UPDATE: PAKISTAN. The Pakistani parliament has agreed to stop the ongoing misuse of the blasphemy law. Pray that it will stick to its word and give the mater priority. Many innocent people have been killed under this law for a crime they never commi6ed.(ASSIST News Service)
A Christian Mother's Mandatory Death Penalty Could Be Overturned. PRAY and Sign the Petition Now! - https://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution?
5/12 - Just hours ago, I (Jay Sekulow, ACLJ) met with President Trump at the White House to discuss the case of Pastor Andrew Brunson - a U.S. citizen - who languishes in a Turkish prison because of his Christian faith. Pastor Andrew's mom says, "For 23 years, I saw him love and serve the people of Turkey. He has been in prison 7 months, and having visited him there, I have seen the tremendous struggles he is experiencing. I wake every morning with a deep sadness."The one gift she wants this Mother’s Day weekend is the safe return of her beloved son.
Learn about Christian Persecution; Check out the World Watch List:
A Christian Mother's Mandatory Death Penalty Could Be Overturned. PRAY and Sign the Petition Now! - https://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution?
5/12 - Just hours ago, I (Jay Sekulow, ACLJ) met with President Trump at the White House to discuss the case of Pastor Andrew Brunson - a U.S. citizen - who languishes in a Turkish prison because of his Christian faith. Pastor Andrew's mom says, "For 23 years, I saw him love and serve the people of Turkey. He has been in prison 7 months, and having visited him there, I have seen the tremendous struggles he is experiencing. I wake every morning with a deep sadness."The one gift she wants this Mother’s Day weekend is the safe return of her beloved son.
2/7 American Center for Law and Justice: American Pastor Andrew Brunson still languishes in a Turkish prison. He’s one of 19 prisoners in a 10-person cell. He’s the only Christian. Pastor Andrew has been falsely charged with “membership in an armed terrorist organization.” He has served and loved the people of Turkey for more than two decades. Now this U.S. citizen is in extreme danger – falsely charged for his Christian faith. We are representing his family and have launched an aggressive global campaign demanding that Turkey – a fellow member of NATO – release him immediately. We’re working on Capitol Hill with our nation’s leaders, through our international offices, and around the globe to secure the release of Pastor Andrew. Now, we are preparing to send a critical legal letter to Turkey’s president in the next few days. Time is of the essence. Sign our letter before we send it. Join the fight. Be Pastor Andrew’s voice. He needs it now more than ever.Sign Our Petition: Free American Pastor Andrew Brunson.https://aclj.org/persecuted-church/free-american-pastor-andrew-brunson
12/13- American Center For Law and Justice: On trial for their faith, two Christian pastors in Sudan face death. Christian Pastors Hassan Abduraheem and Kuwa Shamal have been brutally imprisoned for nearly a year – 359 days – in deplorable conditions. Their trial has been delayed time and time again.Their churches miss them. Their families need them. They face possible death sentences because they are Christians. At the ACLJ, we've launched a massive international legal advocacy campaign for their freedom. We're preparing critical legal letters to Sudan, raising their case with world leaders, and preparing action at the U.N. They could be sentenced to hang for their faith if the world is silent. Christian Pastors Hassan and Kuwa need your voice now. Time is of the essence, as the trial continues. Our silence could be their death.Other Christians facing death in Sudan are now free because you spoke out. Demand Sudan free Pastors Hassan and Kuwa now. Sign Our Petition: Save Christian Pastors from Death...https://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-pastors-from-possible-death?
PRAY for the ON-GOING crisis now happening in IRAQ/SYRIA. Pray that coalition forces will be able to destroy the leadership and infrastructure of ISIS.
*For families struck by terror— to receive the care and rest that they need to physically and emotionally heal from this horrific ordeal.
*For those who executed the attack. This act was full of evil and hate, but no one is too far from God’s saving grace. May God convict their hearts today of the evil act they did — in direct rebellion to Him and His Word. May He save them miraculously, just as God did with Paul, while he was persecuting the church.
*For believers in Syria and in this region as they navigate so much uncertainty. May they remain faithful to God through these most difficult times as He sustains them with peace and endurance. May the gospel be ever-present in their minds. 
No comments:
Post a Comment