#March4Life2017

     I wasn't able to go to the March For Life this year, but I was able to listen to the last few of the speeches while cutting sweet potatoes, which I then proceeded to not cook. Anyway, I liked a lot of what I heard, mostly. Maybe I don't fully understand the purpose behind the March. Maybe it's just supposed to be a show of numbers, of the people who oppose abortion in our country. Maybe it's not to make persuasive arguments as to why we are pro-life and anti-abortion. If that is the case, then my objection is no issue at all. However, if we are trying to change minds and hearts, then I think we should stop "God bless"ing everything, and stop "Jesus is Lord"ing, and stop praying for the conversion of specific people during our speeches. No, I don't want to erase God/Jesus from the March, but I have family, friends, and people I follow who identify much, much more with the reasons for the Women's March, and their hearts are not being swayed by the religious talk. Quite the opposite, actually. Our message is being drowned out by the insistence on bringing God, specifically the Judeo-Christian God, into everything. It's fine if you are able to say "Abortion is wrong, and I know it because the Bible/the Church/my Faith says so", but we need to remember not everyone has the benefit of the supernatural gift of Faith informing their life. To me, that is the part we are missing. We seem to assume that "Jesus talk" is the quickest and most powerful way of changing hearts, because we already see with the eyes of Faith, so it all makes sense to us. To someone without that grace? Badgering them about the right thing to do because God said so just causes them to stop listening. We need to focus more on the natural reasons why abortion is wrong, good scientific and philosophical reasons, and let God quietly do the rest. There is nothing we can do or say to change the mind and heart of someone who is not yet ready to accept our message, and it is all too easy to do or say something which hardens their heart more. If it is true that we are living in a post-Christian age, then our approach is going to have to change to reflect that, and appeals to matters of Faith will only become more and more irrelevant and useless. We need to meet them where they are, on the solely natural plane. Maybe then, will our message really be heard. 

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