Responding to Roe's overturning

 I’ve seen a lot of unbalanced responses on social media to Dobbs / Roe v. Wade. 

Here are a few.

 

1. Don’t gloat. Don’t gloat. Don’t gloat. Don’t gloat.

If this means, don’t deride and mock the left, I generally agree.

If this means, don’t show your joy publicly, I couldn’t disagree more.

For many Christians, their piety is wrapped up with cultural defeat and marginalization.  They don’t know how to feel as a Christian, when such a victory comes about.

For others, there is a fear of provoking the left, or unbelievers, and further isolating them from hearing the truth.  This comes from a misguided belief that niceness will win many to the Kingdom of Christ.  We certainly shouldn’t be mean.  But it is a great testimony when they see what we positively rejoice in: the lives of babies saved; life protected.

 

2. “Christian leaders, who downplay this legal victory and say we still need to persuade the culture, are compromisers.”

These are the people who seem to be looking for accolades from the strident right.  John Stonestreet says all the time that “our goal is to make abortion not just illegal, but unthinkable.”  This is a good and godly statement.  “Not just illegal.”  Is he a compromiser for not shouting as loudly as you think he should at this victory?  We’re all becoming authoritarians, policing our side to see who isn’t cheering the emperor loudly enough, and then shaming them.  Long-term cultural victory takes maturity, and I’m not sure we have it.

 

3. “We shouldn’t be rejoicing at all; the Dobbs decision doesn’t outlaw abortion on moral/biblical grounds.”

These are the pro-life absolute abolitionists.  If you don’t advocate for, and get, complete victory, exactly according to the Bible, in our national laws, you are in sin.  They have a mirror group on the left, known as the 1619 project: the Founders allowed slavery in the Constitution, therefore they and all of us are wickedly tainted, justly condemned, and require abject humiliation for it.  Left or right, it is an extremely uncharitable position.  Right to Life has been praying and working since 1968, for incremental change, lobbying politicians.  The Federalist society has been training up solid judges like Samuel Alito for just as long.  (See his speech there during COVID, here.)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYLZL4GZVbA

They are not compromisers for playing the long game, and not demanding the politically impossible NOW.  It takes time.  Their strategy has proven effective, thanks also to everyone who voted for Donald Trump, by the way.  We can rejoice that Dobbs moves the ball in the right direction.  Our nation no longer legally recognizes a Constitutional right to abortion. 

 

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!