Why Amendment 1 Ruffles the Feathers of My Faith

Last updated on: October 10, 2014 at 5:31 pm by Guest Contributor

Why Amendment 1 Ruffles the Feathers of My Faith 2014-10-10T17:31:00-05:00 Guest Contributor

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by Earle Fisher
R3 Contributor

I come from a tradition of prophetic Christianity. Within that tradition, religious extremism (or what I have come to describe as theological terrorism) has always been disturbing and counterproductive. Therefore, when I consider the impact of Amendment 1 on women’s health, I confess, the Amendment ruffles the feathers of my faith. Extreme is an understatement. Draconian is insufficient. This Amendment would limit a woman’s access to safe and compassionate abortion care, with no exemptions to save the life of the mother or even when the pregnancy has resulted from rape. There is not a faithful bone in my body that finds this Amendment in alignment with religious righteousness.

I compassionately serve a local congregation. Several of my parishioners are women and children. I’ve seen firsthand some of the peculiar and perplexing circumstances women encounter. In these types of circumstances people of faith need to be guided by their faith but not guilted by their faith. To that end, I CANNOT, in good faith, support such a harmful policy which would disproportionally impact the most vulnerable people made in God’s image.

To be frank, as I hear arguments of theological convenience by some of my ministerial colleagues, I’m repulsed. Sadly, some clergy are presenting their perspectives from what the claim to be a pro-life position. However, many of my brothers and sisters in the faith are beholding to both pro-life and pro-death-penalty claims. Too often pro-life ideology is also pro-ignorance. One would pray that proper education would enlighten those who are misguided. Nevertheless, currently, the state of Tennessee refuses to allow comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education (including abstinence training) in our schools, which would teach children what they need to know about their bodies. This could potentially reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. But many religious extremists don’t want that. From where I stand, these claims are incompatible with liberating logic and equally incompatible with the ideology of our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ.

To live faith practically means to communicate God’s love for all humanity. God has divinely endowed with the freedom to make choices. These choices are often complex. Those who make complex choices need unconditional love and support. But Amendment 1 is a continuation of a larger trend that demonizes women and denies access to the basic education, care and services that they most desperately need. As a prophetic Christian, I cannot resolve this amendment with my faith. Jesus made a choice to live prophetically. This choice placed him in constant tension and conflict with the hyper-privileged politicians of his day. The living legacy of Jesus show us that it is neither faithful nor just to continually and oppressively restrict peoples options and claim it to be God’s will. This oppression in the name of faith is ungodly. Amendment 1 is simply too extreme, insensitive and short-sighted. For this reason, I am voting HELL NO on Amendment 1. I pray EVERYONE else will do the same.

Follow Earle on Twitter @pastor_earle

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