Pro-Lifers, Be Angry and Sin Not

Last updated on: July 20, 2015 at 12:18 am by Esther O’Reilly

Pro-Lifers, Be Angry and Sin Not 2015-07-20T00:18:38-04:00 Esther O’Reilly

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In the wake of the disgusting revelation that Planned Parenthood has been trafficking the remains of its victims, and apropos of some thinking and listening I’ve been doing lately on the subject of abortion, a few words seem appropriate.

On this breaking news, there’s not much more to be said that Matt Walsh hasn’t already said volubly and elegantly, so everyone, just go read his columns at The Blaze and thank me later. However, one paragraph of his in particular caught my attention and did seem worth expanding on (emphasis added):

I am incredibly angry as I write this. I try not to be, usually. Writing angry is often like going to the grocery store hungry; you’re bound to make choices you’ll regret later. But I anticipate that much of the media will ignore this story, so I have to write about it. And if I’m going to write about Planned Parenthood selling dead children, or Planned Parenthood doing anything else, it’s impossible to be anything but angry in the process. This is the most wretched and contemptible organization in the world, and I don’t think I ever want to get to the point where they don’t make me angry when I think about them.

It’s unfortunate that some pro-life activists, even wonderful representatives for the cause who are doing great work and saving lives, will distance themselves from the idea of feeling anger at abortion. Without naming names, I recently heard one make an inspiring pitch for his organization in which he still felt a need to explain that grief as opposed to anger is what really saves lives. He described anger as a temptation to resist, something that’s not constructive and not helpful.
I beg to differ. I think Matt gets it exactly right. And so does a friend of mine, who’s a little bit famous (is that a thing?) and very polarizing, so in the interests of avoiding google trolls, I’ll just call him Mike (‘cuz that’s his name).

Let me introduce you to Mike. Mike is what you’d call a character. He’s a conservative professor, pundit and speaker. He’s also a passionate pro-life advocate. Maybe the fact that he’s an adult convert partially explains why he really doesn’t care who’s listening when he calls the culture like he sees it. (I got a bit of a jolt the other day when I realized that I’ve been a Christian longer than he has, even though he’s more than twice my age.) And he knows how to have a good time while he’s at it. But when he’s not joining student protests against himself, skewering feminists, or expanding his gun collection, Mike is doing what he enjoys most: investing in the next generation. His zest for ticking off liberal wing-nuts is matched only by his heart for young people. Put simply, he loves kids, and the feeling is mutual.
In one of Mike’s essays, which he also presents as a youth training talk, he simply collects some of the most popular pro-choice sound bites in one place and swats them down, one by one, in no-holds-barred fashion. In a time when no less than a fellow of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission can enthuse un-ironically about having “fruitful dialogue” with a pro-choicer, Mike’s sharp rhetoric is blissfully free of such time-wasting nonsense.
When I heard him give this talk in person, I was struck by the way he handles one pro-choice line in particular. This is the “What about disabled kids?” line. “Surely you’re not saying parents should be forced to bring children with Down’s Syndrome or other birth defects into the world? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if these children were never born?” I watched Mike’s face tighten into an expression of utter contempt as he responded to this argument, lips pursed, jaw clenched. “This is so disgusting,” he said, “that I still can’t believe people actually make this argument. But they do. They’ll even do it on Facebook, in front of God and everybody!”
As you can tell, Mike was a little upset.
No, scratch that: Mike was angry. As he should be.
I had lunch with Mike later that day, and I specifically thanked him for allowing a little of that righteous anger to come through. I expressed my disappointment in people who discourage anger in pro-life thinking. In reply, he noted that Scripture never says, “Be not angry.” Rather, it says, “Be angry and sin not.”
I believe we must take this to heart, not only regarding the abortion issue, but regarding other societal ills, particularly the recent declaration of fiat “marriage” by SCOTUS. Sadly, when it comes to the latter issue, the pressure from elite Christians on conservative evangelicals not to feel emotions like anger or outrage is quite strong. But that’s a post for another day.
For a good take on the Planned Parenthood scandal and the appropriateness of laying aside “gentleness and respect” when confronted with blatant moral evil, see also this article by Michael Sherrard.

Faith and Culture

Previous Post

July 16, 2015

Two Sisters Review... Inside Out

Next Post

July 23, 2015 A Place for Outrage Post-Obergefell

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 3 star 3.5 star 4 star 4.5 star Anatomy of a Song Behind the Songs Blog Stuff Book Reviews CCM CCM vs. SG CD Reviews Christians in Entertainment Christmas Essential 12 Christmas Favorites Christmas Top Fives Concert Reviews Concerts Culture Devotional Thoughts Faith and Culture From the Vault Fun Gospel Singers Gospel Songs Great Music Guest Posts Harmony Master Classes History Holidays Humor Hymns Interviews Marriage in the Movies Monday Morning Humor Movie Reviews Movies Music NQC Odds and Ends Old Movies, New Eyes Old Southern Gospel News Old Stuff Open Threads Other Genres Perfect Tenor Performances Polls Questions and Answers Recently Added SG vs. The Rest of the World Sing It Again Songs Songwriting Southern Gospel Surprise Sunday The Definitive Hymns Theology Toe-to-Toe Top 10 Lists Top 5 Top 5 Lists Two Sisters Review Uncategorized Video Posts Youtube Finds

Select a Month August 2026 February 2025 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 October 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 March 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 April 2018 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I was rejected by God as king for offering an unauthorized sacrifice instead of waiting. Who am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Saul Solomon Rehoboam David