TWO-WORD CONDEMNATION

From My Perspective - - -

There is much attention given by the Media to a statement made by Congressman Todd Akin when he answered a reporter’s question. The response to his answer was swift. One can see all kinds of Hypocrisy and Feigned Piety rise up in indignation because of his statement. He used a phrase which sounds wrong from the outset. He responded by saying: “…women's bodies automatically protect them from impregnation after "legitimate rape…” He would later apologize for misspeaking and repeating incorrect information that he had received from a medical source, Dr. Jack Willke who is known as an anti-abortion Physician. His claim is that “…trauma caused by rape makes a woman’s reproductive system shut down…” Without any other source, Akin used this one person’s opinion for his answer.

There has been an immediate response and condemnation of Candidate Todd Akin’s two-word error and calling for him to step down as the Senatorial Candidate for Missouri. Republican funds have been cut off and further support will not be granted. However, either based upon principle or stubbornness, Congressman Akin has refused to end his campaign. His reasoning: “The people of Missouri chose me, and I don't believe it's right for party bosses to decide to override those voters…” A point that he obviously misses is that the people of Missouri chose him as a candidate BEFORE he made his statement about “Legitimate Rape”, a statement he has since apologized for having made and repudiate it as being false.

What is even a bit more embarrassing and painful is the fact that he is a professing Evangelical Christian; has serve as an Elder in a congregation of The Presbyterian Church in America; and has an earned Master of Divinity degree conferred by Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. A perspective that most within this denomination would identify with is given by Marvin Olasky of WORLD News Service: “One aspect of the debate is a vast difference of opinion about the meaning of compassion in this situation. The pro-abort side believes compassion toward the woman is aborting the child so she can put this tragedy behind her. Pro-life folks know that abortion compounds the tragedy by killing a child—and also makes it harder for the woman. A rape is a criminal and evil violation of a woman’s body. A woman so mistreated needs help, and reassurance that she is still made in God’s image despite being brutally attacked. She certainly doesn’t need the added, huge burden of complicity in a brutal attack on an unborn child. The child is innocent…”

There are some basics that Congressman Akin might have done well to remember. (1) When our children were young, they learned a Chorus in Sunday School that reminded them: “Be Careful little feet where you go…; Be Careful little hands what you do…; Be Careful Little Mouth what you Say…” He surely neglected to guard his mouth in terms of what he said. (2) The words in James 3:1-12 (Selected): “…the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts… All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be…” Someone once said that one’s words are like feathers in a pillow. Once the ticking is ripped and the feathers are spilled they drift through the air. To try to retrieve the feathers after they blown hither and yon, would be an impossible effort and accomplishment. It is the same with the spoken words. Once they have been uttered and circulated, it is impossible to retrieve or eradicate them. Even though one apologizes for having said them, they will continue to be repeated. It would be an endless and tiring effort to pursue one’s words and to silence them. One may sincerely regret having said them and apologize to those who were offended by them, but what has been done is done. If one genuinely repents, he/she should be forgiven. There are many admonitions in Scripture that one should be eager and ready to forgive another, such as, Colossians 3:13 (NLT), “You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Can you, do you Forgive and Forget?  Consider these things with me!