As I sat down to write this column, breaking news came across the TV in my home office. An active shooting situation was taking place in San Bernardino, Calif.
Some immediately went to social media to advocate for gun control. But as many of us watched and prayed, the New York Daily News chose to tell us, “God isn’t fixing this!” Below the bold, front page headline they promised for Thursday morning was the sub-headline, “As the latest batch of innocent Americans are left lying in pools of blood, cowards who could truly end gun scourge continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes.”
And what were those “meaningless platitudes?” The Daily News showed tweets, all over the front page from Republican presidential candidates such as Ted Cruz (“Our prayers are with the victims . . .”) or Rand Paul (“My thoughts and prayers are with the victims . . .”), and from House Speaker Paul Ryan (“Please keep the victims of #SanBernardino in your prayers”).
To pray, the New York Daily News said, is meaningless. And God? He can’t fix it; it’s up to our legislators to do that, apparently.
Beyond the gun control debate, our society has deeper issues. We now live in a society where the only absolute is absolute relativism. One “truth” is as good as another’s, as long as that truth does not include faith in Jesus Christ or Judeo-Christian values.
Tweet This: The only absolute in our society is now absolute relativism. #SanBernardino #NYDailyNews @KirkWalden
For this reason, the media’s storyline regarding a deranged lunatic in Colorado Springs (am I allowed to say this, or am I too judgmental?) was all about whether Robert Dear was some kind of pro-life activist. Jay Hobbs’ column handled this well, and I can only add, “What was the media thinking?”
When is the last time a true pro-life activist committed a violent act? And when I say true, I’m talking about an active member of a local church, active in a life-affirming organization such as Heartbeat International, CareNet, NIFLA, National Right to Life, 40 Days for Life . . . I could go on and on.
Anyone?
But, because of relativist thinking, the story was never about a sick and evil man who rejected the value of human life, but about whether women could have safe access to abortion.
[Click here to subscribe to Pregnancy Help News!]
In San Bernardino, the same thinking took hold. The story became about guns, not about savages who embraced a radical ideology which demands the killing of “unbelievers.” And yes, truth demands that we call these people savages.
Relativist thinking doesn’t get the fact that both of these stories are about brutal individuals who place no value on human life. None. But what is the answer?
The answer, as we know, is to create a society which once again embraces life in all of its wonder, at all stages and in every condition. If we do this, when a life is taken, our society will have clear eyes to identify the problem and root it out.
In a culture of life, there will be few apologists for those who take innocent life (“What drove them to this? Whose fault is this?”). Instead there will be an honest appraisal of the facts, and swift and sure condemnation of any actions that devalue human life.
Does the pregnancy help community factor into all of this? Yes. In fact, we are an integral part of reshaping our culture.
We pray regularly, “Thy kingdom come,” a declaration that we want our culture on Earth to one day reflect God’s perspective on all things. Each day, those who serve in a pregnancy help ministry take on this task, attempting to do our part to make life on Earth just a little bit more like God wants it to be.
Tweet This: The #prolife pregnancy help community is integral for reshaping our culture. @KirkWalden
We celebrate all life, as God does. We honor all who come in our door, as human lives created by God and worthy of respect. We invite those we see to choose a path God can bless. And we encourage every God-honoring decision, serving and assisting in any way we can.
We know we cannot literally usher in God’s kingdom on our own; but we also know that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary missions, including shifting a world back toward what God envisioned for us when He created the Garden of Eden.
The relativists don’t get this. They want to call us “judgmental,” “bigoted,” “anti-woman” and whatever else fits their agenda.
They blast loudly on social media, condemning us while seething with rage.
Do you know what we do? We reach out and touch the hurting. We—though ridiculed for such—pray for those we see. We pour out our hearts and our wallets on behalf of life; every life from a fearful mom and dad to extended family members and yes, for a preborn child.
Don’t expect the relativists to understand.
[Click here to subscribe to Pregnancy Help News!]
But we need to keep reaching out, because we are connecting with not only this generation but the next and the next . . . and the generations to follow.
We understand; every single person who comes in our door is an opportunity to touch a life and change a culture. That’s truth.
Let the relativists blather and offer weak short-term, weak “solutions.” As for us, we’ve got people to love and a culture to change. Until “Thy kingdom come.”
Kirk Walden is a senior writer with Pregnancy Help News, an Advancement Specialist with Heartbeat International and author of The Wall. For banquet speaking engagements,
