A story from unChristian, by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons...
"A few weeks ago I visited a Christian Bible study at a church. Every once in a while I go because I know a few of the women. You know, I am still trying to figure out this Jesus thing. After the speaker talked for a while, we started a conversation at our table - about eight or nine of us women just chatting away. I was probably the youngest one there, but some of them were about my age. We got along pretty well...
"We were talking about sex, intimacy, and pregnancy, stuff like that. I told them about a friend of mine who was considering an abortion. I told them her entire situation, a twenty-year-old, boyfriend left her. She's feeling really alone. I made some comment about really empathizing with my friend, that I could understand that abortion might make sense. I guess that shocked them. I know the women there were pro-life and all - I don't know what I am, pro-life or pro-choice or just myself. But the conversation shifted at that point in a really weird way. Instead of having a dialogue, I was put on the defensive. They were nice enough about it, but the ladies just kept talking at me, trying to fix my attitude about abortion...
"And here is the part that bothered me, something I never told them. What they didn't know is that I had an abortion - a long time ago. It was not an experience I would wish on anyone. But I can feel my friend's dilemma because I lived it. I am not sure the Christians I hung out with that morning get that.
"I guess the truth is I was hoping for some empathy myself." (p. 181-182)
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