A Laughing Child in Exchange for Sin What exactly does courage look like in an age of abortion?

Christianity Today ^ | 2/13/04 | Christine A. Scheller

[rhema]

BUMP

[Aracelis]

And here is all the devil gets: Instead of destroying the saint's faith, he is the means of refining it, thereby making it stronger and more precious."

Wow! Thanks for posting this article.

[LuigiBasco]

Many thanks for sharing that great piece!

Luigi

[BibChr]

...William Gurnall says in The Christian in Complete Armour, "God can, in fact, use his saints' failures to strengthen their faith, which, like a tree, stands stronger for the shaking… And here is all the devil gets: Instead of destroying the saint's faith, he is the means of refining it, thereby making it stronger and more precious."

Wow. That alone was worth the long read.

Dan

[chiefqc]

When all else fail you, friends and family, you Lord and Savior still stands beside you, forever.

[livius]

A very touching, excellent piece. Prayers for her!

[Aracelis]

And He has been infinitely patient and gentle with me all these years. His compassion staggers me...

[Steve Eisenberg]

Wow. I guess this isn't too surprising for a Jew to say, but I don't think I had read anything from Christianity Today before this for 30 years -- and I don't remember it being like that. With someone like Christine Scheller among us, there does seem to be hope for this country yet.

[workerbee]

Michelman is obviously a resourceful woman. Somehow I think she would have managed to succeed, even with that fourth child. To say others are incapable of the same is nothing more than condescension. And it hardly seems necessary to mention that legalized abortion exponentially reinforces the male tendency toward sexual irresponsibility.

This is what every parent of a daughter should address, in a culture that will do its damnedest to convince her that abortion "frees" her from men.

Thanks for posting this excellent essay.

[kaylar]

I highly recommend the complete 3-volume Christian in Complete Armour. The set is still in print, in paperback, and it is readily available at used book sites and on ebay.

[Lijahsbubbe]

A laughing child in exchange for sin. How incomparable!

Beautiful article.

It is the sex that is the sin and not the child. How many look down their noses at single mothers, all the while cohabitating and having numerous sexual encounters and abortions.

She is a wonderfully gifted woman. God indeed does hear the cry of the fatherless and the widow.

[cyborg]

nice story

[BibChr]

Yes, I'm sure you're right. I own it, but have never made it through.

Those Puritan writers are dense — by which I mean that one feels as if he should fairly pause ever other paragraph and ponder. Their reasoning is so tight, their thought so layered and complex, their grasp and application of the Word so able, targeted, convicting, uplifting....

This is one of the reasons I can't abide to see people throwing around the words "Puritan" or "Puritanical" as derogatory. I just about always am compelled to jump in.

Dan

[MarcoPolo]

Wow! Whew boy, that's an inspiring piece!

I'm thankful to God that he does change those who have sinned into beautiful creatures. Otherwise, I'd be up crud creek with not a paddle in sight.

[suzyq5558]

Waht a soul tearing article.i'll be back later this one has me crying.

[sine_nomine]

Very impressive and thoughtful piece. She does not hide the pain and yet certainly transforms it through her Christian interpretation.

Thank you for posting this. I am convinced that those women who keep their children (in spite of abandonment, even rape) are blessed beyond measure for their strength and their faith.

I am so tired of the pro-abortion propaganda. It is all a crock.

[cherry]

" How many look down their noses at single mothers, all the while cohabitating and having numerous sexual encounters and abortions. "

how true....

think about it....we subconciously look at a young woman of 20 who has three kids as somekind of evil, while we smile and admire the smart college girl, who by today's standards, is probably "hooking " up with many guys....

what are we mad at.....the unseen behavior or the behaviour exposed?

[3catsanadog]

Thank you so much for providing us with a poignant and powerful message. And thank you God for sending this message to us through this lovely Christian woman.

[3catsanadog]

Only in a culture where sex is divorced from meaning and where self-interest trumps everything could such a narrative be produced. Courage would have been to decline that offer of illicit comfort in the first place.

Heavy duty statement, that is. I had an abortion in my 30's which I deeply regret. But the bigger problem in my life was swallowing the line that women could have sex like men do with no problems. Aside from getting pregnant, and despite giving myself pep talks and putting on a mask of bravado, the emotional damage to my soul was as big as a train wreck.

That is the reason why now I want so much for young women today to be protected from the sludge on TV, in movies, in teen magazines, in sex ed that is convincing them that it all is OK and they'll be just fine. But it's like trying to talk to an avalanche.

I'm worn out now. I'm putting this in your hands, God.