On the topic of Abortion and “Single Issue Voting”

EDITORS NOTE: This post is from my personal Facebook feed and was written in response to some criticism I received for sharing the following two articles:

I understand it appears somewhat off-topic for this blog (although it really isn’t), but I was asked to make it sharable on Facebook which is why I have posted it here.

Thank you for indulging me. —Steve


I never wanted to be the guy who keeps stirring the pot, but I feel convicted that some things must be said in light of recent conversations. If this offends any of you, please ask yourself why and do some honest soul searching before simply posting about how bad the other side is.

Also, please note that I have never once voted Democrat in my life, so I am not an outsider here. I am a white Christian male who leans slightly right of center. But I also feel strongly that we must be willing to look at ourselves and seek to be the best examples of Christ to the world that we can.

Oh boy. Here we go.

If there’s one thing that keeps coming up as the conversation ending bomb in these discourses I’ve been trying to have here about race, politics, and Christianity, it’s the abortion comment.

Never mind I never once mentioned abortion. I’ve simply been trying to encourage my Christian brothers and sisters to recognize:

  1. Systemic racism does exist and as a church it should matter to us, and
  2. There is a lot of damage that has been done to the church and our witness by aligning 100% with a certain party rather than prayerfully questioning that party’s actions on a case-by-case basis and publicly speaking out when those actions are decidedly non-Christian instead of justifying them.

None-the-less, nothing shuts down the conversation faster than pointing out how “the other side kills babies.” Once that is said, the discussion ends because “who in their right mind could do such a thing?” It’s a great way to avoid ever having to shine a light back on ourselves (which is all I’ve ever asked anyone to consider doing).

Yes, abortion is bad. There is simply no way to deny that if you’re looking at it from a Biblical perspective. That is why I am pro-life. (Those of you made accusations or assumptions that I consider “baby killing” less grievous than a few “personality flaws” of our current president are probably surprised to hear that.)

Again, don’t miss this: I am very much pro-life. However, let’s unpack what it means to be truly pro-life in a Biblical sense.

Pro-life means you hold EVERY life as sacred, and you recognize that EVERY life is made in the image of God.

Which absolutely means unborn babies.

But it also means: Black lives, refugee lives, poor lives, female lives, LGBT+ lives, Christian lives, Muslim lives, felon lives, homeless lives, addict lives, republican lives, democrat lives, libertarian lives, Trump lives, Biden lives, and let’s not forget: the lives of parents who have chosen or are considering abortion.

It even means the lives of folks who are pro-choice.

And yes, white lives are not excluded here either.

To be biblically pro-life means to recognize that God loves and values EVERYONE, and we need to do the same.

And in a lot of ways, as Conservative Evangelicals in America, we have not.

  • Separating children from their families at the border is NOT pro-life… and it grieves Jesus.
  • Systemic racism, rampant killing of unarmed black men and women, and white supremacy is NOT pro-life… and it grieves Jesus.
  • Our prison and justice system that focuses on separation and isolation rather than restoration is NOT pro-life… and it grieves Jesus.
  • Shaming mothers for choosing to have an abortion is NOT pro-life… and it grieves Jesus.
  • Sexually assaulting and abusing women is NOT pro-life… and it grieves Jesus.

Based on that definition and these examples, labeling one party as pro-life and the other as not suddenly gets a lot muddier.

So back to ending abortion…

Actually, let me first tell you a story about my personal history with drug addiction.

For years I was told “Don’t do drugs.” Did that work? No.

Drugs were made illegal. Did that stop me from doing them? No.

I tried to pull myself up by my bootstraps and overcome my addiction through self-effort. Did that work? No.

Heck, I even tried to “pray it away.” Did that work? No.

So what did work?

Support. Community. Love. Respect. Empathy.

When I finally found a community that didn’t shame me or condemn me for my addiction but loved me in spite of it, offered me the support and resources to find a way out, and made sure I wasn’t abandoned in the process no matter how difficult I was being – that’s how I found freedom.

And that’s all called Grace. It’s what God gives to us, and we are called to give to others. It’s the tangible part of Christianity that actually leads to changed lives. It’s the tangible part of Christianity that enables us to love others in a way that draws them to Jesus rather than pushing them away from Him.

And it’s the only approach that can actually put a lasting end to abortion.

To simply make abortion illegal but offer no support or resources for those who would now be having babies they feel incapable of raising is not going to solve the issue. It will only create a different set of issues that will not lead to the flourishing of life, but to the opposite.

If we want to stop abortions from happening, then we must support ALL lives – especially the lives of those who are statistically most likely to have the abortions.

  • We must create a society where the factors that lead to the majority of abortions are eliminated.
  • We must support impoverished mothers who fear they can’t take care of a baby.
  • We must find ways to empower adoption services so it isn’t cost prohibitive for people to provide homes for these babies.
  • We must pour money into drug treatment programs rather than throwing parents into prisons and creating more single-parent families.
  • We must let expecting mothers know that the church is a welcome refuge full of support, community, and love for both her and her baby, and that she isn’t alone.

Support. Community. Love. Respect. Empathy.

Again, the party lines here are no longer so clear. Both sides are doing good work, and both sides have work to do.

You want to truly end abortion? It’s going to take a lot more than just making it illegal.

It’s going to take us as a country loving and supporting ALL lives so well that abortion is no longer necessary.

Only then will we succeed at reducing, and hopefully ending, abortion.

This is why I don’t believe you can say the only option for a Christian is to vote as a “single-issue voter,” or that one party is for Christian values and the other is against it.

It’s just not that simple.

It rarely is.

“10 Lies Men Believe about Porn” is now available as an Audiobook, and we’ve got 20 FREE download codes!

10 Lies Men Believe about PornHey everyone,

You know what’s better than reading a great book? How about getting all the same life-changing information without having to actually read the book?

That’s a big part of why I love audiobooks so much (not to mention it’s really hard to drive while reading printed books).

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that you can finally get 10 Lies Men Believe about Porn as an audiobook! So if you’re one of those folks who “just isn’t a reader…”, we’ve now got you covered.

So hop on over to Amazon and download a copy today (for FREE even, if you sign up for an Audible trial).

Or… if you’re one of the for 20 folks to contact me, I can get you a promo code for a free download compliments of my publisher.

Happy listening!
—Stephen

No Longer Slaves – Jonathan David & Melissa Helser

Weekly Web (W)roundup

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Each week, I round up the best resources, articles, and videos I find that are relevant to finding freedom from porn and sexual addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it does not mean I agree with everything in the linked article. It just means I found it interesting enough to share.


Stand to Reason | The Gospel Is the Only Stable Source of Identity and Value

“Modern identity ends up crushing people because they’re responsible for validating their own value, but we just aren’t up to that task—it’s not how we’re designed. All of us look for validation outside of ourselves. We’re full of conflicting and changeable feelings and beliefs, so it’s never stable. It’s fragile.”

Crossway | 10 Things You Should Know about Sex

“Whether or not you functionally recognize it, at the epicenter of your sexual world exists a God of awesome power, glory, and grace. Sex in its rightful place in your heart and life always begins by recognizing that he is at the center.”

CovenantEyes | 5 Vital Truths to Remind Yourself Daily as You Overcome Addiction

“No matter what you do and how much you know, if you remain in isolation without strong support from some other believers, you will not find freedom from porn and sexual addiction. I was a pastor for 26 years but had a secret life of sexual addiction for eight years until the truth came out. I am in my 13th year of recovery, and it has happened because I am strongly connected with other men who help keep me accountable.”

Fight the New Drug | Adam Savage From “Mythbusters” Explains Porn’s Harms In A Genius Way

“Instead of focusing on why porn itself is “bad” and unhealthy, and expecting his young son to simply listen to him and never think of porn again, Savage tried a great idea: putting porn in a broader context, and giving his son the tools to understand just why porn is so hurtful.”

Relevant | ‘Black Panther’ Breakout Star Letitia Wright Shares How Christianity Changed Her Life

Weekly Web (W)roundup

weekly_roundup-img-640x290

Each week, I round up the best resources, articles, and videos I find that are relevant to finding freedom from porn and sexual addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it does not mean I agree with everything in the linked article. It just means I found it interesting enough to share.


KeyLife | Guaranteed Grace

“The power and presence of God is guaranteed from the beginning of creation. This same guaranteed grace is on offer everywhere today. The producer-consumer model we’re used to gets turned on its head: Because God made us, sent his son to save us, and sent his Holy Spirit to sustain us. Grace means that we have to work not to have God in our lives.”

Blogging Theologically | No one is too far gone to be saved

“The thief on the cross should give us hope for those we know who are far from Christ. They may be caught up in the darkest of sins. They may be fully committed to their love of darkness. They may have scoffed and rejected Christ at every opportunity. But there is still hope.”

TheoLatte | Is God a Good Father?

“Imagine the best father you know. God is infinitely better than that. Consider your love, if you are a parent, for your children. God’s love is infinitely better than that. We are either orphans in a world that doesn’t care, with all its self-centered and self-serving people, or at the center of the universe there is One who will never turn us away.”

Brad Hambrick | Responding to a Full Disclosure: Marital Restoral After Sexual Addiction or Adultery

“This post is an excerpt from Step 2 of the True Betrayal seminar manual. If you read the content and feel like this is a very weighty step, you are right. But it is a vital step in marital restoration. It is advised that you and your spouse have a counselor or mentoring relationship to support you in this process.”

Steve Harvey | What They Need To Stop Doing At Church

Weekly Web (W)roundup

weekly_roundup-img-640x290

Each week, I round up the best resources, articles, and videos I find that are relevant to finding freedom from porn and sexual addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it does not mean I agree with everything in the linked article. It just means I found it interesting enough to share.


Gospel Coalition | How to Be a Safe Space for the Same-Sex Attracted

“Neither the struggle nor the terror is uncommon. How, then, do we create an environment in our churches, small groups, and families where we can even have this conversation, where Lily can share her struggle without fear?”

Albert Mohler | Moralism is Not the Gospel (But Many Christians Think It Is)

“In our own context, one of the most seductive false gospels is moralism. This false gospel can take many forms and can emerge from any number of political and cultural impulses. Nevertheless, the basic structure of moralism comes down to this — the belief that the Gospel can be reduced to improvements in behavior.”

Key Life | A Ragamuffin’s Prayer

“Jesus, they told me I could lose my salvation. Is that true?”

CRU | Dear Christian Man, Why Are You so Lonely?

“Many men want great friendships without any risk factor. Sharing an area of struggle or telling someone who you want to get to know them better feels risky. It is risky. People can misunderstand us, judge us or otherwise disappoint us. If we’re honest, we’ve all known some form of rejection in our lives and we’d prefer to avoid that in our future. But the ability to be our authentic selves, our good, bad and ugly selves, is impossible without vulnerability.”

Shawn McDonald | Don’t Give Up

Weekly Web (W)roundup

weekly_roundup-img-640x290

Each week, I round up the best resources, articles, and videos I find that are relevant to finding freedom from porn and sexual addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it does not mean I agree with everything in the linked article. It just means I found it interesting enough to share.


Gospel Coalition | How to Survive a Moral Failing in Your Marriage

“While we should never think there is a magic formula for marital happiness, there does seem to be certain Gospel actions associated with miraculous recovery.”

Blogging Theologically | Lies We Tell Ourselves About Marriage

“While I don’t know that I would write these exactly the same way were I to do it again, I enjoyed going back and revisiting these, in part to see how the Lord has grown both Emily and I in the years since. Thankfully he has been extremely gracious, and given me a very patient wife who has helped me grow out of some of the silly attitudes and behaviors I allowed to creep in. And how he continues to be gracious as Emily patiently helps me grow out of my current silliness.”

Brad Hambrick | Hope & Restoration After Sexual Abuse

“These audio segments were taken from the live presentation of the “Hope & Restoration After Sexual Abuse” seminar presented at The Summit Church May 23 and 25, 2013.”

Christianity Today | Finding My ‘True Self’ as a Same-Sex Attracted Woman

“How can we better hold law and grace in an effective tension that allows us to maintain our convictions and also show love toward those who do not?”

John Lynch | The New Testament Gamble

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Weekly Web (W)roundup

weekly_roundup-img-640x290

Each week, I round up the best resources, articles, and videos I find that are relevant to finding freedom from porn and sexual addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it does not mean I agree with everything in the linked article. It just means I found it interesting enough to share.


CovenantEyes | 5 Reasons Porn Impacts Kids More Than Adults

“Simply having these, sometimes very awkward, discussions helps your kids process and re-encode how their brain deals with porn. It decreases the shame. They start to realize they don’t have to keep their parents and porn in separate places in their brain. It means they aren’t alone.”

Relevant | 7 Lies Culture Tells Us About Love and Romance

“The cultural perceptions of love speak so loud, in fact, and with such consistency that we would be naive to think we don’t enter into romantic relationships with a picture based largely on our surroundings.”

AndSons | How to Lead Guys, Outdoors and in the Garage

“This is an article for guys who are thinking of leading other guys. That might be into the woods, but it might be as a group in a community. Could be two dudes in a dorm room. We’ll start with general thoughts and move on to specific ideas.”

Feeding on Christ | The Grace of Confessing Sin

“This is not to suggest that believers are called to confess every sin to their pastor. Instead, it is focusing on some specific or more aggravated sin in the life of a believer that has perhaps brought about severe consequences. No matter what objections or nuances may be placed on this suggestion, it is clear that there is a blessing attached to confessing sin to the elders or other members of the local church of which one is a part. By way of deduction, we may say that the prayers of the elders and the people of God function as means of grace when one comes to them in brokenness and confession.”

Brennan Manning | Healing Our Image of God and Ourselves

Weekly Web (W)roundup

weekly_roundup-img-640x290

Each week, I round up the best resources, articles, and videos I find that are relevant to finding freedom from porn and sexual addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it does not mean I agree with everything in the linked article. It just means I found it interesting enough to share.


J.D. Greear | Stop Trying to Grow the Fruits of the Spirit

“The more we soak ourselves in the love of Jesus, the more the fruit of the Spirit will naturally appear.”

Stand to Reason | The Pragmatic Benefits of God-Given Sexual Boundaries

“What happened between 20 and 50 years ago? The sexual revolution. No-fault divorce. Out-of-wedlock births. The study shows the pragmatic results of pursuing a sexual ethic we’re not designed for. Doing things as God designed for us actually has pragmatic benefits.”

Covenant Eyes | When Is Professional Help Needed in Porn Addiction Recovery?

“In this post I offer nine points of reflection to help you identify whether making the time and energy investment in counseling is wise for your life struggle. The more of these points you identify with, the more likely counseling would be a wise step for you.”

Randy Alcorn | Why the Coming Resurrection Frees You from the Bucket List Mentality

“Now, there’s a distinction between making a bucket list and having some things you would like to do and experience with your family if God gives you the opportunity. That is fine, of course. But if it is the bucket list in the sense of, ‘I’m going to kick the bucket, and this is my only opportunity as a physical person to do things in a physical world’—that’s utterly and completely unbiblical, contradicted start to finish by 1 Corinthians 15 and every passage that speaks of the resurrection and eternal life.”

The Bible Project | Word Study: Agape – “Love”

Weekly Web (W)roundup

weekly_roundup-img-640x290

Each week, I round up the best resources, articles, and videos I find that are relevant to finding freedom from porn and sexual addiction. Please note that by posting a link here it does not mean I agree with everything in the linked article. It just means I found it interesting enough to share.


Christianity Today | The Gospel Turns the ‘Try Harder’ Mentality on Its Head

“Our attempts, as followers of Christ, to grow in faith and ministry are valuable—but, ultimately, they serve to reveal our much greater need for his intervention. Regardless of the spiritual feats of greatness we’re attempting to accomplish in 2018, we must do so inChrist and with the gifting of his strength—apart from him, we can do nothing.”

Covenant Eyes | Why You Need Community While Battling Addiction

“More lies, masked as fears, fell flat of my worse expectations–a pattern that continued throughout my journey of freedom from porn’s addictive grip. By the way, Satan still tells me those same old lies. Except now I’ve wised up to his snake-in-the-garden-like tactics, and so can you. Shame is the voice of lies and the chief liar is Satan himself.”

Restoring the Soul | A Conversation With Dr. Dan Allender

“Dan is a renowned author, speaker, theologian, and psychologist whose writing, teaching and counseling has helped countless men and women find healing, redemption, and restoration for their soul and story. Enjoy the interview!”

Daily Wire | How To Betray Your Wife, Destroy Her Self-Worth, And Implode Your Marriage In One Easy Step

“Meanwhile, as it erodes the bonds of trust that keep your marriage together, porn also ruins your wife’s self-worth. It’s not hard to see why this happens. A woman will obviously begin to feel inadequate if her husband would dredge the depths of PornHub, searching desperately for literally any woman but his wife to satisfy his urges, rather than enjoy her.”

Newsong Church | The Leper