"Legitimate Rape": A Christian Repudiation

Todd Akin: Imbecilic the Month
Provided by: en.wikipedia.org

It has been said, that the fastest way to kill a movement is to support it with false arguments.

There has been a lot of news lately about a misguided politician who has blundered his way though one of the most sensitive and intimate subjects in modern politics.  This buffoon, in a few short sentences, managed to do more harm than the entire liberal media has been able to do in the last several years.   In the hearts and minds of so many Americans across the spectrum of the political world, his comments were condescending, offensives, and just plain wrong!

As a social and political conservative who has strong views on the subject of the origin of a human life, I feel as though it is my obligation to stand up for the truth after it has been so egregiously assaulted over the last couple of days.  I fully understand that it is not the type of subject that is typically discussed in religious circles.  Christians often times do not like to discuss this type of thing; it’s too uncomfortable.  Instead, many Christians adopt an abortion form of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”  Christians who have grown up within the hierarchy of church know how they are supposed to be, know how they are supposed to think, and know how they are supposed to act.  If they are out of step with that view, then they do not say anything out of respect for those who have gone before them.  And if they do tow the social-conservative-Christian line, then why talk about something so uncomfortable?

Akin disqualifies himself for office in 38 seconds

The problem with this logic is that it provides little-to-no guidance for those following after them.  It leaves new Christians open to confusion and question when they hear a bungling idiot come along like the one who was flapping his mouth several days ago.

In order to fully encapsulate this subject, it is vital to remember the full context of what the Bible says.  The Bible talks about marriage being the most beautiful, sacred, and precious relationship in a person’s life.  This relationship is distinct from anything else in all of creation.  It is given special priority and significance in scripture, and it is designated to be the one relationship that best helps us understand our relationship with God.  In fact, out of all the rites and ceremonies in the bible, the institution of marriage is the only one that appears in both the Old and the New Testament of the bible.  It is designed to be a little taste of heaven with joy unspeakable, unmatched closeness, and totally vulnerability.   And… at its most special and intimate point, a miracle happens: life!  While science seeks to explain it, it cannot duplicate it.  It is truly amazing that the combined facilities, money, and genius of the entire scientific community cannot produce out of inorganic material what two loving people can produce: a child.

The intimacy between a man and a woman is the single most remarkable thing in all of creation, because out of this union an eternal soul begins its existence.

Therefore, out of all the perversions that exist on earth, there is nothing as abominable as one that would seek to transform what is most precious into something vile.  The act of a man trying to “take” what can only be “given” is more than just a violation of law.  It is a violation of humanity.

While I cannot totally relate to what a woman would go through is such a horrendous circumstance, my life has been personally touched by this type of tragedy.  Things could have been worse for me.  Others have had it worse than I.  But suffice it to say that I have experienced more than I would have chosen, at an age earlier than what I would have chosen.  Dealing with this tragedy has been one of the greatest victories of my life, but arriving at this place of wholeness has only been possible through walking my own personal trail of tears.

On the downhill side of my mountain of adversity, I am grateful that it was not worse.  It could have been much worse.  I don’t know how I would have coped with circumstances that other people have had to face.  This acknowledgement is not a repudiation of God.  He is faithful.  Rather it is a simple acknowledgment of the limitations of my own soul.  I do not know how I would have been able to deal with the questions, the shame, or the confusion that could have ensued had things been worse.  Therefore, when I hear about someone who has been touched by this type of tragedy, my heart goes out for them.  Words cannot express how this type of violation wars against one’s own soul.

And then, after I think about all this, I let me mind wander a little further….

What if someone was to suffer everything I suffered and worse, and what if that “someone” was a young lady, and what if that young lady, on top of everything, else was to be faced with an unplanned pregnancy?  I cannot imagine.  The grief… the confusion… the shame….  I shake my head.  I cannot imagine.

Everyone knows: this is not how life is supposed to begin, this is not how it’s meant to work, and this is not how it is supposed to be….  And yet, it is….  This circumstance that never should happen… does happen.

What do we do with that?  Where do we go?  What do we do with the innocent victim that was so brutalized?  What do we do with the scum of a male [I avoid the term “man” on purpose because he has abdicated his role in society] who has violated the purpose of his very existence?  And what do we do with the miracle of life that is now growing inside of her?

These are tough questions.  No sane person will deny that it was not suppose to happen this way.  We are stuck in a situation where there is there is no “good” answer.  All we have is the “least worst” answer.  And what is that answer?  Where do we go from here?

In the instance of a “planned” pregnancy, if a woman is attacked, and the baby does not survive, the wretch of a man is guilty of two crimes: assault, and the murder of an unborn child.  Is this a good law?  Is this a bad law?  It all depends on your definition of when life begins.

If a woman chooses to have a late term abortion, or a partial-birth abortion, is that ok?  It all depends on your definition of when life begins.

When does life begin?  Does life begin when the child becomes self aware [somewhere around the age of two-years-old]?  Some actually do say yes.  Does life begin when the umbilical-cord is cut?  Again, some would say yes.  Does life somehow spontaneously come into being out of living-tissue which is simultaneous “not alive” until it is more convenient to call it “alive?”  [empathetic shrug].  Or does the miracle of a new living soul start when two independent and autonomous people come together and produce a separate living soul?

What is true?  My beliefs are obvious based on the tone of this article.  I do not write this article because it is politically expedient, or because it is the convenient answer.  My views are neither.  No, I write it because, through my study of the Bible, my interactions with society, and my knowledge of biology, my conscience convicts me of the truth.

So what do we do in the case of incest or rape?  How do we, as a society, handle a tragic circumstance which is compounded by an unplanned pregnancy?  This is a debate that we need to have as a country, and it is a debate that must be handled with the utmost care and respect for the heart wrenching circumstances of the people that must live with the consequences of the outcome of this debate.  But it is a debate we must have, and it is an issue that we must settle.

There is one more thing I will enter into this discussion: if “life” does indeed begin at conception, as many would suggest, then even in cases of rape and incest, there is only one intellectually honest answer to this debate.  It may not be easiest answer in the short-term, nor will it be most convenient answer.  But if true—if life does begin at conception—then we are left with no alternative, even in these catastrophic cases.