Sixth of Easter
May 2010
When we Christians read about governments imposing Sheria law, or wishing to do so, we draw back in horror and indignation at the infringement of the right to religious freedom and to follow ones own moral code. We are loud in our denunciation of the injustice towards minority groups.
Yet we Christians are deeply involved in the very same injustice.
When faced with demands for the legalisation of abortion, artificial birth control, gay marriage, euthanasia, sterilisation etc. from people who find nothing wrong with these practises or find themselves in situations where there only solution is to avail themselves of one or more of these services, we Christians, or more correctly our leadership, demand adherence to our sheria; to our laws and moral code, and campaign to defeat such legislation.
Most of us are instinctively aware of the injustice of such a stance.
No wonder so many Catholics ignore the directives of Church leadership when voting on these issues or voting for candidates who are pro-choice on these issues. The Catholic bishops campaign to defeat the recent health care legislation in the United States because it included some provision for abortion is a prime example.
Where do I stand on these issues? I believe that all the above (that is abortion, artificial birth control, gay marriage, euthanasia, sterilisation etc.) are contrary to Christian morality but I also believe that people who do not adhere to this moral code or for some reason, in particular circumstances, cannot follow it, should not, in justice, be deprived of these services just because I disapprove. One can easily imagine circumstances where use of these services are the lesser of two evils and thus acceptable.
God, my loving Father and Creator, shows me the way, but if I choose not to follow it or am unable to follow it for some reason, he does not try to compel me in any way.
He gives me total freedom of choice.
I see no contradiction between personally holding strongly to a particular moral code and at the same time allowing freedom of choice to those who do not adhere to this moral code or who at this time are unable to follow it. We should gently teach what we regard as the correct moral code and give compelling reasons for our belief, but striving to compel others to follow our moral code can be unjust.
As Luke tells us; God ‘makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.’
In all these matters we should avoid tunnel vision and take the more just approach as Our Heavenly Father does.