Blogsville is truly a very big community brimming with intelligent and uber smart folks. Some days I take time to blog whore and one of those days I stumbled on this beautiful post by Adaeze. The title alone snagged my attention and after reading I thought to come up with my own list of "5 things"
It's no secret that I am a Christian not because I was born into a home filled with believers but it is a state of well-being that I chose. My journey learning the teachings of Christ has been amazing and living those teachings have been even more fun as I grow older. As much as my faith, values and beliefs are firmly rooted and guided in that truth of the supremacy of Christ Jesus, certain
SUICIDE
Yes I will.
I however need to draw a line between killing strictly oneself and dragging an entire community/household on a stupid wicked suicidal journey. The suicide in context is killing oneself. I come from a tribe where the belief is "Iku ya ju esin lo" (death is better/quicker/safer than shame).
If a man is in great financial distress or some sort of big mess(whoever could have been responsible is an asides) and feels the only way to end the inevitable shame is to die; by all means let him kill himself. There's no point being a walking zombie and becoming entirely useless to self, society and all if there is no strength to deal with such shame.
I would have said allow him - whatever method works but as long as the death claims only that life.
ABORTION
This is a bit sensitive because even as a believer I have tendencies to want to push for abortion in certain circumstances. I recently saw a movie where a a newly married lady got raped as a virgin before her husband and sadly fertilization occurred afterwards. All the while I kept asking why a doctor was not consulted immediately the deed happened to provide some help flushing out the sperm. I remember Duru of YNCB asking me some months ago to read a post and share my thoughts on the decision made by the FG to deny the boko haram rape victims abortion. I mean after suffering such cruelty those girls are still expected to carry bitterness in their wombs for 9 months and populate the society with more evil! Can there be that freedom here to decide between carrying the pregnancy to full term or going the other route?
BEING A MORALIST
A moralist is simply a person who has strong opinions about what is right and acceptable. Of course these people don't necessarily have to be Christians; they just have a sense of what is right from a legal point of view and they advocate for due punishment when another errs.
If I didn't believe in the message of grace I would support the cause of moralists - that every man does what is right at ALL times and when he slips, he should be punished for it immediately according to the binding laws but for Luke 6:35-38 and John 8:7-11
This is a bit sensitive because even as a believer I have tendencies to want to push for abortion in certain circumstances. I recently saw a movie where a a newly married lady got raped as a virgin before her husband and sadly fertilization occurred afterwards. All the while I kept asking why a doctor was not consulted immediately the deed happened to provide some help flushing out the sperm. I remember Duru of YNCB asking me some months ago to read a post and share my thoughts on the decision made by the FG to deny the boko haram rape victims abortion. I mean after suffering such cruelty those girls are still expected to carry bitterness in their wombs for 9 months and populate the society with more evil! Can there be that freedom here to decide between carrying the pregnancy to full term or going the other route?
BEING A MORALIST
A moralist is simply a person who has strong opinions about what is right and acceptable. Of course these people don't necessarily have to be Christians; they just have a sense of what is right from a legal point of view and they advocate for due punishment when another errs.
If I didn't believe in the message of grace I would support the cause of moralists - that every man does what is right at ALL times and when he slips, he should be punished for it immediately according to the binding laws but for Luke 6:35-38 and John 8:7-11
"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again".
"They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman,“Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
DISOBEYING PARENTS AND AUTHORITY
This is a clearly stated Bible commandment but honestly if I wasn't a Christian I would openly flaunt unreasonable rules, disobey authorities and folks who push certain things on me beyond my capacity but with wisdom and in love still, such matters should be handled.
"They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman,“Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
DISOBEYING PARENTS AND AUTHORITY
This is a clearly stated Bible commandment but honestly if I wasn't a Christian I would openly flaunt unreasonable rules, disobey authorities and folks who push certain things on me beyond my capacity but with wisdom and in love still, such matters should be handled.
EUTHANASIA
This is the act or practice of killing/permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy. Like Adaeze I would also have been all for this. I hate suffering of any kind - physical, emotional,mental. Any suffering. Some people have had to pray fervently for the death of loved ones because they couldn't help their situation and couldn't watch them suffer either. If in their hearts they can silently wish why not just do the act? Pull the plug? Ease their discomfort?
Thank God for the life I now live. No doubt, there are some things I still struggle to understand but each day presents new learning and I am happy to model my life after Christ. There is my list of 5 things...now you can release your breath :-)
Image credit - Daniel Miessler
