Last updated on July 23, 2022
Question:
Hello sir,
I’m a 15-year-old Christian, who is trying his best to glorify God. I have been following your site for a little while, and it has completely changed my life for the better, so thank you for your service.
As far as I’m aware, in the United States, Roe vs Wade was just overturned and now states have the choice to ban abortion. I decided to see people’s thoughts on social media. What I saw was horrible and saddening. I already knew many people think that abortion is acceptable (I think abortion is horrible), and many would be outraged with this decision. Anyways, I found a comment thread where people were saying horrible things like Christians are murderers, religion should be abandoned, the Bible supports abortion (total nonsense), and other horrible things about Christianity. I understand some people have had bad experiences with Christians who use our religion as some kind of weapon, but it’s horrible that people insult Christians just for believing in Jesus, and thinking that every Christian is bad. After seeing these messages, I uninstalled the app, and I will no longer be using it due to this, along with other reasons
My question for you is, what are your thoughts on this situation, and how can some people be so vile and hateful toward us? Is it due to a lack of understanding?
I know it is off-topic, but again thank you for helping others like me live righteously, and bringing more people towards God. God bless you!
Answer:
Since there are many people involved, it should not be surprising that there are a variety of reasons why people hate religion — Christianity in particular.
Think back to your childhood and you would probably realize that children are generally willing to follow their parents’ rules — up until those rules prevent them from doing something they want to do. Many people see Christianity as a set of rules preventing them from doing the “fun” things in life. ” They ignore the fact that those same rules make life safer and help people get along with each other. “For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:9-10).
Christians oppose abortion because it kills human life. See:
However, some people see abortion as a way of avoiding responsibility. People use contraceptives to have sex without worrying about pregnancy. But contraceptives can and do fail at times so abortion is used as a backup option. Thus, these people see a lack of abortion as people forcing them to take responsibility for their sexual acts.
Then there are those who believe living by a set of rules, such as presented by Christianity, is impossible. These people get upset when people actually live by them and have good lives. It proves the skeptics wrong.
Regardless, you need to remember that Jesus was condemned to death by the Jewish religious community. If it can happen to a sinless, righteous man then it can happen to anyone. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
You can’t stop people from being people, but you can work at not letting it affect you. “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matthew 5:39). Basically, Jesus is saying ignore insults. You don’t have to defend against personal attacks that really do you no harm. You did the right thing. You disconnected from the unreasoning evil. You don’t need that sort of thing in your life.
Response:
I completely agree with you. I agree that abortion is wrong for several reasons. I thank you for your advice on not letting people’s words get to me. In fact, I was nervous to see your reply due to my fear of insults, but now I won’t let those words get to me.