I felt uneasy with Shea's conclusions and then I found this quote from Kathy Shaidle - I find it particularly apt, my husband disagreed very strongly and we even had quite the "discussion" about it.
"When we blithely say that "we don't know what we would do under those circumstances", we make cowardice our default position." Kathy Shaidle, Five Feet of Fury
My thoughts also, Julie. There’s a message from Ron Paul on the internet about protecting life. In the message, Paul relates that when he was a young med student he walked in on a late-term abortion. A crying, breathing, baby was placed in a bucket. Paul, obviously very disturbed by the incident, tells how he walked out of the room and down the hall only to witness a birth where ten doctors were striving to save the life of a premature infant. I was not only outraged by the horrendous act of disposing a living, breathing, and crying baby in a bucket, without any human warmth, but also outraged that Paul didn’t protect that aborted baby from dying alone. He turned his back. How many of us would have scooped that dying baby up in our arms?
Cowardice could only become the default position if we were certain beforehand that we would not act on behalf of the one we should defend, but when one says 'I don't know what I would do...', it is a statement of uncertainty, not certainty. In addition, simply because one says that they know what they would do does not guarantee they would actually do it. It is easy to point fingers when you are not the one who has ever been in that position.
While I think the quote is inaccurate, I think it is trying to get to something that is true, but just needs some rephrasing. Perhaps the end could be '...we reinforce a habit of indecision' or '...we do not prepare ourselves properly for those situations'?
Dennis, Thanks for your thoughtful post. I think we should approach doing good with the same zeal that the wicked use in their evil acts which makes me think that cowardice is a form of sloth. The words of Jesus in Luke 19:43-44 have been particularly apt and prophetic to me about abortion, and even child abuse: “For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” Our society has rejected Jesus and has become one of devastation and despair. We lack moral virtue. For the secularist, a child is a chance evolutionary product; for the Christian, a child is a product of God’s love and should be cherished. Only through the grace of God are we enabled to do His will and perform heroic and sacrificial deeds. For those secularists who do so, their deeds always lead back to the Source.
I think I may be prepared to perform heroic deeds, but God presented me recently with a situation where I proved to be a coward. Specifically, I ran over a squirrel and left it writhing in the street. I should have gone back and run over it a second time to prevent any further suffering, but I chose not to and I am ashamed. So yes, your point(s) are valid to me.
I felt uneasy with Shea's conclusions and then I found this quote from Kathy Shaidle - I find it particularly apt, my husband disagreed very strongly and we even had quite the "discussion" about it.
ReplyDelete"When we blithely say that "we don't know what we would do under those circumstances", we make cowardice our default position."
Kathy Shaidle, Five Feet of Fury
My thoughts also, Julie. There’s a message from Ron Paul on the internet about protecting life. In the message, Paul relates that when he was a young med student he walked in on a late-term abortion. A crying, breathing, baby was placed in a bucket. Paul, obviously very disturbed by the incident, tells how he walked out of the room and down the hall only to witness a birth where ten doctors were striving to save the life of a premature infant. I was not only outraged by the horrendous act of disposing a living, breathing, and crying baby in a bucket, without any human warmth, but also outraged that Paul didn’t protect that aborted baby from dying alone. He turned his back. How many of us would have scooped that dying baby up in our arms?
ReplyDeleteHello Julie and Marilyn,
ReplyDeleteCowardice could only become the default position if we were certain beforehand that we would not act on behalf of the one we should defend, but when one says 'I don't know what I would do...', it is a statement of uncertainty, not certainty. In addition, simply because one says that they know what they would do does not guarantee they would actually do it. It is easy to point fingers when you are not the one who has ever been in that position.
While I think the quote is inaccurate, I think it is trying to get to something that is true, but just needs some rephrasing. Perhaps the end could be '...we reinforce a habit of indecision' or '...we do not prepare ourselves properly for those situations'?
What do you think?
Dennis,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful post. I think we should approach doing good with the same zeal that the wicked use in their evil acts which makes me think that cowardice is a form of sloth. The words of Jesus in Luke 19:43-44 have been particularly apt and prophetic to me about abortion, and even child abuse: “For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” Our society has rejected Jesus and has become one of devastation and despair. We lack moral virtue. For the secularist, a child is a chance evolutionary product; for the Christian, a child is a product of God’s love and should be cherished. Only through the grace of God are we enabled to do His will and perform heroic and sacrificial deeds. For those secularists who do so, their deeds always lead back to the Source.
I think I may be prepared to perform heroic deeds, but God presented me recently with a situation where I proved to be a coward. Specifically, I ran over a squirrel and left it writhing in the street. I should have gone back and run over it a second time to prevent any further suffering, but I chose not to and I am ashamed. So yes, your point(s) are valid to me.