People of the Counter-Revolution

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) has issued a warning to the Supreme Court about the Dodds vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case before the Supreme Court: “I think if you want to see a revolution, go ahead, outlaw Roe v. Wade (federally mandated abortion) and see what the response is.

Further, she says, “Roe v. Wade isn’t just a decision that impacts women, their health and their financial security – it also impacts generations of families.”

She has a point, of course, just not in the way she suspects. When you kill children and grandchildren (which Roe v. Wade allows) the family line suffers. The nation suffers. Moral energy suffers.

Even so, Shaheen asserts, nullify Roe v. Wade, and here comes a revolution.

We will see, of course. Up to 1.5 million abortions/deaths a year and over 62 million total deaths is revolution enough, one would think. And contrary to Sen. Shaheen’s threat, the truth is Christians have been steadfastly in revolt on this issue since 1973 – the year Roe v. Wade was instituted. Instead of slinking away, we bowed our backs and remained a consistent force across decades, saving millions of lives.

Call it the counter-revolt of the people of faith. In Mere Christianity,  C.S. Lewis famously described this counter-revolution:

"Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage."

And how to “sabotage” the enemy-occupied territory of pro-death culture?

1. Stop just talking pro-life and act pro-life. There is room for everybody who wants to play a role: Sidewalk counseling and prayer at the abortion clinics, volunteering for the local Crisis Pregnancy Center, getting involved at the state legislative level to lobby for pro-life issues. 
2. Love. Our presence in the pro-life cause ought to be one of love; in the kingdom, love wins the day. We need to eschew the temptation to hate or get irritated or raise our voices in anger. We are the movement that redeems by active kindness and loves our enemies. 
3. Adopt. Pro-abortionists frequently complain that we love babies in the womb much more than those out of the womb. In Jackson, MS where I live and regularly stand outside an abortion clinic, it is my pro-life companions who are adopting children in crisis (especially those children saved from an abortion).
4. Fast and pray. If any issue demanded the concentrated intercessory impact of fasting and praying – well, this is it. Try it: skip one meal a week and use that time to pray for women in pregnancy crisis. 

One of the songs we have sung outside of the abortion clinic for years is the old spiritual “We Shall Overcome.”

And we will.  

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Dr. Friedeman is the John M. Case Chair of Evangelical Studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary.

Listen to Dr. Friedeman’s podcast – “Life-Changing Discipleship with Matt Friedeman” by clicking HERE.