Friday, February 18, 2011

Personhood

Guest post by John Kline Kurtz (my dear hubby)

Person (n): A human being
What makes you a human being? Your honest educated answer will reveal your world-view. At the core of your answer is whether or not you believe that God's final creative acts during the creation were to make man and woman, breathing into them His breath of life. He granted them the means to reproduce after their kind, human beings. Only mankind was created in God's image. Man is special among all the creatures. The Psalmist declares the relationship of the pre-born with God:
For You are He who took Me out of the womb, causing Me to trust while on My mother's breasts. I was cast on You from the womb; You are My God from My mother's belly.
(Psalms 22:9-10 MKJV)
He also declares:
For You have possessed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are marvelous and my soul knows it very well.
(Psalms 139:13-14 MKJV)
Now what God has covered is precious! The same Hebrew word for “cover” is used to describe the protection of important objects and principles, as well as His protection and defense of his people. God holds the pre-born children in a very special place of protection. We should too!

From the time that you were conceived, all of the necessary information to form you was present to begin the development of your body. Recently, in one of my classes at St. Clair Correctional Facility, a student referred to the child at an early stage as a “blob of cells”. I interrupted my student to address that phrase. If he thinks that the baby is just a “blob of cells” then the student himself is still just a “blob of cells”. If the baby is just a blob of cells, then he/she is equivalent to any other growth within the body of the mother. This is an argument which has permitted the “Pro-Choice” folks to choose to eradicate those cells, even if the next day, those cells would have been born a “baby”.

Redefining “Pro-Choice”
The real choice is made before intercourse. “Pro-Choice” should be defined as the “choice” to proceed with intercourse knowing it may produce another person. In other words, make your “choice” before the life of another person is involved.

Moral Laws
From a recent online article, there was a picture of a woman holding a sign declaring “Keep your laws off ..." presumably "my body”. Does she really mean that? Without laws to protect her, she could more easily become the victim of rape, abuse, and murder. Moral laws are good. The moral laws of protecting a baby's rights are meant to protect mother as well. She will be protected from the mental anguish and guilt of an abortion, and she will be protected from the eternal consequences of choosing to destroy her own child.

The same picture showed another woman holding a sign, “I regret my abortion”. This is a deeply moving picture.


(Dueling South Dakota protesters after the 2006 abortion ban passed: AP.)

The horrible cases of rape and incest are usually brought up at this point. But following up one atrocity with another is not the right solution. The mother will be reminded of the tragedy that took place throughout the pregnancy, birth, and subsequent life of the child. But in reality, would the mother be any less tortured by the rape or incest while also feeling the guilt of having aborted the child? We must understand “forgiveness” and “hope” in order to proceed. But our culture has come to ignore these God-given entities. Rather some prefer to hold on to the hatred and bitterness. Some seek to find healing in death and destruction (abortion), rather than in forgiveness and hope. We can change as we look to Jesus’ example of forgiveness and follow Him.

We are not looking to place blame or cause guilt on persons for deeds from the past. Rather, we offer life-giving hope that will produce great rewards for individuals and our land.

Conflicting Laws
An inmate at St. Clair Correctional Facility handed me the laws of our land demonstrating a dual standard about the pre-born child. Currently, if a pregnant mother is murdered, the murderer can be charged with a double homicide, one for mother and one for pre-born child. At the same time, two people, mother and abortionist can plot and execute the murder of the unborn child via an abortion, legally. Premeditated murder is more severe an offense than one that is not. How is abortion different from a woman and her lover plotting to kill her husband? He is an inconvenience as well! This is despicable. The reader should be bothered severely at this contradiction. We need moral laws that are consistent in protecting the life of the pre-born child.

Illegal Abortions
In a recent discussion a person lamented that in the removal of legal abortion people would resort back to dangerous and illegal ways of ending their pregnancy. The laws would again indicate that such activity is on par with murder - abortion would be a criminal act. So we see that there is an urgent need to teach God's word concerning the value of human life. Without the mindset of the people being turned toward life, abortions will continue. Personhood is not just about ending abortion, but is also about educating people of God's promotion of life.

Alabama v. “Roe v. Wade”
The recorded words of the judges and lawyers in the 1973 Supreme Court decision known as “Roe v. Wade” indicate that if the unborn child was protected as a ‘Person’, then the case for legal abortion would have been very difficult to defend. We have gone nearly 40 years and have aborted over 50 million babies, making very little progress towards defending the lives of the pre-born. But now there is more hope. If we return to the pursuit of establishing these children as 'Persons' with the unalienable rights that you and I enjoy, we can protect them from destruction.

Such a pursuit is beginning in Alabama. The Constitution Party of Alabama hosted a small meeting in Birmingham in 2010 to share what was going on in other states in the “Personhood USA” movement. Then in February 2011, The Foundation for Moral Law (Honorable Roy S. Moore, President) hosted a meeting to ignite the effort in Alabama. I attended both meetings and met some wonderful people who are determined to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from person to person by means of promoting a proper knowledge of the preciousness of life in the pre-born. Cal Zastrow and others shared the vision of the 'Personhood USA' organization to help each state make law for the protection of the unborn as 'Persons' from the point of fertilization forward. This drive has two key elements. First, design and submit the correct wording for the Bill to account for the nuances of each state's existing laws. Second, gather the people's signed opinions (in other states, known as petitioning) to submit to the government leaders of the state, reinforcing the public opinion about the importance of protecting the pre-born children’s right to life.

This understanding of personhood needs to be taught in our homes, churches, schools and media. This country was established by the preaching of righteousness throughout America’s churches to the people, who then fought and gave their lives for our freedom. It is now our turn to fight for the freedom of our children.

Wake up Alabama! The South will rise again, but this time it will be in the humility and righteousness of calling our state, country, and world to acknowledge and protect the rights of the pre-born child.

Learn more at www.personhoodusa.com and sign the petition for your state!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Weekend waterfall hike

Our church started an early service yesterday, so we had all afternoon to hike before the super bowl :) The weather was just about perfect, so we enjoyed a nice hike following the little streams on our property and then later on the wildlife management area.

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These two waterfalls are on our property. They are seasonal and run in, around, and through the hillside.

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We also have a little bamboo “forest” growing on our land. We walked to “the rock that Mommy took a nap on”! One time while hiking, I really just needed to lay down and rest, so this place now has this unique name :)

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Beautiful blue sky. Little tree growing out of a crag in a rock.

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We spent some rest time up on a rock plateau. John’s a thinker. Me … not so much.  He was kind enough to shorten his thinking time when I started to get cold from not moving.

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There were more waterfalls to see, you know. John heard this one from up on the plateau rock, so we went and found it. We have been here before, but the water was not running quite as much then. Love how the water was shooting off the end of the rock. OH – and the sound!!! I took a couple of little videos just for the sound.

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Another rest stop – look closely to see Hadden – he’s camouflaged :) Neli LOVED the waterfalls! She was all over them – I half worried that she was going to slip and get stuck somewhere! Crazy dog!

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Same section of waterfall in these two shots – one is just a little closer in.

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This is actually the same rest stop :) By this time, we had hiked 3+ miles and hadn’t brought any snacks besides water.

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This is my favorite little waterfall.

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Oh, I like this one, too.

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Really like this one – my handsome hubby! :) And here’s proof that I was actually along! 

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Our weekend

The weather was beautiful this past weekend, so we enjoyed some time outdoors. We had talked about going for a long hike, but until yesterday, 1/31, it was still hunting season here in Alabama. Part of our long hike is on wildlife management land, so we thought we should go with plan b instead. Savannah really wants to go camping – as in tenting – on our property. While I am all for enjoying the great outdoors, tent camping is not real high on my bucket list (I am still recovering from living in the camping trailer :), but it did seem like a good idea to clear some underbrush. John has been forging ahead clearing trails around and through our property and we join him sometimes. Hadden LOVES to “whack” with a machete.

So, clear we did. Then we gathered rocks for a fire pit. Then on Sunday, John enjoyed cooking burgers on the fire. (have to give him credit here – he took care of all of the fixin’s for the outdoor cooking party!) Later, we had s’mores … it is just not a campfire without s’mores!

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John tending the burgers. Savannah enjoying a burger. She worked hard clearing brush and hauling rocks for the fire pit. She has all kinds of plans for using the camping site now :)

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Lilly and Savannah. A decent picture of Mercy – she normally doesn’t cooperate for pictures.

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This shows why we call him “Happy” – he looks like he is smiling! He belongs to a neighbor, but he spends a lot of time with us. He’s a very sweet dog, so we don’t really mind. Very convenient to have a dog that you don’t have to feed or take care of :)

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Neli is growing up! So is Hadden! Like I said, he loves doing this. He is careful – trust me! If this overly protective mom doesn’t cringe with him using a machete, he is able to handle it :)

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Here, he is taking down a tree. Baseball season is starting soon, so I think he is trying to build up some strength :)

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Finally, we finished burning up the brush. John then tends the fire until it is burned down enough to be safe while the kids and I head back to the warm house for a shower! Don’t worry, I think he actually likes it ;)