The Principle Applied
A fervent young man replied to our last devotional with only two sentences. I’ll keep his identity private, but I thought he made an excellent point, but unfortunately didn’t apply it. His first sentence read: "I refuse to vote for a man who is responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people around the world."
Perhaps you’ve heard this response, too. I’ve included my response to our friend below for your consideration, complete with facts and figures about current casualties from the war in Iraq (from www.dod.gov, http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/, and http://icasualties.org/oif/Civ.aspx), as well as the current death toll from reported, legalized abortions in the United States since Roe v. Wade since 1973 (from http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html).
Please read it. You will be shocked at the numbers. I wept.
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Hey, […]!
Thanks so much for your feedback! I have a few thoughts to offer, if I may?
FIRST, I don't think I explicitly endorsed either candidate anywhere in the email. Nor did any of the links which I included. The flyer merely presents where the candidates stand. If you support gay marriage, partial-birth abortion, legislating from the bench, the abortion pill, and state-funded abortions, then vote Kerry. If you don't, vote Bush. Vote your principle, not your party.
SECOND, about your decision process: you make an excellent point. I agree that the killing of innocent lives is an evil that should be stopped. So:
1. The CURRENT DEATH TOLL for the war in Iraq (03/19/2003=590 days) including all military and civilian casualties is 17,874. That's about 30 innocent lives per day. That's pretty bad, and Kerry wants to end it.
On the other hand...
2. The CURRENT DEATH TOLL from legalized abortions in America since the Roe vs. Wade supreme court decision (01/21/1973=11,605 days) is upwards of 40 million1. That's about 3,447 2 innocent lives per day. (114 times the amount per day in Iraq.) That's a horrendous amount of innocent lives, and Bush aims to end it. Kerry, on the other hand, wants to "move it to the mainstream."
Based on your principle: "I refuse to vote for a man who is responsible for the death of innocent people," you may want to rethink your position. It's just logic: 3,000 is more than 30. Abortion is worse, so vote your principle. (Check out the "Ballot Box Blues" link below--it's really good. It's a conversation between two college students and a teacher about choosing between two candidates that are BOTH less than ideal.)
I would bet money that if you read the "Ballot Box Blues" article and the two others I included, you'd find yourself agreeing. Hey, just give it a shot...I know you want to make the right decision! Please write back and let me know. I'll look forward to learning from you. :)
Bottom line, my friend, is this: 30 vs. 3,774. Vote your principle-not your party.
FOURTH 3 and lastly, regardless of the above, I'm sorry to see you go. I treasure the opportunity to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. I have lost that privilege. If at any time you would like to be added to the list again, please do not hesitate to let me know. I would love the opportunity to serve you again.
Thanks again for your input, […]. God bless and take care!
Aron Gahagan
ONELIFE
=====
If you didn’t check out the ‘For Further Reading’ section on the devotional last week, I’d highly recommend doing so before you go to the polls tomorrow.
Bottom line, our choice is between a man whose choices have unintentionally lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent people around the world, or a man who has promised to intentionally condone the killing of 5,623,7884 innocent people over the course of a single term in the white house.
Yes. 5,623,788.
And that’s if he doesn’t succeed in his goal of “moving abortion away from the fringes of medical practice and into the mainstream.”
For the sake of millions of unborn children please don’t forget to vote. And tell others.
Perhaps you’ve heard this response, too. I’ve included my response to our friend below for your consideration, complete with facts and figures about current casualties from the war in Iraq (from www.dod.gov, http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/, and http://icasualties.org/oif/Civ.aspx), as well as the current death toll from reported, legalized abortions in the United States since Roe v. Wade since 1973 (from http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html).
Please read it. You will be shocked at the numbers. I wept.
=====
Hey, […]!
Thanks so much for your feedback! I have a few thoughts to offer, if I may?
FIRST, I don't think I explicitly endorsed either candidate anywhere in the email. Nor did any of the links which I included. The flyer merely presents where the candidates stand. If you support gay marriage, partial-birth abortion, legislating from the bench, the abortion pill, and state-funded abortions, then vote Kerry. If you don't, vote Bush. Vote your principle, not your party.
SECOND, about your decision process: you make an excellent point. I agree that the killing of innocent lives is an evil that should be stopped. So:
1. The CURRENT DEATH TOLL for the war in Iraq (03/19/2003=590 days) including all military and civilian casualties is 17,874. That's about 30 innocent lives per day. That's pretty bad, and Kerry wants to end it.
On the other hand...
2. The CURRENT DEATH TOLL from legalized abortions in America since the Roe vs. Wade supreme court decision (01/21/1973=11,605 days) is upwards of 40 million1. That's about 3,447 2 innocent lives per day. (114 times the amount per day in Iraq.) That's a horrendous amount of innocent lives, and Bush aims to end it. Kerry, on the other hand, wants to "move it to the mainstream."
Based on your principle: "I refuse to vote for a man who is responsible for the death of innocent people," you may want to rethink your position. It's just logic: 3,000 is more than 30. Abortion is worse, so vote your principle. (Check out the "Ballot Box Blues" link below--it's really good. It's a conversation between two college students and a teacher about choosing between two candidates that are BOTH less than ideal.)
I would bet money that if you read the "Ballot Box Blues" article and the two others I included, you'd find yourself agreeing. Hey, just give it a shot...I know you want to make the right decision! Please write back and let me know. I'll look forward to learning from you. :)
Bottom line, my friend, is this: 30 vs. 3,774. Vote your principle-not your party.
FOURTH 3 and lastly, regardless of the above, I'm sorry to see you go. I treasure the opportunity to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. I have lost that privilege. If at any time you would like to be added to the list again, please do not hesitate to let me know. I would love the opportunity to serve you again.
Thanks again for your input, […]. God bless and take care!
Aron Gahagan
ONELIFE
=====
If you didn’t check out the ‘For Further Reading’ section on the devotional last week, I’d highly recommend doing so before you go to the polls tomorrow.
Bottom line, our choice is between a man whose choices have unintentionally lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent people around the world, or a man who has promised to intentionally condone the killing of 5,623,7884 innocent people over the course of a single term in the white house.
Yes. 5,623,788.
And that’s if he doesn’t succeed in his goal of “moving abortion away from the fringes of medical practice and into the mainstream.”
For the sake of millions of unborn children please don’t forget to vote. And tell others.
1I got the actual number this evening [10/31/2004 10:51 PM] from www.nrlc.org: 44,670,812. That changes our numbers a little: that’s 3,849 per day, which is 128 times the daily average of 30 in Iraq.
21/22/1973-10/31/2004=11,605 days, 44,670,812 abortions/11,605 days = 3,849 daily average
3I apparently cannot count to four without skipping three. (Feel free to check my math.)
41/20/2005-1/20/2009=1,461 days * 3,849 abortions/day = 5,623,788 abortions in one term at the current rate.
posted by Unknown at 10/31/2004 11:20:00 AM
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