God is pro-choice... why?

I was recently viewing a video relating to an attempted protest on a university campus.  Some young people are being arrested for violating the university's instructions to limit their protest to a less-travelled area of the campus.

While I admire the self-control and humble spirit exhibited by the protestors, I wonder about the violence exhibited in the signs they wanted to post.

I'd be more impressed with us Christians if we offered true grace to our fellow sinners rather than condemnation.  How many of us set up homes for unwed mothers where they can find help with the challenges of single parenthood?  How many of us set up homes where the mothers who chose abortion can rest, recover and heal in a loving, grace-filled, non-judgemental atmosphere?  How many Christians set up such homes for young women who will most likely repeat the same thing again and again?

This is what God through Jesus Christ does for all of us every day - yet we Christians fail miserably at extending this Grace to others. It is so much easier to pronounce righteous indignation on 'them' while forgetting our own sins.  We see ourselves as society's fixers rather than fellow sinners in need of constant fixing.

Holy Minstrels

There are some musicians who are blessed with an ability to take the good news message of God right out into the streets, coffee shops, music festivals and even symphony halls of our society.  This is a special gift.  I suspect it happens because these individuals genuinely sing songs and tell stories arising from their souls without preconceived agendas, prejudices or any attempt to manipulate people.

Rather they are doing what all great songwriters and storytellers do.  They are speaking authentically about what they have personally experienced and now believe to be true and strive to live by.  And then they leave us to decide how this fits into our own worldviews.  It's honest.  It shows respect to us as listeners.

I have two illustrations:
This is blues singer Eric Bibb performing from the heart at a Jazz and Blues festival:



And here is a taste of Steve Bell performing with various symphony orchestras in Canada and the US:



Postscript:
The term "witnessing" is often used by evangelical Christians and it usually gets twisted around to involve someone getting in another's face with a big bible, or heralding what others should believe or behave like.  It often leads to Christians trying to put on a show of righteousness, which feels like a show, and leads to Christians being labelled as "phony."  This I believe is all off track and misses the true essense of witnessing as seen in folks like Eric and Steve.

Jesus vs. Jehovah

The first part of this video may look a little confusing with respect to this topic, but hang in there to hear what Dr. Greg Boyd has to say.  This may be dramatically different than 'stuff' you've heard up to now about who God is:

Jesus vs. Jehovah (Greg Boyd at The Meeting House | 5-16-10) from WHChurch on Vimeo.