The Coathangered IU Pro-Life Rally
All my graduate work was at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. It is a fascinating place, with many cultures from around the world represented. It is also a hotbed of alternative ideas and lifestyles. For example, William and Emily Harris, cohorts of Patty Hearst, were professors there.
Once while there, I heard about a Christian pro-life rally to be held on campus and decided to attend. When I arrived, I noticed on the front row several people who, from their appearance and clothes, looked more alternative than like someone who would have been interested in this rally. But hey, we are not to judge by outward appearance, so I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Once the rally started, though, they showed that they did not deserve the benefit. The rally began with the singing of Amazing Grace. During the singing, these people mocked and parodied the song. When the speaker came up, they began going up and putting coathangers on the stage. Apparently, according to the speaker, the IU administration had told these people that they would be allowed to disrupt the rally by putting one coathanger on the stage every minute or so. Of course, their point was that we were trying to turn back the clock to the "bad old days" when many women allegedly died from back alley abortions. So the IU administration was more concerned about this group's "freedom of speech" to be able to disrupt the rally than about the freedom of the Christian group to speak without disruption.
This illustrates the left's concept of "freedom of speech." They want it for themselves, of course. They want it even to the point of being allowed to disrupt your attempt to speak. But they do not want you to have it if you do not agree with them.
The speaker at the rally told the disrupters to stop what they were doing. He said that if they did not, the rally would be adjourned to the on-campus house of then IU president John Ryan in protest of the IU decision to allow the disruption. Predictably, the disrupters continued their tactics, so the speaker told us to proceed in an orderly fashion to the president's house, where the rally would continue outside.
While we were walking, I wound up walking beside a young lady from the group of disrupters, and we began to talk. She asked me, rather heatedly, why I was so opposed to "a woman's right to choose," and I proceeded to explain it to her: because of my Christian beliefs, I felt that killing unborn children was wrong. I do not remember the details of the conversation, though I think that she said something like "Don't shove your religion down my throat. I don't want it." I then told her that I would pray for her that she would see the light. Then an amazing thing happened. I would have expected her to laugh or mock. Instead, she looked at me with fear in her eyes, and said, "Don't you pray for me!" I responded, "How are you going to stop me?"
Now let's think about that for a while. I especially want all you who share her persuasion to think about it. If God does not exist, if religion is meaningless, if what we believe is a myth or a hoax, then what difference does it make if I pray for you? What harm can it possibly do you? What are you afraid of?
I rather suspect that this young lady's atheism was not quite as confident as she would have had me believe. Perhaps she was afraid that there was a God, and that I might "sic" Him on her. Well, if you believe that there is a God and you fear His judgment, then it behooves you to figure out how to get right with Him rather than try to hide from Him.
Either the rally organizers had warned the administration in advance that they would move the rally like this, or the administration had anticipated it, for there were campus police at the entrance to the president's house. There was no violence, no trespassing, no attempt to storm the president's house. Instead, the speaker stood on the sidewalk out front and continued his talk. Predictably, the disrupters continued trying to disrupt.
At one point during the speech, the speaker took on one of the disrupters. He asked her why she was so opposed to what he was saying. She replied that he was saying that abortion is absolutely wrong, and there were no absolutes. He responded, "What about rape? Is rape absolutely wrong?" She replied, "Of course." He asked, "Why? I thought you said that there were no absolutes." She replied, "Rape is an attack on a woman's body." He replied, "So? Who says that is absolutely wrong, if there are no absolutes?" She answered, "I do." The crowd laughed. He had her and everyone knew it.
This may have changed some of the disrupters minds, but I doubt that it did. Leftists like to belittle conservatives as idiots, but sometimes logical consistency escapes even their enlightened minds.
Political correctness still lives. If you cannot answer their arguments, then silence them. That is the politically correct concept. But God does not call us to be politically correct. He calls us to be committed to Him, to speak the truth with love, and to speak for and defend those who cannot defend themselves.
Once while there, I heard about a Christian pro-life rally to be held on campus and decided to attend. When I arrived, I noticed on the front row several people who, from their appearance and clothes, looked more alternative than like someone who would have been interested in this rally. But hey, we are not to judge by outward appearance, so I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Once the rally started, though, they showed that they did not deserve the benefit. The rally began with the singing of Amazing Grace. During the singing, these people mocked and parodied the song. When the speaker came up, they began going up and putting coathangers on the stage. Apparently, according to the speaker, the IU administration had told these people that they would be allowed to disrupt the rally by putting one coathanger on the stage every minute or so. Of course, their point was that we were trying to turn back the clock to the "bad old days" when many women allegedly died from back alley abortions. So the IU administration was more concerned about this group's "freedom of speech" to be able to disrupt the rally than about the freedom of the Christian group to speak without disruption.
This illustrates the left's concept of "freedom of speech." They want it for themselves, of course. They want it even to the point of being allowed to disrupt your attempt to speak. But they do not want you to have it if you do not agree with them.
The speaker at the rally told the disrupters to stop what they were doing. He said that if they did not, the rally would be adjourned to the on-campus house of then IU president John Ryan in protest of the IU decision to allow the disruption. Predictably, the disrupters continued their tactics, so the speaker told us to proceed in an orderly fashion to the president's house, where the rally would continue outside.
While we were walking, I wound up walking beside a young lady from the group of disrupters, and we began to talk. She asked me, rather heatedly, why I was so opposed to "a woman's right to choose," and I proceeded to explain it to her: because of my Christian beliefs, I felt that killing unborn children was wrong. I do not remember the details of the conversation, though I think that she said something like "Don't shove your religion down my throat. I don't want it." I then told her that I would pray for her that she would see the light. Then an amazing thing happened. I would have expected her to laugh or mock. Instead, she looked at me with fear in her eyes, and said, "Don't you pray for me!" I responded, "How are you going to stop me?"
Now let's think about that for a while. I especially want all you who share her persuasion to think about it. If God does not exist, if religion is meaningless, if what we believe is a myth or a hoax, then what difference does it make if I pray for you? What harm can it possibly do you? What are you afraid of?
I rather suspect that this young lady's atheism was not quite as confident as she would have had me believe. Perhaps she was afraid that there was a God, and that I might "sic" Him on her. Well, if you believe that there is a God and you fear His judgment, then it behooves you to figure out how to get right with Him rather than try to hide from Him.
Either the rally organizers had warned the administration in advance that they would move the rally like this, or the administration had anticipated it, for there were campus police at the entrance to the president's house. There was no violence, no trespassing, no attempt to storm the president's house. Instead, the speaker stood on the sidewalk out front and continued his talk. Predictably, the disrupters continued trying to disrupt.
At one point during the speech, the speaker took on one of the disrupters. He asked her why she was so opposed to what he was saying. She replied that he was saying that abortion is absolutely wrong, and there were no absolutes. He responded, "What about rape? Is rape absolutely wrong?" She replied, "Of course." He asked, "Why? I thought you said that there were no absolutes." She replied, "Rape is an attack on a woman's body." He replied, "So? Who says that is absolutely wrong, if there are no absolutes?" She answered, "I do." The crowd laughed. He had her and everyone knew it.
This may have changed some of the disrupters minds, but I doubt that it did. Leftists like to belittle conservatives as idiots, but sometimes logical consistency escapes even their enlightened minds.
Political correctness still lives. If you cannot answer their arguments, then silence them. That is the politically correct concept. But God does not call us to be politically correct. He calls us to be committed to Him, to speak the truth with love, and to speak for and defend those who cannot defend themselves.
posted by John at 6:25 AM
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