Archive for the ‘Abortion Stories’ Category
The purpose of this posting is to remind you that three years ago I was able to complete all the requirements for my doctoral program including the writing of my doctoral dissertation thesis. The title of my dissertation was: “From Pro-life to Pro-choice: A Dramatic Shift in Seventh-day Attitudes Towards Abortion.” This goal was reached on June 29, 2007.
Disclaimer:
The display of the SDA logo above should not be misinterpreted as an official endorsement of this article by the SDA church!
Your Imput is Needed
The main sources for the material utilized came from the pages of Ministry, Spectrum, Adventist Today, and several books authored by SDA scholars. It is possible that I might have included your opinion on this controversial issue. If you have published on the subject in the above mentioned venues, you may want to examine my report to determine the accuracy of what I have written.
You may contact me by E-mail at nicsamojluk@roadrunner.com, or you can post your opinion on this forum.
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As I was leafing through the August/2006 copy of the National Geographic Magazine I noticed the statistics showing the odds of dying of any cause in the United States.
The odds are as follows in descending order:
Heart disease: 1 in 5
Cancer: 1 in 7
Stroke: 1 in 24
Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 84 Suicide: 1 in 119
Falling: 1 in 218
Firearm assault: 1 in 314
Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626
Drowning: 1 in 1,008
Motorcycle accident: 1 in 1,020
Fire or smoke: 1 in 1,113
Bycycling accident: 1 in 4,919
Air/space accident: 1 in 5,051
Accidental firearm discharge: 1 in 5,134
Accidental electrocution: 1 in 9,968
Alcohol poisoning: 1 in 10,048
Hot weather: 1 in 13,729
Hornet wasp, or bee sting: 1 in 56,789
Legal execution: 1 in 62,468
Lightning: 1 in 79,746
Earthquake: 1 in 117,127
Flood: 1 in 144,156
Fireworks discharge: 1 in 340,733
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“Archibishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho of the coastal city of Recife announced that the Vatican was excommunicating the family of a local girl who had been raped and impregnated with twins by her stepfather, because they had chosen to have the girl undergo an abortion.
The Church excommunicated the doctors who performed the procedure as well. “God’s laws,” said the archbishop, dictate that abortion is a sin and that transgressors are no longer welcome in the Roman Catholic Church. “They took the life of an innocent,” Sobrinho told TIME in a telephone interview.
“Abortion is much more serious than killing an adult. An adult may or may not be an innocent, but an unborn child is most definitely innocent. Taking that life cannot be ignored.” …”
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1883598,00.html#ixzz0qDKyZ4BS
I did receive an Email communication from Juanita Y. Mayes informing me that there is a pro-life Seventh-day Adventist member of the Hagerstown SDA Church who is also a U.S. Congressman. I decided to investigate this through the Internet and managed to verify the accuracy of this information. I want to share with the readers of this forum what I discovered. Here is how Roscoe Bartlett is described:
“A devout Seventh-day Adventist, strong moral values and spirtual faith have had a major influence on his life and education. He credits his early education in a one-room schoolhouse for preparing him for his later academic accomplishments. Bartlett was tested out of high school the fall of his senior year and began attending Columbia Union College at age 17 where he majored in theology and biology and minored in chemistry with the intention of becoming a minister. Considered too young for the ministry after receiving his bachelor’s degree, Bartlett was encouraged to attend graduate school at theUniversity of Maryland at College Park. He studied anatomy, physiology and zoology earning a Master’s degree in human physiology. Bartlett was then hired as a U-MD faculty member and taught anatomy, physiology and zoology while simultaneously earning a Ph.D. in human physiology.”
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Nathan Christian is not his real name, but he prefers to remain anonymous, and I respect his preference. He is currently faced with a moral dilemma, which he has agreed to share with the readers of this forum with the hope that somebody might help him resolve his mental conflict.
He was born a Catholic. His mother was a devout religious woman until the last day of her life. Not so his dad, who went to church only for special occasions, like weddings and funerals. Nathan became acquainted with the SDA religious beliefs through a neighbor who shared with him some SDA magazines and books. He especially enjoyed reading a book by Ellen White entitled The Desire of Ages and Steps to Christ. He is currently reading The Great Controversy written by the same author.
He is convinced that the correct day for worship is the Seventh Day of the week, as expressed in the Decalogue instead of Sunday. He has managed to attend some of the SDA services on a couple of Sabbaths, but he has been unable to secure all Sabbaths off without risking loosing his job and the nice retirement package that goes with it. He would like to be baptized and thus join the Remnant Church, which keeps God’s Commandments and has the Testimony of Jesus, but he has been told that working on Sabbaths makes him ineligible for membership in the SDA organization.
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Introduction
I want to share with you a letter I wrote some years ago to the Adventist Review following the publication of an article entitled, “The Sabbath and Public Life.” This was originally published in the SDA Forum.
Dear Editor,
I read with great interest your latest editorial entitled “The Sabbath and Public Life” in the September 14, 2000 issue of the Adventist Review because, coming from the Sancta Sanctorum of the Adventist media, it represents an impressive vignette of SDA reporting. Our church has valiantly stood in defense of Sabbath observance for nearly two centuries, and I believe that we must continue in this fine Adventist tradition.
The Good Book states that the Sabbath is a sign pointing to the fact that we belong to God.
Nevertheless, the most elaborate sign is useless if what it points at is not behind the sign. If an ambulance driver, for example, sees a conspicuously placed sign reading “Hospital Emergency,” but there is no hospital behind the sign, the patient he is carrying may die for lack of medical care.
The Sabbath is a sign pointing to God and to what he requires from us as expressed through the other nine Commandments. We have done quite well as a church in preserving the Sabbath sign in good condition of repair. How about some of the other Commandments?
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“How long have you had these stains on your hands?” My devout catholic friend inquired.
I told him I had noticed them at least a decade ago, and I added that their size and coloration had become more conspicuous with the passage of time, especially on my right hand.
“They look to me like a case of stigmata,” my friend stated with some assurance. “If I am correct in my assessment, then you might be considered among the most privileged members of Christendom. You might even become a candidate for beatification and even sainthood two or three centuries after you die,” he added with some excitement. “I know that your church does not believe in the miracle of stigmata; but, perhaps God is trying to break through to your denomination. You should consult a priest; but first, you might have your doctor analyze these stains to insure they match your own genetic code.”
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I am reproducing here an article I wrote several years ago because I feel that it is as relevant today as it was then:
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I am borrowing the title of this article from the latest issue of the “AIMS Journal,”the official publication of the “Adventist International Medical Society,” which dedicated the entire issue to the topic of smoking cessation program sponsored by the church for many decades. The editors of this prestigious publication, of course, borrowed their title from a book published by the eminent nonagenarian Harold Shryock, a former dean of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, approximately half a century ago, whose books I had read when I was a teenager, but had the pleasure of meeting only a few years ago.
Humble Beginnings. As I read this latest issue of the “Aims Journal,” I could not avoid a feeling of amazement at how God could utilize such small beginnings in order to benefit millions of smokers around the world who felt powerless in their efforts to quit smoking on their own. The magazine includes the story of one individual, a Los Angeles lawyer named Lauren Wright, who was able to rid himself of this addictive habit “cold turkey,” but, as you can imagine, he is rather an exceptional case. Most smokers need the intervention of physicians and psychologists experienced in the smoking cessation programs, and this is where SDA physicians have provided a great service to humanity.
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Paulette says:
“I grew up in the 70’s. Our high school motto was sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. I believed that no one had a right to tell me what I could or could not do with my body.
When I was 23, I got pregnant by an older man who I was seeing. He was totally against me having a baby. That was my first abortion. After the abortion, I went on the pill. I remember vividly thinking that I forgot how to laugh. I thought it was the pill. When I was 33, I got pregnant again. It was a one-night stand with a former boyfriend. I was dating my husband at the time as well and knew I couldn’t have the baby because he would know that it wasn’t his because we were using protection. I thought about pretending it was his, but knew I couldn’t, so I had my second abortion. I cried an ocean of tears, but couldn’t see a way out beside the abortion.
Fast forward. I’m now married to the most wonderful man in the world. I get pregnant with our first child. I miscarry. I had never told him because I thought he would think I was a tramp. I was ensconced in shame and guilt. I had to lie to the physicians. The lying continued when I had my second miscarry. Because I was still carrying this dark secret, I refused to try again. I was 38 & 39 years old, respectively, when I miscarried.
After much personal darkness and anguish, I finally had a therapist help me tell my husband. I was so fearful of his reaction to me because I loathed myself for killing two of my children. I look back and wonder if I had seen an ultrasound, how differently this would have played out. I really bought into the “it’s only tissue” story. That was until I saw our first in an ultrasound at eight weeks, shortly before I miscarried. He had fingers and my husband is positive he waved at us.
Thanks be to God! I attended a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat for post-abortive healing. I was there with other women – and men – who were in despair because of abortion.
I thank you for your website – that we are able to tell the “other side of the story.” Growing up I only was given the pro-choice side. Now I can tell you, from personal experience, my pro-life side.”
Source:
http://www.priestsforlife.org/testimonies/testimony.aspx?ID=1703
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