Author: vchininin

I Stand Up For Adolf Hitler’s and Cecile Richards’ Right To Life

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Angela Chininin Buele

Prepare to Have Your Non-judgmental Standards Shaken Up

If only we had known how much death would result from one birth.  If only we could have seen it – and stopped it.  Would you have stopped the nightmare before it started?  I wouldn’t have (either time), and I’ll tell you why.

I feel anger swell up in me when I hear a news report of someone being hurt or neglected.  Sometimes it causes me to have a very physical response, which is like a surging sensation that urges me to enact change to rescue the victim or punish the perpetrator.  To the best of my understanding, and thanks to common grace, this is not an unusual phenomenon.  It is also quite normal to think that our emotions are an appropriate guide for just action.  This could not be farther from the truth.  Instead, when something harmful happens, it’s like a rock is thrown through the glassy surface of a serene lake, and our emotional reactions are like ripples in the water’s surface that obscure the reflection of God’s glory.  Just as James says, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  Our anger does not cause us to be righteous.  But, God’s righteousness will cause us to become angry in some circumstances, and that is a completely different – and sanctifying – experience.

Just as parents are required to apply discipline with love in order to raise the child to seek the God of Life, we are called to be agents of light, seeking the good of the city where the Lord has us.  And when that brings the conflict of protecting some people from others while loving them all and pointing them all to eternal hope in the Savior, Jesus, we are often at a loss to do this properly since we lean more on the “good guy” and “bad guy” labels than we might realize.  But this is exactly where we need to wrestle as Jacob did and hold on tight until the Lord grants holiness in the merging of just redirection and steadfast grace and hope.  I’ve been parenting for just a few years now, but I see that showing compassion to the offending child (not just to the offended child) is both my greatest ambition and my greatest weakness in raising my children, whom I love with a rather giddy affection.  But the crazy thing is that I am called to show that very same just redirection and steadfast grace to those for who I have no natural delight or affection.   Would you say you would find that an appalling proposition too?   Well, it’s a good thing we have the gospel to remind us of our own debt of sin.

If we were to apply vigilante justice to prevent heartache, would we not have to erase Saul the persecutor, and with him would go Paul the missionary and teacher.  Adolf Hitler’s life is over, and we see no redemptive fruit within his personal life. But we may praise God that Cecile Richards is still alive and still has the opportunity to repent of her complicity in the systematic massacre of millions of humans of all races.  We must pray for her, my friends, to be justly redirected and for her to be changed by the steadfast grace and hope found only in Christ.

Key Question: Can you see both Adolf Hitler and Cecile Richards with compassion, or have you judged one or both to be without hope?

Unshakable Truth: “Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” Ephesians 2:12-13.

Hitler, Richards, and I have one thing in common – our need for forgiveness.  My awareness, in light of their apparent unawareness of this fact, must cause me pain, not pride; sadness, not satisfaction.   I wouldn’t not wish for one who champions death to be aborted simply because that would make me a hypocrite in my own anti-abortion position, but I stand up for the right to life of all pro-choice proponents because they are God’s creations and can be brought as near as a precious brother or sister by the blood of Christ.

The Real Choice: Will you love the unlovable, or will you forget that, just as Cecile Richards was once a fragile unborn baby like those she refuses to protect, you, too, were a hopeless and rebellious sinner?

A Labor of Love: The Call to Pray for Pro-choice Mothers

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Angela Chininin Buele
Someone I genuinely love once sported a maternity t-shirt that had two tiny foot prints positioned over the belly and the words “pro-choice” across the chest.  I came across this photo on Facebook so I was able to take a peek into the cross-section of responses posted.  This young woman seemed to have a number of friends who made the kind of conflicted comments that communicated their discomfort with her splashing her “right” to abort on very fabric where her child’s kicks reverberated.  I remember thinking of it as the most heartbreaking veiled threat that a mother could make to the very child her body nurtured.

When my first daughter was born, this friend and I were able to visit briefly, and something she said seemed to betray her own longing for a daughter. I’m not sure she heard me, but I pointed out that she could still have one.

Almost exactly two years later, her daughter was born – prematurely and she is, by the grace of God, developing well.  This precious little girl is a gift from the Lord, who has entrusted her to the care of a mother who made herself the poster-woman for proud pregnant abortion activists.

It pains me to ask:  What happens when this child finds her mother’s maternity pro-choice shirt in a drawer or comes across the picture or hears her mother speak about her passion for the availability of abortion?  I once posed a similar question on social media to find out how people tell their own children that they are pro-choice.  Would you believe that most of the people who responded seemed to think I was either stupid, cruel or both for suggesting that anyone would talk to a child about abortion?  I don’t recall any shame or remorse regarding their pro-choice position, but there was a clear disgust for insinuation that their children be told about that.

So how does that work?  Babies and children are told that they grew big and strong in mommy’s tummy, and adolescents are told that if they get (or get someone) pregnant, there are just some cells to scrape out of the uterus?  Is that really the thought process and plan?  What if they put two and two together?  And how does that culminate on Mother’s Day?  Does the card read, “You alone have the right to choose if a child within your uterus may continue living there.  I’m so glad I made the cut”?  I have to think that even pro-choice mothers would want their children to be confident in their love for them.  Unfortunately, viewing even one child as unwanted and expendable thoroughly undermines the desire to love any other child unconditionally.

Key Question:  How can pro-lifers pray for women who raise children as they advocate for abortion rights?

Unshakable Truth: “Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?…He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.  Praise the Lord!”  Psalm 113:5-6, 9

Joy, the primary byproduct of gratitude, is what is missing in the abortion rights movement.  So we need to pray for the joy of the Lord to fill the hearts of pro-choice women, especially those who are mothers.  We must pray that they will have joy in God’s purpose and timing for bringing life into the womb.  And we must pray for their joy in understanding that all children are unique and delightful gifts, given to bless their mothers and fathers.

The Real Choice: Pro-lifer, will you join me in praying for the mother I mentioned above to be given unending joy by the Lord of Life?

Lenín Moreno y el futuro de la Pacha Mama

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Victor Chininin Buele

El otro día (la manera en la que por alguna razón me gusta referirme a eventos que pasaron ya hace algún tiempo) estaba regresando a casa de una aventura laboral en Tailandia.  Mientras esperaba por el tercer pájaro hacia la metrópolis de Nueva York tomé una foto de la sala de espera en Ámsterdam para recordar al aeropuerto.  Al revisar la fotografía observé a un personaje muy sufrido en la esquina.  Quizá estaba con dolor o con cansancio.  No lo sé.  Y vi a una compañera fiel a su lado alentándolo.  Y pensé cuánto quisiera la oposición al oficialismo una foto como aquélla para aprovecharse de la apariencia de sufrimiento para sus motivos políticos.  Me levanté y decidí saludarlo.  Muchas veces nosotros pensamos que quienes han tenido el privilegio de dirigir a nuestro país pertenecen a otro mundo.  Pero son seres humanos como nosotros.  Entonces lo hice.  Y fui sorprendido por una humildad que me demostró que estaba conversando con un gigante.  Al agradecerle por su labor para la inclusión social no quiso recibir alabanza sino que empezó a dar crédito a otros.  La humildad de Jesucristo mostrada en lugares como Filipenses 2 es una humildad que nos enseña que quien en verdad es grande debe mostrar una actitud humilde considerando al otro como más importante que a sí mismo, no buscando cada uno sus propios intereses, sino más bien los intereses de los demás.

Esta semana se ha hecho pública la noticia que este gigante es uno de los candidatos presidenciales en Ecuador.  Esto amerita un poco de reflexión.

No me gusta “etiquetar” a las personas.  Pienso que crear categorías en las cuales ponemos a las personas no nos ayuda a llegar a la unidad verdadera.  Pero como esta reflexión tiene la política en su corazón no puedo evitar el uso de ciertos sustantivos y adjetivos.  Por ello pido mis disculpas al lector.

No soy correísta.  No soy de la oposición tampoco ya que una de las manifestaciones más trágicas de la falta de unidad de los ecuatorianos es que no pueden encontrar un candidato viable y que pueda hacer una oposición efectiva.

Ecuador ha cambiado mucho en la llamada década ganada.  Tenemos excelente infraestructura.  Tenemos mayor acceso a centros educativos que parecen demostrar  calidad.  Tenemos orden.  Podemos ir a realizar trámites públicos sin tener la necesidad de llevar ofrendas de amor a los funcionarios para suplicarles  su atención.  El otro día con mi esposa nos encontrábamos en el mercado y una señora nos contaba con gran emoción como sus hijos que no hubieran tenido acceso a educación superior eran becados.  Debemos ser sensatos y dar gracias.  Claro – es muy fácil empezar a hablar de cuestiones económicas y del uso del presupuesto nacional y de la caída del precio del petróleo y de la nueva matriz productiva y todo eso.  Pero estas cuestiones económicas no me preocupan tanto.  En realidad, cualquier situación mundial que nos ayude a ver que no podemos depender solamente del petróleo es algo útil para nuestro país.  No puedo ver una otra manera de maximizar nuestra percepción de la necesidad de cambiar la matriz productiva.

La razón que me lleva a escribir esto es una de las enseñanzas del carpintero de Nazaret.  Mateo reporta en el capítulo 16 de su evangelio que Jesús preguntó a sus discípulos «Pues ¿qué provecho obtendrá un hombre si gana el mundo entero, pero pierde su alma?»

El mismo licenciado Moreno hizo una pregunta que nos lleva a la misma interrogante en su carta a Alianza PAÍS del 30 de marzo de 2016 desde Ginebra.  «Debemos ser autocríticos y reconocer que en estos años no hemos logrado llevar elementos inspiradores suficientes para cambiar el YO interior de nuestro pueblo […]  Nuestras estrategias de comunicación y de formación política no han sido suficiente para transformar al individuo».

No debemos mentir.  Tenemos dificultades grandes con nuestra identidad.

No somos católicos.  Lo que se llama catolicismo en Ecuador no es nada más que el resultado de muchas mezclas ancestrales y actuales.  Cuando se impusieron estas enseñanzas a nuestros antepasados, ellos buscaron maneras de seguir adorando a sus dioses de antaño delante de los ojos de la malvada inquisición.  No es esto diferente que cuando vinieron los Incas a hablar de la adoración al sol y a su Inca años antes que los conquistadores.  Los artículos 71 al 74 de la Constitución dan derechos a la Pacha Mama, “donde se reproduce y realiza la vida”.  Mientras una generación se afana por ser católica y seguir el camino de El Cisne a Loja trayendo a su objeto de adoración, la otra utiliza el 20 de agosto para otras actividades mientras dejan a los curuchupas y a las abuelitas que vayan a seguir sus tradiciones incluso quizá enviando a los niños con ellos. No podemos ocultar que la vida del catolicismo en Ecuador está luchando contra un viento fuerte.  No somos ateos, ni socialistas laicos.  A pesar que muchos digan lo que digan acerca de la religión popular descrita en el párrafo anterior, no son en realidad ateos.  El ser humano siempre adora a algo y nosotros mismos somos excelentes ídolos.  También ideologías generan los mismos comportamientos que haría la religión.  Nos gusta copiar las ideas de otros, aprendemos de Nietzche, del Che, de Chávez, de Correa.  Pasamos horas siendo esclavos de las máquinas de bolsillo que contribuyen a la difusión de las ideologías de moda.

Nuestra juventud tiene acceso al mundo.  Tiene acceso a cantidades inigualables de conocimiento y perspectivas. ¿Qué provecho obtendremos si ganamos toda la prosperidad posible pero perdemos nuestra alma? ¿Qué Revolución existe si cambia la infrastructura pero no los corazones?

Sin Reforma no hay Revolución.

Los incas no pudieron ganar nuestro corazón.  Los católicos tampoco pudieron ganar nuestro corazón.  Los políticos del pasado no pudieron ganar nuestro corazón.  La Revolución Ciudadana no pudo ganar nuestro corazón.

Y ahora viene el momento de elegir nuevamente.  Observando la situación actual tengo certeza que Lenín Moreno será nuestro presidente.  Y de hecho probablemente consideraré seriamente hacer el viaje a Chicago para votar por él.  Le debo mucha gratitud por su labor y pienso que hará mucho bien por nuestro país.  Pero tal como ha ocurrido con el Mashi, él no es nuestro mesías, nuestro salvador.  Y no podrá cambiar nuestro corazón.

Solamente el evangelio de Jesús – su verdad inigualable y su poder – pueden hacerlo.  ¿No es hora de empezar esta Reforma?  No nos llevamos bien, solamente nos unimos por el fútbol y por un momento, peleamos, nos tenemos envidia, robamos, matamos, nos insultamos, nos aprovechamos de la desgracia ajena, queremos que nuestros opositores reciban lo peor de lo peor, salimos a protestar, nos escondemos de protestar por el miedo.  Tenemos en nuestras almas un agujero muy grande que siglos de opresión ideológica no han podido llenar.  La Pacha Mama no tiene dones divinos para ser donde se reproduce y realiza la vida.  Cuando pelamos la cebolla que es nuestra fe, llegamos siempre a este ídolo ancestral.  Los dejo con las palabras del escritor de la Carta a los Hebreos, capítulo 11: «Pero en realidad, anhelan una patria mejor, es decir, la celestial. Por lo cual, Dios no se avergüenza de ser llamado Dios de ellos, pues les ha preparado una ciudad». No perdamos nuestra alma.  Hay esperanza.  Hay futuro.  Hay una patria mejor.  ¿Avanzamos?

El evangelio ofrece libertad.  Pero no lo conocemos.  Empezaremos allí la próxima vez.

¡Hasta la victoria siempre!

Sex as the Litmus Test For Life

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Angela Chininin Buele

How Feeling Good Has Been Confused for the Reason for Living

Sex used to be commonly understood as the marital rite of passage that it is-a thrilling new secret adventure, entwining a husband and a wife into one heart, mind, and body.  It has been increasingly shoved into the limelight, however, and even been marketed as a civilly protected right.  Any­­ economist can tell you that overstock drives prices down, and so it is now that we have lots and lots of cheap sex all around us.  Not only has this overexposure led to heart-wrenching depravity of how, with whom, and how much; but even the dulling of passion strips this glorious intimacy of its due power.

I am often mocked when I highlight the side effects of the Industrial Revolution. The great thing about starting a “what if” conversation is that it should make both parties think more about what is, what could have been , and how they both might merge in the future.  So, I think that the Industrial Revolution set us on a devastating course of producing cheap products (thus losing the capacity and drive to be dedicated craftsmen), overconsuming and wasting these products (as cheap things break, no one is upset when more stylish, cheap things come out to replace them), and diminishing the values of contentment and stewardship.  There you go.  That’s my opinion, and I’m happy to defend or amend it as any pushback would warrant.

The truth is, advancement in technology has been used in many ways to spread sexual “liberation” to all reaches of the globe at the speed of light.  Clearly, two things are worthy of noting here.  First, sexual immorality was already present around the world long before the internet – or even electricity – was invented.  Also, almost all technology can also be used to the glory of God.  But the clamor of convenience can also deafen the ears – and minds – to the things of God.    As masses try to get more out of exchanges that mean less and less, the false gospel of sex salvation has been developed around two central doctrines: Everyone should celebrate what makes you sexually fulfilled, and no one should keep you from seeking sexual fulfillment.  If he were alive today, Karl Marx would likely be forced to call sex a religion for it sure seems to be the opium of the masses.   And no social stigma or “unwanted” babies will be allowed to kill the buzz.

Our evil desires lure us to sin.  We seek that which will enslave us.  But the solution is redeeming sex, not eliminating it, as many a caricature of Christians might like to infer.  It’s not enough to reclaim it as a prize for our own dominion, but we must surrender it to glory of its Designer.

Key Question: Is all of this talk of sexual liberation actually leading you to deep enslavement?

Unshakable Truth: “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” Proverbs 26:11

Illicit encounters, images, and conversations, violent attacks and systematic abuse, and the deadening of intellectual and physiological excitement are the vomit one returns to when folly urges he rejection of God’s rightful dominion over the delights of the marriage bed.

The Real Choice:  Are you willing to take a new litmus test and drink the living water to break the cycle of vomit?

Standing in the Diversity Gap: Who Made the List, and Who Got Cut

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Angela Chininin Buele

Animals have PETA, trees get hugged, the earth has lawyers, The Sierra Club works to keep U.S. Navy activity from disrupting ocean wildlife, and the USDA has a task force to address air quality. These organizations all work to preserve resources from careless destruction, and this is an honorable aim. What is less than honorable is the redemption attributed to the attainment of their goals. There is no love offered by any of these groups because their hope for legacy and security is centered around a gift that has been exalted to the status of Giver. This exchange is actually worship because the benefit of the defense these groups offer is never a blessing for –but rather a warning against– humans, except, arguably, in the case of the atmosphere.

Those who are wooed by these causes seek to re-enter the Garden without approaching or acknowledging the Gardener. Value of all things has been reassigned, and the periphery, the backdrop, the landscapes have been given center stage. It’s as if the crown were given reign over the kingdom instead of being passed from the head of one ruler to bestow authority upon the next. When you submit to the creation, there can be no demonstration of grace. It is simple and tragic idolatry.

Of course, the human causes can be skewed as well. Popular Coexist bumper stickers cleverly demonstrate the common symbols for different categories of people (Islam, Wicca, male, female, Judaism, Buddhism, Karma, Toaism, and Christianity). The chorus line arrangement is supposed to demonstrate that living side-by-side we should all be able to get along. At least, some of the graphics and memes lend to that intention. Other representations, however, claim that the unity is, in fact, an eternal bond of shared rightness across the board. This might be referred to as Universalism, which essentially tells everyone they are simultaneously doing good and wasting their time.

With all of this protection and preservation, this unity and affirmation being touted, it is truly heartbreaking to see who doesn’t make the “protected status” list.  The unseen. The unseen are denied safe passage and face certain, violent murder under the guise of security and autonomy while the killings are recorded as victories.  Could we be talking about unseen undocumented immigrants, you might ask.  Or perhaps refugees fleeing imminent danger?  How could this be tolerated – even celebrated? Because, just like all successful historical massacres, blame is assigned to evoke justification, and carnage is hidden so the problem appears to be resolved. What is most shocking, however, is that we are actually looking at the unnamed travelers -living, moving targets- in wombs across the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”

Where is the camaraderie between human and human? How have the inanimate and the four legged outranked people?

All talk of tolerance and coexistence is meaningless without reconciliation and humility.  True coexistence can only occur when real peace is found, when real reconciliation takes place.  The only place you can find that precious resource is at the foot of the cross, where God and man are reconciled, where salvation is possible because God who became a baby who became a man was unrighteously killed by his fellow men and rose again.  He offers salvation to every last one of us humans. He is making all things new even now.  Will you be reconciled?

There is no more beautifully diverse path than the narrow road of Calvary (Galatians 3:28)

Key Question: Do you want your passions (the causes dearest to your heart) to change the world for your good, or do you want the Passion to change you for the world’s good?

Unshakable Truth: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than that Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:22-25).

These words matter because they come from God, and He has true authority over every part of us because He is our Maker.  We have the honor –instead of the obligation– to obey Him because in His love He is a Father and not a cold slave driver. To reject Him in order to throw ourselves down at the feet of creation is grave foolishness.

The Real Choice: Will you prepare to enter into the true Utopia of God’s Kingdom or will you try to establish a throne for yourself in this world before you leave it?

“Love Comes Naturally, Hate Is Learned”

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The right, the wrong, and the rhetoric therein

Angela Chininin Buele

In order to make sure we are all on the same page, I would like to include the actual and complete quote by Nelson Mandela below:

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

I believe it is quite unfortunate that his carefully developed statement has become something of a bullet point zinger, but what is more disappointing is that you can actually uncover truth working from the structure of the one liner where none is to be found from the original quote.  What I mean to say is that from “Love is natural; Hate is learned” you can see the perfect gift of Love (life) that God gave man and the hate (sin) with which man repaid him, having been taught by God’s Enemy, Satan.  You might also say that babies first show only delight in the connection they share with other people, but as physical strength and capacity for strategic thought develop, more and more conflict (sin) enters into their relationships.  Up to this point of the common abridged version of the quote, it has merit.

The complete original quote, however, misrepresents both our ultimate character as self-interested beings and the hope for remedy.  Our poisoning has not come from without but from within, and the antidote is not a bypass but complete transplant.  And for that you need a Surgeon.

Having addressed the right and the wrong of this mantra’s application, what of the rhetoric?  That is what is shrouded by the very words “love” and “hate.”  The oversimplification of these terms leaves no shortage of broken hearts in its wake.  Truth be told, love is not about primarily about affirmation, but about delight, protection and edification.  And hate isn’t primarily about disdain, but apathy, autonomy, and neglect.  Does that better paint the broad strokes of beauty and terror?

Key Question: Do you more often use the self-satisfying meaning or the soul-satisfying meaning of the terms “love” and “hate”?

Unshakable Truth: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge; but whoever hates reproof is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1

One who has caused an accident that leaves them trapped in a burning vehicle might not appreciate the experience of having their car ripped apart by the Jaws of Life, but the gratitude for another’s sacrifice to perform the rescue is not soon forgotten.  Those working to rescue must not be slandered as hateful for destroying the victim’s vehicle.  They should instead be seen as loving for their compassion for the person’s very life.

The Real Choice: Will we be moved to give full and accurate weight to the terms “love” and “hate,” or will we use them as tag lines for our own purposes?

When the “Choice” Is Made For You: How I Narrowly Avoided a Forced Abortion

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Angela Chininin Buele

We take for granted that our choice is determined by our voice.  We order food at a restaurant, pledge vows during our wedding ceremonies, and explain to family members how we would like to be memorialized upon our deaths.  These are spoken decisions, and there is no argument expected in response.  So, in what is presented as the “right of choice,” it is quite perplexing that a woman who desires to choose life for her baby can face argument, insult, and deceit in the attempt to sway her toward abortion.  Unbelievable?  Well, if it hadn’t happened to me, I might not have believed it either.

My husband and I were expecting our first child, and I started spotting at around 4 weeks.  I sought prenatal care, and the bleeding stopped.  After several weeks, we began to expect that everything would be OK.  But then my water broke at 16 weeks, and we cried out to the Lord to spare our baby.  All around us, friends and family offered prayers and hugs as we waited and trusted.  But the response we received from some medical personnel was surprising.  When I called my OB’s office to advise the doctor of our situation, I was attended by another staff doctor.  Please understand the questions I asked came from my deep desire to protect my child.  And this is not the kind of thing you expect to happen.  Knowing I was not a doctor,  I asked in hope if I might drink more water to replenish the amniotic fluid.  The doctor directly instructed me not to try to do anything out of my usual habits to save the baby because, she said, “It’s going to die.”  There was no compassion.

After that initial call, my husband drove me to the emergency room where we were told that there were risks involved and no positive outcome expected from waiting to see if the amniotic sac would reseal and allow the baby to keep growing.  The doctors advised “induction.”  I insisted that our goal was to keep the baby in my womb as long as possible for his/her benefit.  They regrouped and hit us again with the bleak prognosis of carrying a baby that would almost certainly be terribly deformed.  Again they used the term induction instead of abortion.  I was quite upset by that.  Induction is the welcoming of a baby into open arms, expecting to nurture him or her to the point of thriving.  What they wanted to convince my husband and me to do was quite the contrary.  The aim of their “induction” was to make sure this baby died so we could try to have a “healthy” baby next time.  While feelings are not to be relied upon as indicators of truth, we did feel as if our presence was causing them delays, almost as if the space was needed for something else.  Quite upset by their disregard and deception in the face of our choice to pray for a miracle, we went home.  And waited.  Three days later, our son was born.  Within moments, he died cradled in our tender embrace.  We desperately wanted – and still long – to know our little boy, but we must wait a little longer for that precious reunion.  He was not killed.  He was born alive.  And there is a birth certificate of a live birth from the State of Missouri to testify to that.

I am so thankful that women can use the free services of crisis pregnancy centers to have their questions answered honestly by someone who wants to see both woman and child protected.  What is amazing to me is that, even if a woman tells the crisis pregnancy center staff that she has decided to have an abortion, they pray for her.  There is no false premise, only the wholehearted promise to be there with her through pregnancy and into parenting or adoption.  Even if she has had an abortion, they offer counseling for the pain endured during and after that time.  That is true care.  No matter what.

Key Question: Are pro-life advocates angry at pro-choice advocates?  Do they see pro-choice advocates as enemies?

Unshakable Truth: “David therefore sought God on behalf of the child.  And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground….And David said to his servants, ‘Is the child dead?’  They said, ‘He is dead.’ Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes.  And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.”  2 Samuel 12:16,19b-20a

David’s plea is passionate, but he knows when and how to mourn, which does not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that David’s struggle with his circumstances and his Lord are over.

The Real Choice:  Is your ultimate goal to see laws changed or to see lives changed?

La Prosperidad en el Desierto

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Victor Chininin Buele

Cuando nos encontramos deseando algo bueno, algo mejor, no nos debemos sorprender pues eso está profundamente presente en nuestro ser.  Tampoco nos debemos sorprender por quienes busquen aprovecharse de este deseo para encontrar su propia prosperidad en el medio de nuestra infelicidad.

Hace algunas semanas tuve la oportunidad de caminar en la Ciudad de México en una lluvia muy fuerte y paré un momento a esperar a que deje de llover en un lugar que resultó ser llamado la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios.  Memorias regresaron a mi mente de programas de televisión pagados en las mañanas de mi juventud que me pedían que pare de sufrir.  Si así fuera de sencillo, ¿verdad?

En una vida en la que he conocido el rostro de la muerte, el rostro de las deudas, el rostro de la separación familiar, el rostro de la tentación, el rostro del pecado, el rostro del desempleo, y el rostro de la mentira, sin saber nada acerca de la Biblia yo sabía que una respuesta así de sencilla, decir “con fe” que puedo dejar de sufrir, no era nada más que una mentira.  Wishful thinking fue la frase que aprendí en mi querida Gringolandia.

Y pues, le dije al caballero ese domingo que aquél era un lugar de mentiras. Y me amenazó con enviarme a la delegación por calumnias.  Por honestidad y por lógica decidí sentarme a participar en dicho servicio para ver si estaba yo cometiendo un error.  Por mucho tiempo he leído de la teología de la prosperidad y sabía que no estaba equivocado.  Pero hay veces en las que hay que ser honesto.  Entonces fui testigo del abuso de las palabras de la Biblia y de técnicas básicas de manipulación emocional y mental para robar el dinero de personas pobres y sufridas.  Seres humanos en gran necesidad.  Y ver las palabras Jesucristo es el Señor en letra gótica sobre el escenario me partieron el corazón.

Este domingo uno de mis pastores predicó acerca de esta mentira.  Él nos llevó al desierto con Jesús en Mateo 4:1-11.  De allí nos mostró que el tentador buscaba aprovecharse de Jesús con seis estrategias:

  1. Sufrimiento – El amor de Dios no es compatible con tu sufrimiento.  Si Dios te amara, no sufrirías.  En la primera tentación vemos que el tentador quiere aprovecharse de la condición de Jesús, que está hambriento y cansado.  “Si eres Hijo de Dios,” le dice. Estos predicadores falsos dicen lo mismo.  Si eres Hijo de Dios, di con fe que no pasarás más hambre.  Jesús responde lo contrario: “Escrito está, ‘No sólo de pan vivirá el hombre, sino de toda palabra que sale de la boca de Dios.'”  Nos lleva al desierto cuando Israel recibió el maná de Dios (Deut. 8:3).
  2. Palabras – La manera de salir de una situación es declarar prosperidad con tus palabras.  Esto es lo que nos enseñan a decir.  Esto sale de las ideas del pensamiento positivo de Norman Vincent Peale y no de la Biblia.  El tentador también trata en esta situación de convencer a Jesús (quien sí lo podría hacer al no ser como nosotros) a que utilice sus palabras para evadir el propósito de Dios para esta situación.
  3. Escritura – Utilizar la metáfora literalmente.  A continuación el tentador va al Salmo 91 y se lo repite a Jesús palabra por palabra.  Ni siquiera le cambió algo.  Le pide a Jesús a que le obedezca y le da la promesa de Dios en el salmo de protección de los ángeles como garantía.  Jesús no cae por esta trampa y le responde con las palabras de Deuteronomio 6:16 que son una referencia a Éxodo 17:1-7.  Jesús nuevamente va al desierto y vence en lo que Israel falló.  Jesús no pondrá Dios a prueba.  Y Jesús sabe el resto del salmo.  Léalo y vea por qué el tentador no citó los versículos que están alrededor de los versículos 11 y 12.
  4. Sacrificio – Debes tomar acción radical y autodestructiva para demostrar tu fe.  El tentador le pide a Jesús a que se lance del pináculo del templo.  Si Salmo 91:11-12 no es verdad, entonces Jesús cometería un suicidio.  La promesa del salmo se basa en que Dios sea nuestro refugio (91:2) lo cual no es lo que el tentador tiene en mente.  Jesús no falla porque él conoce que el sacrificio verdadero es necesario para redimir al mundo del pecado en la cruz.
  5. Éxito– El tentador muestra a Jesús en la tercera tentación un cuadro perfecto, una foto muy linda del mundo y su gloria a Jesús sin mostrar en detalle las dificultades presentes en el mundo.  El tentador quería que Jesús reciba al mundo sin sufrir la cruz.  ¡El Hijo de Dios debe ser exitoso!
  6. Velocidad – Mira todos estos reinos y te los daré hoy y sin demora si me adoras dijo el tentador.  Algunas de las promesas que los predicadores de esta falsedad utilizan en verdad están en la Biblia.  El problema es cuándo se cumplirán.  Se nos quiere hacer pensar que las recompensas del futuro pueden disfrutarse hoy.

Nosotros somos muy vulnerables a esto porque nuestros corazones quieren la recompensa del futuro.

Mi palabra de aliento al lector es esta – Jesús no estuvo solo en el desierto.  Antes de este texto tenemos el bautizo de Jesús donde escuchamos al Padre demostrar su amor a Jesús (“Este es Mi Hijo amado en quien Me he complacido”).  Y en el versículo 1 vemos que Jesús fue llevado, fue guiado, por el Espíritu (Santo) al desierto.  Cuando Lucas da su testimonio de este evento en el capítulo 4 de su evangelio, nos dice que “Jesús, lleno del Espíritu Santo,” fue “llevado por el Espíritu en el desierto”.  Creyente – el mismo Espíritu Santo que estuvo en el hombre Jesús en el desierto es el mismo Espíritu que habita en usted.  Él puede bendecir su conocimiento de la verdad para darle aliento y victoria en la tentación.  Él puede darle gran aliento a usted al recordar la recompensa de vida eterna que nunca tendrá fin.  Dios cumple sus promesas.  Pero no dejemos que estos mercaderes de mentiras se aprovechen de personas en necesidad ofreciéndoles ilusiones.

Lo que leemos en 2 Corintios 8:9 es verdad – “Porque conocen la gracia de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, que siendo rico, sin embargo por amor a ustedes se hizo pobre, para que por medio de Su pobreza ustedes llegaran a ser ricos”.  La pregunta es ¿cuál es esta riqueza? Vida eterna.  Prosperidad perfecta al fin.  Sin dolor.  Sin necesidad.  Esperemos con alegría.

This Might Shock You. I Used to be Pro-Abortion.

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Angela Chininin Buele

Most people don’t know that I used to be pro-abortion.  Actually, I was more than politically in favor of abortion; I could have been the poster child for what seems to be “right” about the movement.  You see, I was raped and scared that I might be pregnant.  So I found myself desperate to undo what had been done to me without anyone knowing.  Because I knew that a pregnant woman whose abdomen sustained trauma could miscarry, I decided to punch myself in the stomach in order to make sure I would never suffer the humiliation or shame and blame on the outside that was already quite familiar within me.

How, you might ask, can I now stand against abortion, when I clearly know what it is like to feel the need for relief from such a frightful situation?  I have to say that it’s quite simple and a little complicated at the same time.  The truth is that I was driven completely by fear of what others would say.  I didn’t think about gathering medical facts or imagine what life might be like with a child.  I didn’t get feedback from family and friends or call a help line for a confidential listening ear.  I didn’t stake my claim and charge toward it.  I had a knee-jerk reaction that I hoped would make my life all OK.  After all, it seemed to be an unspoken protocol: “You are going to be in SO MUCH TROUBLE if anyone finds out.”  I was sure I would lose everything if my dirty little secret got out, so I decided that my choice was whatever would make me feel safe in the opinion of others.

In light of that framework for decision-making, I wonder if there are others like me out there who would like to be a whistle-blower to the “choice” women are told is theirs in seeking abortion.  I know I was knocking on that door, not because I didn’t want a baby to ruin my life, but because I was sure that most people would lay eyes on us both and scorn me as a failure for having let myself get there.  Am I the only one who wants to know: “Where is the empowerment in that one-way street?”

I suppose that’s the long and short of it.  I wanted people to like me, and I had learned enough to know people didn’t like people like me having babies.  But, in all fairness, the complicated side of the story is in the medical ignorance under that cloak of social approval.  I was ignorant of the timeline of human development, so I don’t know if my self-preservation would indeed have prevailed over the biological facts, had I been aware of them.  I believe it’s best not to speculate about that point and instead suffice it to say that someone with such high levels of anxiety and such low levels of information as I had, is neither prepared nor empowered to do much of anything to bring peace through secrecy.

Pro-abortion and pro-choice must not be considered synonyms.  What we call pro-choice today really is not about offering real choices at all.  Let me explain.  I was a 10-year-old girl who thought she was pregnant, even though I hadn’t been raped since I was 5.  Yet, somehow, without any direct coaching, I believed I knew how to self-abort, without knowing anything about any other choices or resources.  Or the fact that I couldn’t even be pregnant given that time lapse.  This is why calling the culture of abortion “pro-choice” is not fitting.  Abortion gives women one choice.  Life gives women multiple choices.  Parenting, closed adoption, and open adoption are the first three that come to mind.  Gratitude, challenge, and love are three more choices that can fill a heart.  No curette or suction tube ever did anything except leave a woman empty.   Is that really the choice that is best for women?  Emptiness?  I should think not.  This is why being pro-life is the only place a woman can be empowered to see the victory at the finish line.

Key Question: Don’t women who have been victims of a crime deserve to have freedom from carrying a child conceived from rape?

Unshakable Truth: “…for God sent me before you to preserve life.”  Genesis 45:5b

Joseph was left for dead, sold as a slave, then falsely accused of rape, and imprisoned falsely for years.   In the end, he saw that God brought about the rescue of people through that chain of events, and he didn’t begrudge his attacker-brothers or God Himself for his suffering.  He was glad to see good result from his suffering.

The Real Choice: Am I eager to bless others or only myself?

An Open Letter to Abortion-Rights Advocates

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Angela Chininin Buele

I have a confession to make: In general, open letters annoy me.  I haven’t read more than a few of them, but the ones I have read have been passive-aggressive and more like gossip-fodder than a genuine transfer of honest communication.  Again, this is a general assessment of a limited sampling of what is a new (to me) phenomenon.

So, seeking to be a true activist, I will have to step past frustration and into transformation.  Instead of insults and snarky accusations, this letter will need to be compassionate and personal.  If that turns some away, I won’t be offended.  But I do hope you will read on and take a moment to hear a cool and fresh perspective on the familiar, sizzling topic.

An Open Letter to Abortion-Rights Advocates

Have you ever felt tired of fighting?  I have.  But then, did the idea of “the other side” winning – or even “gaining ground”- get you charged up to get in a few more punches?  Yeah, me, too.  There have been days when I have actually believed that people on the other side of the fence were intent on seeing people suffer.  But I’ve been thinking that probably isn’t the case.

I think there are quite a few pro-choicers who simply want to see women happy and healthy, and they might get aggravated, or even angry, when someone stands in the way of a woman and the thing she believes will make her happy and healthy.  If that describes you, I’m really glad you are taking a few minutes to read this letter.  I think your determination to persevere through resistance for the sake of another person is an admirable quality.  I also would like to say that the passion we each have for our side of this issue is more alike than it is different.  There is someone out there that needs help, and we have each thrown all of our respective efforts behind one response to the crisis.

You are a person – unique, ambitious, and hopeful.  Those qualities describe me as well.  You are my neighbor, not my rival, not my archenemy, and not the thorn in my side.  You are loved by a lot of people you already know about and by some you may not have ever met – like me.   I don’t want to see you hurt or defeated.  I want you to be blessed, not just today or in this life, but blessed for all of time (Luke 6:28, Romans 12:14, 1 Peter 3:9).

Based on our common vision for the well-being of other people, drive to see our visions realized, and willingness to plead our cases, we would probably be good friends – if it weren’t for the tension.  Am I wrong when I say that this is probably the breakdown point of communication and interaction between our two camps?  This tension, once discovered, can burn bridges and build walls, can’t it?  Maybe you once assumed that the reason you got along so well with someone was because they held the same position, but then you found out you were completely wrong.  It might have felt like a betrayal or at least a shock.  It likely changed your opinion of and/or your interactions with the other person.  I’ve been there, too.

Can we agree that hating each other is not a productive solution?  May I challenge you to see that tolerance alone isn’t the answer either?  Really.  When we tolerate something or someone, we do not celebrate it.  Instead, we allow, we survive, and we surrender to something unpleasant.  So, no, my desire is not to simply tolerate your different passion, but I earnestly want to love you as I love myself, as I love my dearest friends and family, and as I love the tiny unnamed babies that are killed by abortion.  And love, just to be clear, is not blind affirmation, but the investment of one soul in another to see the beauty of a full life developed through growth in good times and trials.  The love of which I speak would hopefully make you feel good, but it is in no way driven by whether or not you feel good.  Its beginning, middle, and end are the pure and perfect will of God for your life – that you would be amazed by no one and no thing other than the Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no greater joy.  There is no greater love.

There you have it.  I have betrayed my complete motive.  You can now choose to check out and nestle down into your own homogeneously-tailored newsfeed, or you can tag along with me for the next 40 days while I pray for you and all pro-abortion rights advocates.  Whatever your choice, please remember that I do not hate you, and I do not wish to simply tolerate you.  I want to fully love you, and I would like to call you my friend.