Are the millions of lives lost to abortion less important than lives lost to gun violence?

Dr. Harry L. Reeder III 4 months ago

Listen to the 10 min audio

Read the transcript:

MARCH FOR OUR LIVES TOUTED BY MEDIA

TOM LAMPRECHT: Harry, today in the news, I want to talk about the March for Our Lives. Now, this was the march that took place two weekends ago. As we compare the March for Our Lives and the March for Life, commemorating the terrible decision by the Supreme Court of Roe v. Wade, it’s interesting to note that the coverage by the major news networks was 13 times more for March for Our Lives than it was for the March for Life, which took place back in January.

The poster child for the March for Our Lives is a young man named David Hogg, out of the South Florida high school where the terrible shooting took place. It’s sort of a sad commentary that David has decided to have just a profanity-ridden rant every time he goes on the TV.

DR. REEDER: Yeah, and after the avalanche of profanity, the young man was asked, “What policy changes?” and he said, “Well, I don’t know what policy changes. I’m a teenager. You’re an adult. You ought to come up with policy changes.” Well, actually, the adults that have been funding these things do have a policy change in mind.

WHO ARE THE ADULTS WHO ARE PROMOTING THIS?

Let’s back up just for a minute, Tom, and ask ourselves the question, “Why is it that you have this massive response to this situation of the March for Our Lives?” As you rightly point out, it’s not even comparable to the issue of the March for Life. The March for Our Lives is generated from the horrific shooting. We’re told that the problem is “gun violence”.

Now, what does the March for Life do? Well, it looks at not dozens of lives lost in a schoolroom, but it looks at millions of lives that are being lost in the womb. And so, when you take a look at the overwhelming statistical difference, you would think that the media, just on the basis of any objective reporting standards, would give attention to the March for Life, but they don’t — they pretty well now bury it on the third page and beyond — but they are fascinated with this. Why?

We don’t want to send our kids to school and have to worry about if they’re going to be gunned down. And we ask ourselves, “Is that because of guns or are guns actually a go-to instrument that’s being used in a culture of death?”

This young man has called for a response from “the adult population” with an adolescent fascination with profanity. He is now being promoted or “puffed” by the media and what he’s doing, of course, is somewhat revealing because you see the inability of our culture to discuss issues without resorting to epithets, name-calling and also profanity.

I still hold pretty much to what I learned growing up where my dad and mom told me that, when people in a conversation or a debate resort to profanity and blasphemy, that reveals one of two things: Either their argument is weak and therefore they have to prop it up with profanity or the one presenting the argument is weak in terms of vocabulary and has to resort to profanity. And I think that’s true in this matter as well if we have a valid discussion on this, Tom.

WHEN DID GUNS BECOME A WEAPON OF VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN?

I went to school in a rural area — I was in a county high school — and a lot of the guys would come with guns in their truck. You actually had target practice classes that you could go to. How did we move in the culture to that place where you didn’t even worry about it because people would not have thought of it? How did we get there?

And, of course, you not only see this violence with the use of guns, but you also see the depression that is taking place among our young people. They are now reaching out for the answer to their significance in life with these horrific acts and their “15 minutes” — and, in this case, of course, stretches into days and months of weeks — of fame and notoriety. Why is that happening?

It’s not the presence of guns. With all due respect, guns don’t do violence — guns are instruments that can do violence. The question is, “Why are guns now being used in such a violent manner and they’re being used at places that would have been unthinkable such as churches and schools, etc.? Why is that happening?”

CULTURAL PASTIMES HOLD CLUE TO MINDSET CHANGE

Could we, perhaps, take a look at our culture that the adults are now foisting upon the young people such as video games where violence is objectified and video games where you’re rewarded for killing faceless people with horrific acts and pornography that objectifies women?

Should we be so amazed that people who spend hours in front of pornography walk into a business environment and objectify women in their comments? What is it that is filling the minds and hearts of the people in the culture? That’s what’s producing people who then do what would previously be unthinkable acts within the culture.

IS THIS A LARGER SECOND AMENDMENT ISSUE?

Tom, those are the questions we ought to be asking ourselves but then we’re back to why is this movement so publicized? Well, I think, very clearly, the Second Amendment is the target and, therefore, there has to be a discussion of why is there the Second Amendment? Well, the simple fact is the Second Amendment is there because the founding fathers believed in the sanctity of self-protection and the protection of the states from a runaway government so that they would be able to arm their citizens and could respond to any tyrannical move of the government.

What we need to ask ourselves is why is the valid provision of the Second Amendment now being used as a mechanism to access a weapon to be used for violence that objectifies people at targets to carry out my despair and depression in life? What is causing the despair and depression in the culture and what is it that is causing people to think in that direction?

That’s really what the adults ought to bring to the conversation but, instead, the adults are using the First Amendment right of assembly and free speech — which was exercised in the March for Our Lives — which we must preserve that First Amendment right but, yet, those with an agenda to remove the Second Amendment funded and are now using the valid concerns of these students in order to promote their own agenda. And then they also fasten themselves on a spokesperson who then brings the passion of profanity to bear upon the entire exercise.

CHRIST’S MESSAGE OF HOPE IS THE ONLY REMEDY TO OUR CULTURE

Let’s realize the dynamic of what’s happening in the coarsening of our culture but I think there’s something even more fundamental for believers and that’s this: let’s bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to bear upon the culture and the glorious statement of life and what it means to live life and that life is not hiding away in a room playing video games that objectify violence and people as faceless targets for violence that creates this environment of despair and this environment of depression in which aggressive behavior against others becomes the route of affirming myself from faceless notoriety to being somebody in the culture.

Let’s bring the truth of the Gospel in the dignity of humanity, the glory of the love of Christ for sinners, and the reclamation that you are made and saved for a distinct purpose in life, and that there is dignity to life, and there is dignity to being made in the image of God and there is hope in being restored by the glorious presence of Christ who died for our sins and again that we might have life and that we might have life abundantly filled with hope.

Therefore, while I want to speak to the constitutional issues and I want to challenge people to think of the culture that is producing these acts of violence whereby the adults have affirmed violence against children in the womb, then why are we amazed when the children grow up and decide to bring violence against other children, not in the womb but in a classroom? What is it in our culture that’s doing that?

What we’ve got to bring is the hope of the Gospel to the culture, recognizing all of those factors and the death spiral of the culture that’s producing it. What is it that we can bring that will elevate people to hope and life? And I believe it’s the glorious news that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of sinners and takes us from hopelessness to a blessed hope that is unconquerable and that makes men and women walk in the hope of new life and eternal life in Christ.

Dr. Harry L. Reeder III is the Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham.

This podcast was transcribed by Jessica Havin, editorial assistant for Yellowhammer News, who transcribed some of the top podcasts in the country and whose work has been featured in a New York Times Bestseller.

Katie Bolton 3 hours ago

Alabama Power customers start seeing federal tax reform benefits this month

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Starting with July bills, the typical monthly bill for a residential customer is being reduced by more than $9 each month for the remainder of the year. The savings will be reflected in the “Total Due” section on monthly bills for the remainder of the year.

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U.S. Rep. Martha Roby 5 hours ago

Rep. Martha Roby: Pro-growth policies are working in AL-02 communities

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Thanks to tax reform and our efforts to spur economic growth, Americans are working and businesses are growing – and Alabama’s Second District hasn’t missed out on the momentum. Since the enactment of our tax overhaul last year, several businesses have announced they are opening branches in our district, expanding existing ones, offering pay increases to employees, and more. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly share some of the great economic news we’ve received so far.

Most recently, Alabama manufacturer Sabel Steel, which has locations in Montgomery and Dothan, announced they will provide pay increases to all employees, invest in new equipment, expand existing facilities, and hire additional workers thanks to tax reform. I believe the company’s CEO Keith Sabel said it best himself: “There’s optimism. With the previous administration, we were hammered by rule changes and regulations. It was like trying to drink water out of a firehose. The change in policy under President Trump was enormous, and the attitude among businessmen and especially other steel manufacturers has been incredibly optimistic. Tax reform and other policies psychologically have made an enormous difference.”

James Hardie Building Products announced plans to open a new manufacturing plant in Prattville. This project is the largest industrial development in Autauga County in 50 years, and it will have a significant economic impact on the area.

U.S. firearms maker Kimber Gun Manufacturing also announced a project in AL-02. By early 2019, the company will open a $38 million production facility in Troy that will create more than 350 high-paying jobs over the next five years.

Also in Troy, Rex Lumber Co. will soon open a state of the art sawmill operation that will employ more than 100 people. This $110 million investment will create quality employment opportunities and a significant new timber market in Pike County.

In Coffee County, Wayne Farms has announced a $105 million expansion at their Enterprise fresh processing facility. This investment will bring a strong economic boost to the area.

Last, but certainly not least, Great Southern Wood Preserving based in Abbeville recently announced it will use savings from the tax overhaul to invest in additional employee benefits, including lower health care costs, more paid time off, and a new scholarship program. In addition, the company has given pay increases to employees across the board.

So you see, thanks to our pro-growth policies and a commitment to fostering economic growth in this country, Americans are confident in our economy – and rightfully so. Hardworking people in our very own communities have already benefited tremendously as a result of these important efforts, and I am eager to see this positive forward momentum continue for all Alabamians.

U.S. Rep. Martha Roby is a Republican from Montgomery.

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Coal company executive, Alabama attorney convicted of bribery

A prominent Alabama attorney and a coal company executive have been convicted on federal charges involving bribery of a state lawmaker.

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Andy Andrews 7 hours ago

Yes, we DO get along!

I don’t remember the airline or where the flight was headed. But I will never forget the woman seated next to me.

During the course of our brief conversation, I mentioned that my family lives in Orange Beach, Alabama. Her eyebrows furrowed as she received that fairly innocuous information. Without hesitation, however, she said, “I wouldn’t live there in a million years.”

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I was taken aback, but smiled gamely, and asked, “Really? Why’s that?”

“I just couldn’t take the rain,” the woman told me.

I was silent for a beat or two, looking into the woman’s eyes, mentally scrambling to figure out what I had missed. She also continued to look at me, waiting I suppose, for a response. When none tumbled from my lips, she leaned in my direction somewhat aggressively and as if she were talking to an idiot, being forced to explain something obvious and simple, said, “The Rain. Your rain. It rains all the time in Orange Beach. I could never live in a place like that.”

I nodded as if I understood and asked how many times she had been to Orange Beach.

“Twice,” she told me. “Once for three days and another time for a whole week. We never saw the sunshine. It rains constantly in Orange Beach.”

I’ve thought about that woman off and on for years. It was such a ridiculous exchange that I’ve never really decided if it was funny or just stupid.

Obviously, it rained the only two times she ever visited. Now, I don’t study weather patterns, I don’t know Jim Cantore, and I haven’t stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in a long time, but I’m fairly certain that it rains every day somewhere! In a lot of places, I’ll bet it even rains for a week at a time! And who, over the age of six or seven, has not seen it rain during a vacation?

Yeah, I’m sorry, but for a person to single out a week and a half and believe they can accurately extrapolate the cloud and moisture conditions that visitors to Orange Beach can expect for the rest of forever…is nuts. It’s beyond nuts.

Except that you and I virtually do the same thing almost every day.

We allow the media to dictate what we believe is “happening everywhere.” In print, online, and on television, we allow our fears to be stoked and our thoughts to be directed. By consuming “overlarge” portions of what they are serving, we encourage the news media’s overwhelming coverage of All Things Horrible.

Understand, I am not blaming the media for what they do or how they do it. I’m not even suggesting they do anything differently. Would it have any effect if I did? (The correct answer is “no”.)

Neither am I suggesting that racial anger, regional bias, political selfishness, or deranged behavior do not exist. But if you and I begin our day with the news and check in on the news several times during the day, then end our day with the news, it doesn’t take long for us to become convinced that what we see in the news is an accurate portrayal of society. And it’s
not.

Consider the fact that there are 19,519 towns and cities in America today. There are another 16,360 unincorporated townships. We have a population of 326 million people. All those people have access to multiple channels and online entities. They are available to us 24-hours a day. And they use those twenty-four hours every single day to keep us “informed” about exactly what is happening—not just in America, but in the whole world…

So here’s a question: If things are as bad as many of us have begun to believe, what are all those news outlets leaving out?

Shouldn’t there be at least enough bad stuff to fill twenty-four hours without repeating the same things again and again?

But as far as I can tell, when something crazy happens, not only does every channel “break” the same news, they “report” it over and over for days on end.

Look, we do care about what’s happening nationally. You and I care about race relations and politics and schools and statues and prison reform and the Boy Scouts and killer lettuce and whatever the heck that goofy looking psycho in North Korea will do next…

But I have to believe that you and I would rather put more time and constructive thought into our own families and communities. Yet, even those subjects—when they are mentioned at all—are delivered by most of our national media drenched with the overarching message: People who are different from each other in visible ways do not get along.

My point is a simple one. I’m convinced that we get along better than some folks would have us think. I’ve been watching this whole thing for quite a while now. I travel extensively and am through airports, in hotels, visiting cities, their suburbs, and exploring small towns.

I don’t always fly. I drive—sometimes long distances—and stop often to talk with the people I meet. I’ve spoken to and talked with the students on more than 400 college campuses, eaten at great restaurants, not so great restaurants, and locally favorite restaurants in every corner of this nation.

I have spoken to audiences in all fifty states and each of our nation’s territories. I have spoken to convention halls filled with men and arenas with thousands of women. I have spent time with the men and women who serve on military installations around the world.

I have watched people pull together during times of enormous stress. I have witnessed families with nothing to spare, give generously to families with nothing at all.

And after all that, I must say that I’m not sure why the media appears so determined to convince us that we do not get along…(the only possible answer is “ratings”) but assuming their efforts will not stop, we need to recognize the effect it has on us and at least stop bathing in the information.

We understand what drives television ratings. We know what sells newspapers. I wonder however, if we understand the strategy the media employs in order to attract enough viewers to stay on the air?

There is one major rule governing that strategy and it is this: If there is no large and wide-spread amount of anger and outrage to show the public, we will seek out the largest that can be found at the moment. Even if the only anger and outrage we find is a small and contained amount, with proper camera angles and specific wording by the reporter, it can be presented as an example of “what is happening everywhere.”

Except that it’s not.

What is happening almost everywhere? Folks are being polite. They are being considerate.

Yes, especially in the south.

I was checking out of the Bay Minette, Alabama Wal-Mart last week. As the cashier scanned my items, a forty-ish-year-old guy in a ball cap leaned around me, apologized for the interruption and spoke to the cashier. The following, word for word, is exactly what each of them said to the other.

Man: Excuse me, ma’am. When you get a chance, I need some help in the Photo department.

Cashier: Sure. (She turns to speak to a manager several lines away…) Miss Dana! Miss Dana, there’s a gentleman who needs help in Photos.

Man: (walking away) Thank you, ma’am.

Cashier: You’re welcome, sir.

I have to say, I smiled. I was proud of us. Yeah, us. You know…America. The South. Alabama. Baldwin County. Bay
Minette. Us!

Oh sure, I was proud of the cashier and the man. But they are us. It is, after all, how most of us act. Especially in Orange Beach. Even when it rains.

One more thing about the cashier and the man in the ball cap….Seeing them act with such respect towards each other really made my day. It crossed my mind to hug them. But I didn’t. I didn’t even know their names…

So I just took their picture. For US!

Let’s all do our part this week and continue to “Get Along.”

Perform an act of kindness or “Notice” a good gesture—then let me know about it in the Comments section of my website or on Facebook or Instagram.

I would love to continue to hear about how we are continuing to get along.

Andy Andrews is hailed by New York Times reporter as “someone who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America,” Andy Andrews is the author of multiple international bestsellers including The Traveler’s Gift and The Noticer. He is also an in-demand speaker, coach, and consultant for the world’s largest organizations.

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