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September 15, 2006
Shaming into Submission
Topics: CommentaryAmy Hall takes aim at pragmatism, and the use of shame as a marketing tool to combat teen pregnancy. Rather than asserting that an out of wedlock life is worthless she suggests:
I have come to believe that Christians are called to be a counterculture for the common good in no small part by refusing to declare any life in our midst illegitimate.I agree that the “girls in the poster shame-campaign” are more rightly called “children of promise, worthy recipients of hands-on care and communal sacrifice.” Their value as bearers of God’s image are unchanged by the circumstance of their conception.
In fact, a pragmatic standard, which asserts sex outside marriage is a poor choice only because of the potential consequences, necessarily fails to recognize the intrinsic value of each individual and renders an ever-changing moral compass.
Hall’s discussion is useful, if not thought provoking. She provides motivation for living charitably and with grace, and does not fall into the trap of other evangelicals who enjoy shaming the reader into submission.
However, I found her answer somewhat shallow and would have preferred to see some depth to her description about sacrificial living. In addition, an appropriate view of the consequence of sin and repentance would have been useful, if not critical.
Immorality defies the Creator and hurts the individual. Sin has significant consequences (the soul that sins shall die) but repentance brings forgiveness and life through Christ Jesus. Rather than reaching for a pragmatic argument that would appeal to the self-centeredness of the individual, Christians can bring real hope by preaching repentance (as Jesus Christ did) and disciplining as a central element of their charitable giving.
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Posted by calvin at September 15, 2006 07:14 AM
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