Affirming Life's Sanctity
Faith in the Public Square
Lompoc Record
January 28, 2008
There are several events that coincide with each other this month. There is the birthday of Martin Luther King, the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,” and something called “Sanctity of Life Sunday.” All of these events have come and gone, so I’m can’t invite you to join me in the observance. I mention these three events because I see in them a common thread; it is the attempt to uphold the value of life.
In a 1967 sermon given at New York’s Riverside Church, Dr. King addressed America’s involvement in Vietnam. There he made the connection between war, poverty, and race.
Whether the issue is discrimination, poverty, or the violence of war (whether overseas or in our neighborhoods), I hear a call to affirm the sacredness of human life – whether it is American, Iraqi, Afghani, Iranian, Mexican, Burmese, Kenyan, Israeli or Palestinian. To be “pro-life” is to take all of these issues into consideration, and to work to make sure that this is a world that’s safe and secure for all, and not just a few. It’s a call to work together to improve the quality of life, by attending to such things as the environment, corporate practices, health care, housing, and education.
Lompoc Record
January 28, 2008
There are several events that coincide with each other this month. There is the birthday of Martin Luther King, the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,” and something called “Sanctity of Life Sunday.” All of these events have come and gone, so I’m can’t invite you to join me in the observance. I mention these three events because I see in them a common thread; it is the attempt to uphold the value of life.
Martin Luther King sought to lift up those caught in deplorable conditions, whether brought on by racism, poverty, or war. The aim of “Sanctity of Life Sunday” is to highlight an anti-abortion message – though I consider myself pro-life, I also believe it’s appropriate to keep abortion as a legal option for those women who find themselves in difficult situations. Having said this, I believe strongly in the sanctity of human life. As for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – it might not seem to fit with these other two observances, but speaking as a Christian, it will take unity – among Christians and among all people of good will – if we’re to give voice to a truly life-affirming message (even when we don’t agree on the details).
We may differ on the question of abortion or even on some end of life issues, but surely we can agree on the importance of that life lived between birth and death. It is in this regard that Martin Luther King speaks so clearly to us. As a Civil Rights leader he fought with the entirety of his being for the full inclusion of every person, no matter their ethnicity or background, into American life (with the obvious emphasis on the rights of the African American community, of which he was a leader) -- whether it was in the voter’s booth or at the lunch counter. But this wasn’t the entirety of his message. Indeed, at the end of his all too brief life (he would have been 79 years old this month had he lived) he took up a broader agenda that included the eradication of poverty and bringing an end to the Vietnam War. His embrace of the cause of the poor, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, or creed, along with his vocal opposition to the War in Vietnam cost him support from many long-term friends and allies, but he took up these causes because he understood that issues of poverty, war, and race are often interrelated.
In a 1967 sermon given at New York’s Riverside Church, Dr. King addressed America’s involvement in Vietnam. There he made the connection between war, poverty, and race.
“Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched the program broken and eviscerated as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as
such” (Beyond Vietnam, April 4, 1967).
Whatever our views of the military, I believe we can agree that when we’re investing our resources in a war, other issues take on a lower priority in the national consciousness and budget.
Whether the issue is discrimination, poverty, or the violence of war (whether overseas or in our neighborhoods), I hear a call to affirm the sacredness of human life – whether it is American, Iraqi, Afghani, Iranian, Mexican, Burmese, Kenyan, Israeli or Palestinian. To be “pro-life” is to take all of these issues into consideration, and to work to make sure that this is a world that’s safe and secure for all, and not just a few. It’s a call to work together to improve the quality of life, by attending to such things as the environment, corporate practices, health care, housing, and education.
If we are to honor Dr. King’s legacy, we must work together to build a world that holds life to be sacred, a world where freedom, creativity, and dignity is held inviolable and violence is absent. Is it a dream? Perhaps, but it’s a dream worth pursuing. And to achieve this dream, we must stand together.
Dr. Bob Cornwall is pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (http://www.lompocdisciples.org). He blogs at http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com and may be contacted at faithinthepublicsquare@gmail.com or c/o First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA 93105.
Dr. Bob Cornwall is pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (http://www.lompocdisciples.org). He blogs at http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com and may be contacted at faithinthepublicsquare@gmail.com or c/o First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA 93105.
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