This post is part of a series based on chapters from the new Church of God book by Jerry Hickson, Are You Sure You're Right? (For more information see my review).
Moving from the previous chapter on the link between Evangelicalism and American civil religion, Hickson goes on to address a topic that naturally flows from this relationship. Chapter 7 is entitled "Has the Right to Life Gone Overboard?" and specifically reacts to the moral debate surrounding the controversial death of Terry Schiavo in 2005. During this time many Evangelicals were equating this issue with their strong pro-life views.
This chapter is more than an abstract argument. Hickson shares his own painful story surrounding the death of his fourteen year-old daughter, and then enters into a discussion on our views of both life and death. From this he also suggests that the Church of God has a somewhat different perspective than Evangelicals, mainly because of our emphasis on divine healing and rejection of bodily materialism.
The points Dr. Hickson makes are sound, but at the end of the chapter I am left unsatisfied. In many ways the discussion seems incomplete and not fully developed. I wish he would have devoted more attention to the limited vision of the pro-life movement, especially as it is promoted by Evangelicals. Unfortunately, Evangelicals tend to be inconsistent in their application of valuing life and as such are often not pro-life enough. Abortion seems to get all the attention (and it is a major problem in our society) but unfortunately, apart from highly charged Terry Schiavo case, Evangelicals are typically silent on a broader range of life issues in our world. Tragically, so is the Church of God, even though our heritage would suggest otherwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment