Abortion in Mexico

News Flash:

Mexico's supreme court recently upheld abortion rights with a vote of 8-3. Abortion is legal without restriction during the first trimester. Elsewhere in Mexico abortion is ONLY for cases of rape, mother's health, or deformities, however, it is feared that the rest of Mexico will follow suit. Conservative President Felipe Calderon is the one who appealed abortion rights to the supreme court, and has vowed to continue fighting efforts to expand abortion rights. Nicaragua is one of the only Latin American countries currently taking a strong stance against abortion as they officially banned it in 2006.

It seems so obvious that under NO circumstances should mankind be in the position to take an innocent life. This is a fight that has not had enough press lately as everyday children are being killed for convenience. We must "look after orphans...in their distress...".

Evil and Suffering

I'm reading "The Case for Faith" right now as I recently finished "The Case for Christ" and came across a great exert from Lee Strobel's interview of Dr. William Lane Craig. While discussing the argument that there must not be a loving God with so much evil and suffering in the world Dr Craig comments that he would never ask God why he allows so much evil and suffering when he could do something about it because he's afraid God would turn it around and ask him the same question. I think that is a great way to look at issue. God in his wisdom has chosen to use us to be his hands, feet and mouth, let us use them wisely for that is faultless religion.

Outrage

After writing the previous posting I sit here growing more and more outraged with the evils in this world and my seeming willingness to let them be. What is it that causes evil? God's word says that "each one is tempted when, by HIS OWN evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." James 1:14,15 It's all about people. So it would appear that all evil in the world can be combated by evangelism. If people are changed by God, desire to do right, have self-control and battle evil at the root i.e. our desires, then we would not have to read the statistics below.

• Mexico City has 1,900,000 underprivileged and street children. 240,000 of these are abandoned children. (Action International Ministries)
• In the central area of Mexico City there are 11,172 street children. 1,020 live in the street and 10,152 work there. (City of Mexico/Fideicomiso, Report, 1991)
• In 1996, the Inter-American Development Bank and UNICEF estimated there were 40 million children living or working on the streets of Latin America--out of an estimated total population of 500 million.
• Begging - Some 20% of the children survive by begging, 24% by selling goods, and others by doing subcontracting work. ("Over 5 Million Child Laborers in Mexico", Xinhua: Comtex, 14 September 2000, citing National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF), "Prevention, Attention, Discouragement and Eradication of Childhood Labor")
• 8-11 million children under the age of 15 years are working in Mexico. (US Dept of Labor, Sweat and Toil of Children, 1994, citing US Dept of State, Human Rights Report, 1993)

Evangelism is good religion.

Kidnapping in Mexico City

Here is the synopsis of a few different news stories related to Mexico this week.

Kidnapping in Mexico and in particular Mexico City, with 8.7 million inhabitants, has been big business for years. According to Reuters, kidnappings climbed 40% between 2004 and 2007, ranking Mexico with conflict zones such as Iraq and Colombia. Officially, 751 kidnappings took place last year however since many abductions go unreported, the crime research institute ICESI estimates it could have been well over 7,000.

The recent kidnapping and murder of Fernando Marti, 14, the son of a well-known businessman, has sparked a widespread outcry and promises of change.

The Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, has created a new police investigative agency to completely replace the old corrupt detective force that is believe to have been involved in the abduction of Fernando Marti. He also wants to enlist 300,000 citizens as neighborhood law-enforcement representatives who would evaluate local law-enforcement efforts. The federal government has vowed to start five national anti-kidnapping centers along with Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino offering to help clean-up local and state police forces.

This very old problem with it's recent increase has compelled the wealthy and middle-class to begin to purchase crystal-encased chips that are injected usually in the arm between the skin and the muscle. This chip has a GPS locating beacon that the kidnap victim can turn on with the press of a panic button on an external device.

President Felipe Calderon is coming under a great deal of pressure to do something about the violent crime in Mexico, especially in Mexico City. These kidnapping rings with police involvement have run rampant for far too long at the cost of thousands of lives, nearly all children. This is a good outrage that the citizens of Mexico have.

Why does it take us so long to get outraged against evil whether in our own lives or in the world we live in. Let us be OUTRAGED and not lulled to sleep by the beat of the world's ways.

Humility

I work primarily with non-believers. They know that I'm a Christian and I know that they are Agnostics or Aethists. I like it this way because we can openly talk about our differing views on the world and particular issues. I believe the problem arises when people don't know what they are. I got into a conversation yesterday about individuals that we all seem to know that claim to be a "Christian" but look no different than the world except that they find it necessary to point out the failings of those around them that are doing similar things. Someone that, upon returning from the brothel, feels compelled to point out to his drunk buddies how they are really bad "Christians". I hate to say that I see this a lot. And especially when they point out how someone is being a bad Christian when that person isn't even claiming to be one.

Seriously, can one be a "good" or "bad" Christian. How are we judging? In order to judge accurately we need a guideline or measuring stick. I believe (through observation) that society would rather have a static list of rules (man made religion) to measure by rather than have to measure ourselves against a HOLY and PERFECT God. After all, none of us actually expect anyone to live up to all the "rules" all the time so we just have to forgive each other for not living up to all the man made rules ("religion"); and since none of us can really do it, forgiveness is readily available and easy to obtain. However, if our measuring stick is a HOLY and PERFECT God when I miss the mark and find myself not measuring up I have to HUMBLY come before a HOLY and PERFECT God, someone who has lived a PERFECT and HOLY life with all the same temptations we have, and ask forgiveness.

Religion has gotten a bad name because it is seen as synonymous with the various flavors of static man-made rule sets used to judge each other. I'd much rather have a dynamic relationship with the living God, all it costs me is humility. My .02