Where Have All the Good Men Gone, Revisited

Now early^[a] in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him;

 and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him,

 "Teacher, this woman was caught^[b] in adultery, in the very act."

  Now Moses, in the law, commanded^[c] us that such should be stoned.^[d] But what do You say?

John 8:2-5

Lately, the subject of child-murder, more popularly known as abortion, has surfaced, namely on my personal FaceBook page!  I posted an article by a woman who had an abortion in favor of a child that she already had, justifying her act of murder by saying that it wouldn't have been fair to the one she already had if she kept them both. Now, given the fact that she had already chosen to at least risk conception by having sexual intercourse in the first place, most people with any sense in their heads would immediately note the inherent self-absorption in her seemingly careless actions!

One argument that has come up when it comes to the subject of abortion has to do with the other side of the coin, where too often the searchlight of judgment doesn't fall! The men who have engendered these unwanted children, whether by rape or otherwise irresponsible & reprehensible actions are not beyond the pale of responsibility, yet they seem to get away almost scot-free, definitely not earning the moniker, 'murderer', at least not to the extent that many women do. Whether this is merely an oversight, or whether it is loosely based on the pharasaical notion described in the verses above, it is not right that women should bear the responsibility alone when an unborn child is murdered!

'It takes two to tango!' A bit of a cliche', this old familiar phrase, in this context, simply states that a woman cannot conceive on her own. Now, Science & Technology have devised a way for a woman to conceive without using the normal means, a man, but even this practice still requires the sperm from a man. When a man & woman come together, conception does not always occur, especially with the aid of contraceptives or prophylactics ( condoms ), although these are not 100% effective. While it is true that because men are often more physically imposing than women ( not always the case ) & thus are often overbearing, especially when it comes to rape, the men do not bear the responsibility alone; like it or not, many rape victims are not so much the victim, whether because they knowingly place themselves in 'sticky' situations, or simply because they push the man to the point where he is ready to explode & then cry 'rape' when he takes full & knowing advantage of the situation: either way, a choice is made by both parties, for good or evil!

Rape is viewed by many who claim to be anti-abortion as a valid reason to abort, or murder the unwanted child. Although this is often a matter of great controversy among many, the argument can be nullified simply by remembering that it's all about choices: the choice, even post-rape, post-incest, or whatever the case may be, of whether to allow the child to grow, or to cut short its life with no chance of parole. Arguably, sometimes those who murder their own offspring may be doing the child a favor by not bringing him or her into this world or subjecting them to a less-than-perfect situation, but murder is murder, no matter the extenuating circumstances! 

In this day & age, as we have explored previously in this blog ( Where Have All the Good Men Gone? ), good men are too often few & far between! This is not to say there are no good men anymore, but they seem to be getting harder & harder to find. Blame the Culture, as most do, but ultimately, much of the blame must be laid at the feet of organized religions, most notably Christianity, Judaism & Islam. In all three of these religions, maybe less so in Christianity, the status of women has been subjected to that of a man & her role most often viewed simply as a vehicle for procreation. Although women, particularly, maybe primarily in Christianity, have enjoyed an elevated status, almost equal to that of men, they are still forced to be subservient to men in most cases. This is not to say that organized religion has led to or allowed for the rape & abuse of women (  though in some cases that may be arguable ), but because of these practices, as well as the self-serving spirit of this day & age, many men have viewed women as simply an outlet for their frustrations!

It's only natural, biologically speaking, for a man to long for sexual intercourse: women too, are naturally beset by this 'urge'! Though perfectly natural & ordained by the Creator, it too is a matter of choice; choice as to when & how, even 'if'. Too many, especially in this day & age of  'free sex', with the aid of contraceptives, find it easy to be irresponsible & when the contraceptive fails, whether through a broken condom or whatever, to upgrade the irresponsibility to culpability by the act of murder!

The rape of women, though reprehensible & condemnable, is a sad fact; even though in most cases ( arguably ALL cases ), the woman is an innocent party, the choice to murder the even more innocent & helpless offspring of that 'union' is more reprehensible! To claim 'It's MY body' is the height of self-absorption, because the body in question is not that of the woman, though it is one she helped create; it is the body of an innocent child, one that, through no choice of his or her own, was conceived & brought to bear!

'Two wrongs do not make a right' is another familiar old cliche' that can & must be brought to bear here! For a man to rape or otherwise unlawfully impregnate a women is very wrong, but to add to that the crime of murder, no matter how convenient or legal, is only to compound the guilt. Murder is murder is murder: no matter the extenuating circumstances, for one to compound the guilt in such a manner only serves to spread the blame. The choice to commit rape is certainly wrong & while women are most often the unwilling victims, for them to turn around & for whatever reason, make the choice to terminate the often resulting pregnancy is equally wrong, being murder!

Charles Haddon Shank