{"id":851,"date":"2013-07-27T14:48:51","date_gmt":"2013-07-27T18:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?p=851"},"modified":"2014-07-22T11:31:37","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:31:37","slug":"they-had-a-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2013\/07\/27\/they-had-a-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"They Had a Baby!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">While browsing Facebook this week, I came across an article posted by a friend of mine. \u201cWhen Is a Royal Baby a Fetus?\u201d by Owen Strachan. Posted on the website, \u201cThe Atlantic,\u201d this blog highlights the revelatory nature of language and the moral foundation inherent in humanity. To read the full blog post, click <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/sexes\/archive\/2013\/07\/when-is-a-royal-baby-a-fetus\/278056\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;font-family: Times New Roman\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000\">. What I think that article does, and what I wish to do with this one, is provoke thought. <!--more--><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"> If you live on this planet and have access to the internet, or have friends who have access to the internet, you are probably aware of a new life added to the masses: Prince <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\">George Alexander Louis<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"> of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton\u2019s son.<span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\">I join the media in excitement over this event, and have followed some of the coverage myself. Maybe babies excite me because I\u2019m female, but I rather think they excite us because we\u2019re human. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\">I also think that society has an insatiable appetite for other people\u2019s business, but that\u2019s a rant for a different day.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"> Isn\u2019t it interesting that major, secular networks (<\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/eyeblaster\/addineyeV2.html\"><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;font-family: Times New Roman\">The New York Times<\/span><\/em><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000\"> and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/europe\/on-royal-baby-watch-waiting-is-the-hardest-part\/2013\/07\/19\/defc1f54-f086-11e2-bc0d-556690a86be2_story.html\"><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;font-family: Times New Roman\">The Washington Post<\/span><\/em><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000\"> for example) use the phrase \u201cRoyal Baby\u201d in reference to the unborn child? While these secular organizations don\u2019t claim to be Christian, or even pro-life, the seemingly innocent phrase \u201croyal baby\u201d points to the sanctity of human life and the inherent value of humans made in the image of God.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"> Why, for instance, do the headlines promote \u201croyal baby\u201d instead of \u201croyal fetus.\u201d For one, the latter sounds inhuman. Of course, it\u2019s meant to. \u201cFetus\u201d is meant to imply a \u201cclump of cells\u201d rather than a human being grows inside a woman\u2019s body during gestation. The clump of cells doesn\u2019t truly become a baby until birth. Personal note: humans are ALL clumps of cells, even after birth. Additionally, what is the definition of \u201cbirth?\u201d Is it when the cord is cut, separating the child from the placenta? Is it when the child takes his first breath of air? Is it not until the child makes it out of the NICU in good health?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"> In his oft-cited book \u201c<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis\/dp\/0060652926\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;font-family: Times New Roman\">Mere Christianity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000\">,\u201d C.S. Lewis writes, <\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000\">A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line\u2026 Consequently, atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Solomon notes a similar phenomenon in Ecclesiastes when he writes that God has set eternity in the hearts of men (3:11). In this passage specifically, Solomon is highlighting the incomparable and unsearchable nature of God in all His complexities. Yet, each of us continues to search for meaning because God Himself has given us the yearning to. We ascribe meaning to life, that\u2019s part of what it is to be human. We make sense of things, we have an inherent sense of morality. We know that this cruel and chaotic world is not right, it is crooked, it is not the way it\u2019s supposed to be. To have this sense of dissonance, as C.S. Lewis notes, proves that we at least have an idea of resonance. The only way we can label a line crooked is by comparing it to a straight line.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"> But, I digress, back to babies. One of the foci of Vision of Hope\u2019s ministry is unplanned pregnancy. While it is not as well-known as our other ministers, VOH offers an adoption ministry. The adoption ministry at VOH works by matching women with potential adoptive families, as well as offering counseling for both the mother and the adoptive families from the initial contact all the way through adoption. Vision of Hope believes that every unborn child is a gift from God, and is just as human inside the womb as outside. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">In this sense, no one is \u201c<strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\">going to have<\/span><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"> a baby.\u201d You either have one, or you don\u2019t.<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\">The Pro-life\/Pro-choice debate is a sticky one, but that\u2019s not an excuse for thinking about it and talking about it. It is important to do your own research, study the scriptures, and talk to trusted, wise friends to develop your beliefs and stance on the issue. You never know if\/when God will give you the opportunity to minster to someone and point them to Christ by speaking with them about adoption vs. abortion.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"> The Adoption Ministry at Vision of Hope supports a wide range of choices for each adoption and believes that each situation is as unique as the individuals involved. Adoptions coordinated through the Vision of Hope Adoption Ministry can be open, semi-open, or closed depending upon the preferences of both the birth mother and the adoption family. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">If you are pregnant and considering adoption but you are not a Vision of Hope resident, please complete the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.faithlafayette.org\/uploads\/VisionOfHope\/AdoptiveInformationOnBirthparents.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;font-family: Times New Roman\">Birthparent Information Forms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;font-family: Times New Roman\"> and the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.faithlafayette.org\/uploads\/VisionOfHope\/AdoptiveCoupleRequest.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;font-family: Times New Roman\">Adoptive Couple Request<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\">. When mailing or faxing those documents back into the Vision of Hope office please also include a 1-3 page cover letter explaining your reasons for believing that adoption is your best option.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">If you or someone you know is pregnant and confused about what to do, please call Vision of Hope at 765.447.5900, or email <\/span><a href=\"mailto:voh@vohlafayette.org\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;font-family: Times New Roman\">voh@vohlafayette.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman\">for help.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While browsing Facebook this week, I came across an article posted by a friend of mine. \u201cWhen Is a Royal Baby a Fetus?\u201d by Owen Strachan. Posted on the website, \u201cThe Atlantic,\u201d this blog highlights the revelatory nature of language and the moral foundation inherent in humanity. To read the full blog post, click here&#8230;. <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2013\/07\/27\/they-had-a-baby\/\">read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[7790,6941,6315,5252,12620,12612,12616,12615,12614,12613],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.14 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>They Had a Baby! - Vision of Hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2013\/07\/27\/they-had-a-baby\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"They Had a Baby! - Vision of Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While browsing Facebook this week, I came across an article posted by a friend of mine. \u201cWhen Is a Royal Baby a Fetus?\u201d by Owen Strachan. Posted on the website, \u201cThe Atlantic,\u201d this blog highlights the revelatory nature of language and the moral foundation inherent in humanity. 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