Will You Pray?

Will You Pray?

by Gary MacDonald

Introduction

Many people from parents to the so-called experts have tried to understand what motivated the two young boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson to go on to plan to kidnap a young baby, then fail but later on that fateful day, spot another young baby boy, called James Bulger. They went on to torture him then beat him to death. The answers are many and diverse, from parental neglect and lack of self-esteem, to personal flaws and the harsh treatment they received from classmates in school.

None of these seem to explain how such a thing could happen. In the end, no matter what hypothesis you believe explains it, the responsibility for the tragedy rests upon the two young men, as they are now, who chose to do it.

But why did they make such a choice? People make choices based upon what they have learned. Let me share with you, my reasoning about the teaching our children are receiving:

KIDS LEARN FROM ADULTS THAT IT’S OK TO KILL

You can ask the same question and come up with different answers.

Q: What made those murderous boys in Liverpool do it?

A: Where shall I start?

Fatal shootings and stabbing in schools are becoming distressingly common, as are the responses from various experts to explain this. Pointing fingers in many directions, they resemble Shiva, the four-armed Hindu deity. Violence on TV. Violence in the movies. Violence on rap CDs. Violence in computer games. Violence in the home. These arguments have some merit, then again, Mars Bars have some nutritional value. But for substance, we have to look elsewhere.

I ask again:

Q: What made those murderous boys in Liverpool do it?

A: They killed the wrong type of person.

Numerous targets to choose from:

Killing humans is hunky-dory, as long as the dead fall into the right categories.

Three popular targets:

1. The unborn child.

Last August, The Alan Guttmacher Institute -- perhaps the most respected source on matters reproductive -- reported that abortions in the United Kingdom were at a 20-year low. Still, they claim there were more than 1 million fetuses destroyed. This is probably a low estimate. "

Another target

2. The terminally ill.

OK, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted for his videotaped killing of a man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. But doctor-assisted suicide has twice won voter approval for statesmen in Oregon in the States, and the issue is headed for other states’ ballots. How long the United Kingdom?

For those people in great pain, but not necesseraly dying, why not grant them the right to die?

Where do you draw the line?

There are nagging questions about who actually pulls the plug. In Holland, where euthanasia is legal, by the way, government pollsters asked doctors if they had ever ended patients lives without their approval. 23 percent said Yes!!!.

3. The disabled.

The latest star of Princeton University’s philosophy department, Peter Singer, argues in favour of killing infants born with disabilities such as spina bifida, hemophilia and Down syndrome. After disposing of their unsatisfactory offspring, Singer adds, parents should acquire a "normal" replacement.

I strongly object to this, to kill either a fetus or a newborn infant is wrong because it suggests to disabled people that are living today that their lives are less worth living than the lives of people who are not disabled.

We are all equal

"I am not a philosopher or an ethicist, but I know what is right and what is wrong.

Marca Bristo, a quadriplegic who chairs the National Council on Disability, told an anti-Singer rally only last week. "Condoning the murder of infants is wrong. Devaluing the life of a human because of her disability is discriminatory, hateful and bigoted."

Do you think children are desensitized by the violence inherent in today’s teen culture?

Perhaps. Or it’s more likely that they’ve seen their elders steadily expand the list of people who don’t deserve to live.

Q: What made those murderous boys in Liverpool do it?

A: They were ahead of their time.

My friends, this sermon is a wake-up call. Can things be even worse than they are now? Absolutely. What can we do about it you might be thinking.

There are several things you can do.

You can spend more time with your own children and teach them more about God.

You can pressure your MP’s to do something about abortion and violence in the media. And, something everyone can do. No matter who you are. No matter what your schedule is like.

You can pray. This evening, I am asking if you will make a difference and pray for the young people of our church and our country.

Will you do it? What should you pray for? Let’s find the answer in scripture: