FJM Blog

By Ceasar I. LeFlore III

Shame on Bishop Charles Blake!

Just when he got a good bucket of milk for having the courage to speak up as a pro-life Democrat during the inaugural Interfaith Gathering at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this past Sunday; Bishop Blake immediately kicked it over by casting unwarranted aspersions on the motives and sincerity of many good people who have at great personal cost bravely championed the sanctity of human life issue by speaking out against 1.5 million abortions performed annually in the United States.

Shame on you, Bishop Blake! Why would you choose to break the uncomfortable gaze of Democrats who build their political lives around protecting the non-right (given by a court) to kill children in the womb by throwing well meaning people under the bus simply because they (unlike your audience) believe that unborn children have a real right to life (given by God) that must be defended?

As the keynote speaker for Faith in Action’s effort to cast the Democrats as a party of faith; Bishop Charles Blake, presiding prelate of the six million member Church of God in Christ, received tepid applause and raised eyebrows from the crowd when he unequivocally identified himself as one of the pro-life Democrats (they really do exist) who was not comfortable with the party’s position on this important moral issue.

Blake said that, as “a pro-life Democrat,” he doesn’t believe anyone could be pleased with those who use it (abortion) routinely as birth control. “Something within us must be calling for a better way,” Blake said. “If we do not resist at this point, at what point can we resist.”

Watching from the sofa in the family room of my suburban Chicago home; I raised my hands and praised God that my Bishop (I’m an ordained elder in his church) had the courage to face the lions in their den and speak the heart of God on the abortion issue. To my disappointment, that courage soon revealed itself as limited, as the Bishop jumped quickly away from how unacceptable abortion is and back onto the DNC talking points.

Recognizing the risk of being scorned for being sympathetic to a cause usually identified with the religious right, Blake wrote himself an out in his presentation that quickly moved the focus of blame from the democrats for their complicacy in the killing of over 40 millions innocents in the womb by accusing conservatives (even though he didn’t directly mention them) of offering only bluster that did not reflect a sincere concern for those outside of the womb. As expected, the crowd erupted in applause when Bishop Blake declared that “others were silent and maybe even indifferent to the suffering of the inner city”; a show of exuberant appreciation that proved that he had gotten them back to where they were most comfortable as it concerns abortion – unrepentant.

Blake went on to contend that even though he was pro-life, he was still a loyal Democrat because Democrats champion the right issues and he agrees more with their platform.

Bishop, I’m wondering just how much of that platform you have actually read; and how do you get around those tremendous moral issues (like abortion) that have distinguished the Democrats as the party that promotes the type of social liberalism that leads to national moral decline.

“How can two walk together except they be agreed?”

Bishop, do you agree with the Democrats’ new language on gay rights that say:

We support the full inclusion of all families, including same-sex couples, in the life of our nation, and support equal responsibility, benefits, and protections. We will enact a comprehensive bipartisan employment non-discrimination act. We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us.

I would think that the Bishop would not be in agreement with this statement but would stand more in agreement with Dr. John R. Diggs, Jr. who wrote in the Sept/Oct issue of Freedoms Journal Magazine:

“The natural family consist of man, woman, and the children they produce. The family is not a political or sociological construct but a natural structure defined and imbued with natural law. That is to say, family is an institution first endowed by God, then written on the heart of man, and demonstrated worldwide.

Jesus is quoting Genesis when he says, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5“and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

Bishop, do you agree with the Democrats’ position on abortion that says:

The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right. The Democratic Party also strongly supports access to comprehensive affordable family planning services and age-appropriate sex education which empower people to make informed choices and live healthy lives. We also recognize that such health care and education help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions.

Bishop, did you notice the line that says “regardless of ability to pay” as it pertains to a woman’s right to abortion. Does it not trouble you that your party supports giving over 350 million dollars a year in tax dollars to an organization like Planned Parenthood that uses that money to deceive our children with safe sex lies that consistently leads them to become victims of the nations leading abortion provider. And by the way, most of Planned Parenthood abortion services, percentage wise, are directed towards blacks.

I’m sure the Bishop and those who think like him would counter by saying that they support the Democratic social justice issues that the cold hearted, money grubbing Republicans are too unloving and self absorbed to address. When he looks around his neighborhood in south central L.A. he sees crime, poverty, and people locked in hopeless situations. To people like Bishop Blake, the promise to fix those problems (it never happens) is a sign that the Democrats care about the real issues that are affecting real people.

Does Bishop Blake believe and teach the six million followers of his international church that the only way to demonstrate a caring heart is by excusing people for irresponsible behavior and rescuing them from the consequences that usually follows? Does he really believe that our righteousness is measured by how we attempt to relieve people from the consequences of disobedience and poor judgment that God may be using to hold them accountable for themselves and instruct them towards better behavior?

The Bible command to bear each other’s burdens should never be confused with a mandate for governmental interventions that subsidize immoral and irresponsible behavior under the guise of caring for those we label as less fortunate. For too long Democrats have attempted to measure how much people care about the inner city by the amount of tax dollars we’re willing to throw at their problems, and not by promoting the ideals of self responsibility and morality that it will take to uplift those communities. When will it become uncaring to cripple generation after generation of people through the unintended consequences of liberalism that undervalues our individual need and responsibility to carry our own load?

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:2-7

Bishop Blake, conservatives do have the capacity to love those in the womb as well as those outside the womb who are living in the tough environments of the inner city. We, like you want to see them live full and productive lives, glorifying God by living up to the potential He has placed in each one of us and benefiting from all the wonderful things this country has to offer. We just don’t believe that a government or a political party has the answers that will make a difference; and it does not demonstrate caring when people keep getting elected by pretending they do.

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