As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ is the God who created us, the sacrificial victim who redeemed us, our judge, and our eternal destiny.
We learn from Christ and His Church that we are all children of God, each with equal value in God‘s eyes, and each sharing God’s love. The concept of human equality is a particularly Christian concept.
United States fights for equality
The United States is a unique nation. It has incorporated human equality into its very structure. The United States fought a bloody civil war to establish and maintain human equality.
Leaders such as Martin Luther King have struggled and died to enhance equality. Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” states that our nation was dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
This proposition has not yet been carried to perfection. The struggle continues. The vote that we each cast in the upcoming election may very likely be a factor considered by Christ in determining our final judgment.
Unborn babies deprived of equality
At this time, unborn babies are deprived of equality in our nation. Many of their lives are terminated without due process of law. Their right to live is subjugated to lesser rights of their mothers.
This is a grievous injustice. Equality would balance the baby’s right to life with the mother’s right to live, not with some lesser right. As Cardinal Dolan stated at both the Republican and Democratic conventions this summer, without the right to live, other rights cannot be exercised and are meaningless.
Importance of voting choice
If I vote for someone who will enable the killing of unborn children, am I not complicit in their abortions? What will I say to our Lord Jesus Christ when I stand before Him on the day of my death? Will Christ accept a plea that economic or other considerations take precedence over the equal rights of the innocent? I think not.
Am I concerned about my eternal salvation? If so, I must remember that a vote for the life of the unborn child is a vote for eternal life myself.
Dr. Marlen Junck is a member of St. Ann Parish in Stoughton.