Gender And Death

Wife E. and I passed a large anti-abortion protest in the city this afternoon -- a reminder that I have found, through my ministry experience, that situations of abortion, cohabitation, homosexuality, prostitution, suicide (in short, sex and death, all of which I have dealt with often) tend to be very different when dealt with pastorally. Different how? From a pastoral point of view, I have found that the situations are ruinous, in a big way, and often not as one would think. But also, one is not dealing then with principles, but with people -- and after the fact, when the genie can't be put back in the bottle. OBSERVATION: When I speak like this, there tend to be a number of reactions. Firstly, if I am dealing with these situations pastorally, then am I not always dealing with their problem side? In other words, is my experience not one-sided? How about ruinous monogamy? Ruinous parenting? And so on. Secondly, people want to know then what my experience is -- or they want me to do more to warn others. I find that often, the people who are familiar with the principles have no experience of the reality, and vice versa.