The Evangelical Adoption Crusade
I read a blog tonight that sited THIS article. It isn't the shortest article in the world, but if you are a Christian (well, even if you're not!) I encourage you to read it and give it some thought. I have LOTS of thoughts rolling around after reading the article, but it's already way past my bedtime. I'll have to organize my thoughts for another day. In the mean time, when you have a few minutes, read "The Evangelical Adoption Crusade." and let me know what you think!
10 comments:
I thought this article was well done as I am very concerned about the evangelical adoption movement. While they are promoting adoption they are not warning prospective parents to really do their homework beforehand.
I wrote the following back in January: http://reformtalk.blogspot.com/2011/01/christians-and-adoption.html
I thought the article was well done. I am concerned about this movement because while promoting adoption they are not warning prospective adoptive parents about the need to be proactive and do their homework.
I wrote the following back in January on a blog I contribute to:
http://reformtalk.blogspot.com/2011/01/christians-and-adoption.html
Wow! Quite the article!
Serious issues raised.
Serious questions asked.
I think I need to "sleep on it" ... read it again ... and then share my thoughts.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Laurel
I'm only halfway through the article but I have to say that adopting only for purposes of teaching a child about Christ is, in my opinion, wrong. They mention that the kids don't recognize the flags from their home countries but can all sing Jesus Loves Me and I find that incredibly sad.
We adopt because we want to be parents. We honor our children's birth cultures because it's important. And we teach them about Jesus because we're Christian.
Hmm.. so much to think about.
Anita, you would know better than I as an adoption cordinater, but I have never met a Christian who was solely in the process of adopting for the process of evangelizing a child. I have known many parents who desire to parent a child and to love and raise them. As part of their lives they share the love of Jesus with them and hope and pray that they will be Christians just as they would do for a child born to them.
There is a big difference between that and what the author of the article is implying.
There has been a tremendous awakening (if you will) of Evangelical Christians opening their eyes and hearts to what God's Word says about the poor and the orphaned. Some of this has caused families to consider adoption. Some of this has caused families to surrender to the call of missions. Some have been called to work towards starting water projects and schools and outreaches in third whole nations. Some Christians are purposefully moving to the inner city to be missional.
Why this great movement of evangelicals to the poor and the orphaned now? I think people are seeking God's heart and asking Him what they would have to with their lives. I think the 80's generation has grown up and has realized that life is more than about living a life for them. I think people are wanting to give and to live fully all the days of their life and not just keep the staus quo and focus on the temporal and not the eternal.
Has their been corruption in the adoption community? Sadly, yes. There has been terrible and horrible injustices done. Some of it has been done under the banner of Jesus's Name and it is sickening. It is blasphemous. It terrifies me what these people have done and what God's Word says about people who mistreat the poor.
What the author failed to disclose (If he even knew of it) was the ones who exposed the things going on at CWA were Christian Adoptive Parents. Faithful mean and women who would not stand by and let the orphans, birth families, and adoptive families be exploited.
Christina Adoptive Parents by and large are not by and large ravenous wolves who want children at any cost. They are not people who are wanting to take and other people's children from them just because they may not have money.
The example of the woman who tried to steal children from Haiti is awful and horrible. I never heard anyone defend her actions, but I heard an overwhelming outcry over her not following the country's laws and shock at her blatant disregard for Haitian families.
A horrible, horrible instance.
Yet, every day their are quietly adoption personnel taking the high road and doing the right thing. Saying no to bribes and yes to ethical decisions. There are families praying for the chance, the opportunity the blessing of having a child in their home to love and cherish. There are children in orphanages wondering if one day someone may choose them and they would have a family.
Finally, a look at the adoption conferences would have shown the author that they are multi-faceted..Yes, there is a call to help the orphaned, but there is also a HUGE component of teaching parents how to best love and raise and attach to their children. Their is a connection of parnets who are saying "Yes, this can be a challenging road but together we can give our children what we need and that we still believe in adoption.. Because God means for children to be raised in families"
His attitude of adopting children to essentially rescue them from their birth culture and family, reminds me of the motivation that drove American settlers to "rescue" Native American children and send them to boarding schools.
I'm glad that other people are a little "put off" by the evangelical adoption movement. I have NEVER liked it when people assume that because we are Evangelical Christian and have a large family that we are adopting because we think we are on some crusade from God. We found seven wonderful children and God blessed us richly when He allowed us to bring them home.
It is also problematic to tell people that it is their duty to adopt just because they are Christian. Have the people who organized this movement seen the number of adoptions that have been disrupted in the last year? It's appalling! No one should be adopting unless they understand what it's going to take, that you're in for a lifetime of joy, but also grief and constant struggle to get your child to the happy, safe beginning that others are lucky enough to be born with.
--FPM
mmm...can't decide if I like it or not. I think will have to sleep on it and reread it too!
"adoption mirrors Christian salvation, plays an essential role in antiabortion politics and is a means of fulfilling the Great Commission, the biblical mandate that Christians spread the gospel."
This statement is true and it is part of what makes adoption beautiful, but it is NOT the motivation to adopt.
This article, to me, just goes to show that good intentioned people can get it totally wrong. It is like taking a scripture out of context... They are taking good principles and misapplying them. So sad.
I have been incredibly busy and this is a loooooong article, but I wanted to comment. I am put off by this movement too, even though I grew up as an Evangelical so it sort of pains me to say it.
I am all for educating people, Christians and otherwise, about how many needy children there are in the world. I wish more people WOULD consider adoption!! But you shouldn't adopt only for humanitarian reasons and certainly not because you want more kids to become Christian. It is tricky because OF COURSE all of us who are religious will teach our children about our faith and hope they grow to believe like us. This is true of Jewish families, Muslim families, etc. But you shouldn't adopt only for this reason!
I fear that this movement will lead to more and more adoption disruptions because people will not be educated and prepared for the challenges of adoption, especially adopting older and/or kids with special needs. It is not a case of "love conquers all," necessarily. Some kids come with lots of emotional baggage; they can't help it with what they have been through!! You have to go into it with your eyes wide open and with education about adoption, attachment, etc.
I also really am turned off by the idea that Christians are willing to break the rules just to adopt the kids, no matter what! That is crazy and will hurt adoption in the long run!! These type of scandals are what make countries close their doors to adoption completely!! It gives a bad name to Christ and to adoption!!
I would say I do NOT think adoption mirrors Christian salvation, at least not completely. Yes, we were adopted into Christ's family, BUT we were adopted OUT OF a life as slaves to sin. We were adopted from something BAD and SINFUL into something BEAUTIFUL and GODLY. Our children are NOT adopted out of a sinful, bad life. Yes, there were some bad circumstances that led to their adoption (b-parents were not able to parent them for whatever reason) but their life in Korea, China, Ghana, US b-family, etc., was not a sinful, bad life. It was just as valid and important as their new life in our family.
I don't have any sadness about leaving my sinful life behind. I don't miss the days before I was saved as a Christian. But my kids DO have sadness, and rightly so, about missing their birthparents and birth country and culture.
I want to hear what you think, Anita. Good comments and good discussion!!
Carrie T.
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