"I understand a God who gives people free will even though he is often pained and grieved by their choices in how they exercise that free will....referring to 'luck' or 'God’s plan' is such a cop-out to me that frees people from taking personal responsibility for their actions and their role, not only in adoption, but in life."
The author then makes these excellent points:
- "As long as adoption is “God’s work” or “God’s plan” people will not feel compelled to reform it or to address the root causes of poverty and social and economic injustice that often serve as its substrate."
- "And how many nut jobs have claimed the same thing–-that they were God’s tool to execute God’s plan or have used the Bible or other religious texts to justify heinous and unjust acts?"
I replied:
I totally agree that God does not orchestrate poverty or any other tragedy that lead to a family being torn apart by adoption and mothers suffering lifelong grief...I find it sanctimonious to claim that your child was "ordained" or "meant" to be yours...as offensive as Rosie O'Donnell allegedly telling one of hr adopted children that God had placed him in the "wrong" belly, as if God make mistakes!
HOWEVER, I am also uncomfortable with any assumption that relinquishing a child for adoption - or having one's parental rights terminated - is a "choice." I think you have set up and unrealistic either/or dichotomy and in doing do eradicated the most common scenario: coercion and exploitation.
Both domestically and internationally people's hardships are exploited in order to commodify their children to meet a demand for adoption. This is neither God plan, nor is it their choice...any more than being a victim of any crime if a choice or God's plan.
As for Biblical references to adoption, please see this blog post and this one.
Add your comments here or at the original site, here.
