Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - February 21, 2020


REPLAY: Virgil Walker — Abortion Exceptions?


Episode Stats

Length

30 minutes

Words per Minute

184.09944

Word Count

5,539

Sentence Count

280

Misogynist Sentences

5

Hate Speech Sentences

11


Summary

Virgil Walker of the Just Thinking Podcast joins Allie to discuss the Alabama legislation allowing abortion up to 20 weeks if a woman is a victim of rape or incest. Allie and Virgil discuss how Christians should view rape and incest as separate issues and what Christians should do on the front lines of the pro-life cause.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hey guys, happy Friday. Welcome to the podcast. Today we are going to talk to my friend Virgil
00:00:06.760 Walker of the Just Thinking podcast. You have probably heard of Just Thinking if you've been
00:00:11.820 listening to either their podcast or my podcast for a little bit. I had Daryl Harrison, who is
00:00:16.760 the co-host of Just Thinking. A few weeks ago, we talked about wokeness in the church and Virgil
00:00:23.060 Walker. His expertise is abortion. He does a lot for the pro-life cause. And so we're going to talk
00:00:30.980 about the legislation in Georgia and Alabama, this non-exception or this lack of exception in the
00:00:37.920 Alabama legislation for rape or incest, how we as Christians should view that, and really what we
00:00:44.040 should be doing on the front lines of the pro-life cause. Virgil, thanks so much for joining me.
00:00:49.820 Thank you for having me, Allie. Yeah. First, if you could just tell everyone who might not be
00:00:56.400 familiar who you are, what you do, and why you care so much about this issue of abortion.
00:01:04.140 Yeah. Well, I'm Virgil Walker, and I'm part and parcel of the Just Thinking podcast with Daryl
00:01:13.060 Harrison, the famed Daryl Harrison, Daryl Dangerous Harrison. You've interviewed him on your podcast,
00:01:21.460 and so I work side by side with him. I do a lot in the area of abortion. I've been involved in abortion
00:01:26.620 at the abortion mill for the last seven years or so, six or seven years, doing sidewalk ministry and
00:01:33.760 the like, and just an advocate of the pro-life position. Okay, I gotcha. And you work for a church,
00:01:40.400 correct? Correct. Correct. Here in the Omaha area, absolutely. Okay, I gotcha. So there's a lot of
00:01:47.080 conversation going on about abortion right now, and this is something that you and I share this
00:01:53.120 passion for, the pro-life cause. I've heard you say before that you are more of an abolitionist
00:02:00.800 than a pro-lifer. So what do you mean by that? Yeah, definitely more of an abolitionist. I think
00:02:07.740 that for the most part, I think the pro-lifers get it right, but I think oftentimes we're involved
00:02:14.800 in half measures or we're willing to cede ground on the issue of incest and rape. I mean, you see
00:02:24.120 that in the conversation as I've been talking, even over the course of the last few days with regard to
00:02:28.560 this particular issue, what you find is that most who argue the pro-life position have ceded the issue
00:02:36.460 of rape and incest. I mean, it's almost as if they want to steer clear of those two areas in the way
00:02:42.120 of exception. And my thought is, it's inconsistent. It's really inconsistent from a standpoint of a
00:02:48.240 biblical worldview. You know, the rape and incest thing has been brought up a lot this week because
00:02:53.960 of the Alabama legislation. The Georgia legislation, it made an exception for rape and incest. It said,
00:02:59.800 okay, a woman can still get an abortion up to 20 weeks in Georgia if she is a victim of rape or if
00:03:05.880 this is a consequence of incest. A lot of more, a lot of pro-lifers were probably a little bit more
00:03:11.480 comfortable with that, like you said. But Alabama says, sorry, no exceptions. And you see a lot of
00:03:17.520 people who call themselves pro-life saying, well, well, well, that's a little too far. So can you tell
00:03:24.040 me what you would say or how you would kind of confront that kind of caveat?
00:03:30.400 Yeah. I think, again, we have adopted, rather than holding to a biblical worldview of the sovereignty of
00:03:37.200 God and that he is the one who is the giver of life, we've decided that we're going to see that.
00:03:43.840 We're going to put that aside and adopt a secular view where we've elevated our feelings and emotions.
00:03:50.860 And again, I don't say that in a way to minimize a woman who's been traumatized by the issue of rape.
00:03:57.860 I think that's a horrific situation. And what we need to do with regard to the issue are to separate
00:04:03.320 the two things. One, we've got to separate the issue of the rape and look at that differently.
00:04:09.620 We've conflated the issue of the rape and the life of the child. We've conflated both issues and have
00:04:15.680 made the decision that they should both be treated in the same manner rather than recognizing that
00:04:21.580 they're two separate issues. The rapist, that situation needs to be adjudicated from a standpoint.
00:04:27.080 I love what your friend Ben Shapiro says, either castrated and or killed. Once that rapist has been
00:04:34.760 proven guilty, I think the worst harm should be done to that individual. But with regard to the life of
00:04:40.880 the child, we need to hold to a biblical worldview that says that the child is an image bearer of God
00:04:47.060 and is worthy of distinct value, dignity, and worth. And rather than adopting the ideas that the
00:04:53.900 world has given us with regard to feelings and emotion, we need to stop for just a moment,
00:04:59.380 recognize the value of the child, and realize the child has done nothing wrong deserving of death.
00:05:05.880 And I also think we need to think about how to amplify the culture that says that this is shameful,
00:05:15.060 that carrying a child born out of rape is a shameful situation. We need to recognize the heroic
00:05:21.680 nature of a woman who's gone through that difficult process and makes the decision to carry a child to
00:05:28.640 term. I was talking with a friend who mentioned the fact that we often quote Romans 8, 28, that
00:05:35.680 that God has given us all things to work together for His good, right? When we think about that,
00:05:44.020 most Christians who are pro-lifers would agree with the fact that we know that all things work
00:05:49.340 together for the good of them that love God and are called according to His purpose, except for in
00:05:53.760 the instance of incest and rape. Those are situations where we've got to realize the sovereignty of God.
00:05:59.920 He is the giver of life. And to really think through that process, providing all the support
00:06:05.860 necessary for a woman so that she can bear the child and either make the choice of giving the
00:06:12.320 child up for adoption or keeping the child as a result. Is there anything that Christians need
00:06:18.480 to be doing? I know that you mentioned obviously sticking up for the personhood of the individual
00:06:22.920 from the point of conception, no matter the situation surrounding the conception of the child,
00:06:28.960 also taking care of these moms, making sure that they have the real options that are available,
00:06:35.000 of course, keeping the child, raising the child, adoption, whatever it is. Is there anything else
00:06:41.340 Christians can be doing as far as, you know, the adoption process? We hear a lot. Adoption is too
00:06:47.200 expensive. The foster care system is terrible. We hear this as an excuse kind of from the pro-choice
00:06:52.560 side. Is there anything Christians can be doing in those realms to make sure that truly it is as easy
00:06:59.660 as it possibly can be for a woman to give birth to a child and make sure that child is in a good home?
00:07:05.380 Yeah, there are a lot of things that churches in particular, believers can do to be supportive.
00:07:11.460 I shared with you earlier, I do sidewalk ministry at an abortion clinic. And when I'm there, it is
00:07:19.120 incredibly important to know that I've got an entire church community around me that I can call
00:07:25.720 at a moment's notice. If something were to happen right there at the location and everything from
00:07:31.380 providing a place to stay for that woman, if she's in an abusive situation, to providing food,
00:07:37.220 to providing clothing, to providing every single need that she might have up and into and through
00:07:42.300 adoption, I think two thoughts. One is often pro-choicers try to use the excuse that we can
00:07:50.720 murder a child or that they can murder a child in the womb on the basis of the fact that someone's not
00:07:55.300 adopting that child. And that's a flawed argument. That's a false statement. That life is not a value
00:08:01.420 whether or not someone desires it or not. Secondly, Christians can do more. We often make
00:08:08.640 the claim that we are pro-life, and yet all we do in a way of advocating that position is every four
00:08:15.800 years voting for the person who claims that they are going to be more pro-life than not. And we've
00:08:22.560 got to step up to do more. I'm thankful that I'm in a place and a space where there is that level of
00:08:28.700 support at the point of need. And we've got to look for ways to advocate, look for ways to be
00:08:34.200 uncomfortable where we can be in an effort to help these women who are really going through
00:08:39.640 some very difficult times. So can you offer any advice to the man or the woman who doesn't,
00:08:46.200 they don't know where to start. They don't know if there are any pregnancy clinics in their area.
00:08:50.980 They would love to have their church be involved in a pro-life ministry, but maybe their church isn't.
00:08:55.800 How do they start doing something like you're doing? Or just to start making that connection
00:09:01.600 between mothers in crisis and whatever sphere they're currently involved in?
00:09:07.600 Yeah. I completely appreciate the question that you asked because I remember at the point at which
00:09:13.860 I got interested in this issue, began to educate myself. My first thought was, where do I go? I had
00:09:19.320 no one to show me what it looked like to be on the sidewalk at an abortion clinic. And while some
00:09:25.580 people are willing to do that, others are not. There's all kinds of pregnancy advocacy places
00:09:31.840 in town. Where I live, there's a Shure women's clinic. They do a lot of great work. So you've got
00:09:38.460 to find where there are organizations who are already doing the work, where you can plug in,
00:09:44.180 where you can be a part of. I think those kinds of things are definitely important. We've got to
00:09:49.540 seek those out and do more than simply every four years vote for the person that we think is going
00:09:56.140 to advocate for our position. I'm even concerned. And Ali, I wanted to throw something back to you
00:10:01.720 really quickly if I could. I'm concerned about where things go from here with regard to the Supreme
00:10:08.900 Court. We know that this decision that's happened in Georgia was designed for the purpose of getting
00:10:14.500 thrown back into the Supreme Court to challenge Roe v. Wade. I don't know about you. I don't know
00:10:20.720 that I have the confidence to believe that things will be overturned. And I really think that most
00:10:25.060 conservatives will be reeling at that point if indeed Roe v. Wade is not overturned based upon this
00:10:31.660 case. Do you have any thoughts about that? I would say considering how Kavanaugh has ruled on a few
00:10:38.400 other cases, not even involving Planned Parenthood or abortion, it looks like he's leaning further to
00:10:45.180 the left than a lot of us had hoped. Now, he might call himself personally pro-life. We know that he's
00:10:50.860 Catholic. A lot of the Catholic community considers themselves pro-life. But sometimes you have some
00:10:56.720 cognitive dissonance where people say, well, I'm personally pro-life, but I don't want to limit the
00:11:01.180 rights of other people. I don't know if Kavanaugh falls into that camp. And so judging by Kavanaugh,
00:11:07.960 I don't think that we are going to get the ruling on Roe v. Wade that we want. Now, I could
00:11:15.700 psychoanalyze Kavanaugh and say maybe it's because he wants to show the left who hated him so much
00:11:21.900 that he's really not going to do all the terrible things that he said that or that they said he was
00:11:26.700 going to do. I'm not sure his motives behind that. And I can't predict necessarily what's going to
00:11:31.760 happen. I was more optimistic just at the thought of thinking, OK, we've got a like you said, a more
00:11:39.460 pro-life than not or a more pro-life than Hillary Clinton president. And so we've got a few Supreme
00:11:45.980 Court vacancies up for grabs. And so it's a possibility that this could happen. But unfortunately,
00:11:53.760 unfortunately, probably people like Kavanaugh and and maybe some other conservative justices,
00:12:00.140 too, I'm just not sure, have bought into this lie that, you know, being all the way pro-life is
00:12:06.760 too extreme. It's too extreme. And maybe Planned Parenthood does do some good things. And it may be
00:12:13.440 abortion in some cases is really compassionate. I like what you are saying about being an abolitionist.
00:12:19.800 I think too many people are scared to really say that, including people in power. Do you agree?
00:12:25.520 I completely agree. In fact, most of the conversations that I've had since this
00:12:30.040 legislation got enacted with Christians is, yeah, I'm pro-life, but I mean, that that's it's in fact,
00:12:38.280 I mean, you could you could say this is a new I think this issue is bringing up even the clarity
00:12:44.340 of thought or at least an opportunity for people to begin thinking about their their true position.
00:12:49.360 And what I'm running into is this new category of Christian calling themselves pro-life, but and
00:12:55.960 and it's a shame because they're looking at it from, I believe, from a secular perspective rather
00:13:02.400 than from a consistently biblical worldview. As we talked about being image bearers of God, I think
00:13:08.940 we've got to look at that. We've got to examine that and even be willing to say how much of that was
00:13:13.260 taught to us by our own, quote unquote, pro-life movement. That's why I've distanced myself a bit from
00:13:18.580 saying I'm pro-life to telling people I'm an abolitionist. While I recognize that that has
00:13:23.800 its own connotation to it, because there's a group out there and doing some different things that I
00:13:29.340 disagree with. I do agree from a standpoint of we need to be all about the abolition of abortion.
00:13:37.840 And that means not just legislatively, but also in creating a culture of life to make I've heard
00:13:43.940 this phrase before and I really like it, making abortion unthinkable or as unthinkable as possible.
00:13:50.020 There's always going to be evil in the world. There's always going to be people that insist upon
00:13:54.320 killing their child for whatever desperate reason they feel like they have. That's always going to
00:14:01.200 exist. No law can outlaw all kinds or every single kind of evil. But legislatively and also in what
00:14:09.200 you're doing and what a lot of people are doing is making sure these women are cared for. I think
00:14:13.920 the biggest myth that we hear from pro-choicers is that people who don't like abortion are only pro
00:14:21.100 what they call forced birth, that we're only for birthing the child and then we want to abandon the
00:14:28.660 child. And they usually say that's because we don't agree with their government programs or we don't
00:14:35.020 agree with all the stuff that that they believe the government should be doing. So we must not
00:14:39.920 really be pro-life. I think I know what you're going to say, but what do you say in response to
00:14:45.640 that? Well, one, that there's never justified reason to end the life of a child, first of all,
00:14:51.940 never justified reason. But more times than not, I mean, the people that I know who care the most
00:14:59.000 in those instances and who are willing to care are not folks advocating for for the death of a child in
00:15:04.520 the womb. It's those of us who are believers, who are advocating for life, who are willing to help,
00:15:11.420 who are reaching out and trying to do more than, you know, than, than others to see a child taken
00:15:18.400 care of. One of the things that's been interesting to me as well, in addition to, to, to the rhetoric
00:15:24.240 is the, the lack of, of, of the arguments that are being made from the other side. I mean, they,
00:15:31.820 they just, they have no substance to them whatsoever. They, they are either ad hominem
00:15:36.280 attacks or genetic fallacies rather than anything substantive that really anchor our position. Like
00:15:44.760 if I'm going to argue with someone, I'm going to at least want to make sure that I'm, I'm properly
00:15:49.460 categorizing what they believe. I'm properly articulating what they believe. And none of them
00:15:54.280 understand that at the end of the day, the argument that we're, that we're positing is this
00:15:59.100 is a human life and, and we need to treat the human life in the womb in the same way that we
00:16:04.240 would treat a human life at any other stage of development. No one seems to get that on the
00:16:09.180 other side. And so they're, they're coming up. And I know you saw that the argument about these white
00:16:13.540 men who advocated this position. I wondered your thoughts about that as well.
00:16:18.500 Yeah. Well, neither of us are white men and we are, we are having this conversation and I think
00:16:24.780 it's just a way you said so many good things there. And one of the things that I just wonder,
00:16:30.780 and you don't want to assume always bad motives on the other, on the, on the side of the people that
00:16:37.480 you are disagreeing with. It's, I think, particularly hard to do that with abortion, just because the
00:16:42.020 other side, the reality that they're advocating for, whether they know it or not is so grotesque and is
00:16:47.720 so black and white, uh, that it's really difficult not to assume bad motives. But even if we were to
00:16:53.140 give the benefit of the doubt to most people, I think there are a lot of people on the pro-choice
00:16:57.100 side that do realize the argument that we're making, that do understand the argument that we're
00:17:02.080 making, but, but they know that if they do the way that you said, if they do say, I understand what
00:17:09.620 you're saying, Virgil or Allie, that this is a human being, that this is just an early stage of
00:17:14.380 development, but I still think it's okay to kill a human being that makes their arguments sound
00:17:20.600 really bad. And they know that that is very brutal. And most of them, what they're just not
00:17:27.940 willing to verbalize that because it hurts their conscience too much, which should tell you something
00:17:33.780 about the human heart. But I think it makes them feel better. It puts a balm on their guilt or shame
00:17:40.020 to say, well, this is not a human being. This is not a person. Um, it, it just reminds me the kind
00:17:46.260 of dehumanizing language that we hear from them to justify their arguments. It reminds me so much
00:17:52.800 of the arguments made for slavery. And I wonder if you agree with that since you call yourself an
00:17:58.040 abolitionist. Absolutely. I mean, the, the, the same arguments that are being posited today,
00:18:03.940 uh, are the same ones that were, that were posited in during the time of slavery. It's the devaluing
00:18:09.260 of, of a human being who's created in God's image. Uh, that the, the, the arguments today are my body,
00:18:15.080 my choice. Uh, the arguments back then were, were my slave, my property. Um, and so those are the same,
00:18:21.280 those are the same arguments that, that are, that were being posited then that are being posited now.
00:18:26.220 And the, the, the, the interesting thing is, like you said, they, they recognize that in the public
00:18:32.540 arena, in, in social media, in, in media in particular, their arguments sound very, very harsh.
00:18:40.000 They, and, and they recognize those don't hit the ear very well. Uh, but what's interesting Ali is at the
00:18:46.100 abortion clinic, these women are making those arguments. Uh, these women walking into these
00:18:51.960 abortion clinics. I was there this past mother's day weekend. They don't care. They recognize this
00:18:57.860 is a human life. I'm calling out to them and letting them know, Hey, we're here to help you.
00:19:01.900 We're here because we care about you. You don't have to end the life of your child. You know,
00:19:06.160 I know you're doing this to cover, uh, perhaps cover sin in, in, in, in an area of your life,
00:19:11.160 but man, Christ died for your sins. There's no reason for that. There's, we're here to help you.
00:19:15.420 We love you. These women flip me off. They'll, they'll tell me they know it's a human being and
00:19:20.040 walk right into the abortion clinic. And so it's, it's a different thing at the, at the point of,
00:19:25.120 uh, you know, where, where rubber meets the road, so to speak. But I recognize that, you know, in the,
00:19:30.300 in the, you know, in the area of social media and the area of media in general, uh, those arguments
00:19:35.140 don't play well, but they do, they do coincide with the same arguments that were being had during
00:19:39.780 the time of slavery. And what you obviously realized just from that short story that you just
00:19:44.980 told me. And what I think a lot of Christians maybe sometimes forget, or don't want to think
00:19:51.400 about because it's just another layer of discomfort, but the answer to this essentially and ultimately
00:19:56.920 is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because you, you mentioned that these women, these women get very
00:20:03.420 angry when you mentioned sin or Jesus or what they're doing. And you just look at either, uh,
00:20:10.560 Romans one, or you look at Ephesians four that says they are darkened in their understanding.
00:20:15.160 Why? Because they don't know God. It says they are, uh, callous. They are, uh, ignorant in their
00:20:21.640 hardness of heart. And when I think about so many people that, uh, are adamantly pro abortion or pro
00:20:28.660 what they call pro choice, it, it, uh, Ephesians four rings, uh, so true that it is callousness,
00:20:36.040 it's ignorance, it's darkness, it's a hardness of heart. And what can soften all of those things?
00:20:42.820 Only Jesus Christ. That is it. And I think a lot of Christians, um, even well-intentioned Christians,
00:20:50.240 they don't want to believe that that is the ultimate answer because again, sharing the gospel
00:20:55.660 for a lot of people feels very awkward. Absolutely. Absolutely. I think I, one, you're,
00:21:00.620 you're spot on with that too. I think we're going to come face to face with that. If indeed,
00:21:05.100 uh, the, the, the Roe v. Wade decision, you know, goes the wrong way. Let's say this goes to the
00:21:10.280 Supreme court. Um, and, and, and, you know, Roe v. Wade's not turned around. Uh, I know that
00:21:15.960 there'll be people continuing to, to, to advocate for that. I think that I think a lot of Christians
00:21:19.820 will be disheartened, uh, by that. But at the end of the day, I think you, you landed spot on it,
00:21:25.020 uh, which is the other day I was listening to, to one of your relatable, uh, podcasts where,
00:21:29.540 where you quoted from Romans one 18, you walked us through 28 through 32, and you talked about
00:21:34.800 all the things that are in the heart of, of mankind and that we not only agree with those
00:21:39.020 things, we give hearty approval to those that do. And I think when, when you look at that reality in,
00:21:44.340 even in the life of, of believers, where we've allowed some issues around this abortion to cloud
00:21:49.240 our mind rather than holding to a biblical worldview, there, there will be a cost. And ultimately
00:21:54.320 at the end of the day, we've got to get back to the proclamation of the gospel at the end of the
00:21:59.400 day, the proclamation of the gospel that changes the hearts of the human condition is what will,
00:22:04.740 what will turn this around. Right. One thing that I did want to get your insight on, I think I've
00:22:09.620 heard you talk about this, uh, before, but how abortion, this is switching gears just a little
00:22:14.500 bit, but how abortion disproportionately, uh, affects impoverished communities, minority communities,
00:22:20.260 and in particular, the black community and how that point seems to be completely ignored by the
00:22:26.940 side that is so quick in every other situation to call out racism. Right, right. Well, I think
00:22:32.600 between you and I, you being a female, me being a black male, we can put our intersectionality
00:22:37.720 points together and maybe speak with a little bit of authority on this, on this particular issue. And
00:22:42.840 that is the reality that, that when I'm at the abortion clinic, one of the things that I think is
00:22:47.960 interesting or surprising, at least for, for women who are driving in disproportionately in Nebraska,
00:22:53.580 where I'm from, uh, blacks represent 6% of the population, but represent about 28% of abortions
00:23:00.720 that are taking place, uh, in the state disproportionately affecting us. And in other
00:23:05.260 areas, it's even worse. Uh, you know, you, you, you've, uh, I've heard you talk about the fact that in
00:23:09.960 New York, uh, that there, there are more, more black babies who are murdered in the womb than are
00:23:15.400 actually born. We know that statistic well, but it disproportionately affects black communities. And if,
00:23:20.880 if those who, who really believe that black lives do matter, they would find themselves on the front
00:23:25.900 lines at abortion clinics to ensure that the black genocide that is taking place stops immediately.
00:23:31.480 And I think women who come to the abortion clinic are often shocked or surprised to see a black male
00:23:38.160 there at the clinic. And, and so I, I do feel at times that I have an extra opportunity, uh, to share
00:23:44.320 with them, Hey, black lives do matter. If you want to use that language, if you want to use that mantra
00:23:48.240 from your secular worldview, if black lives matter, they should matter today and it should keep you
00:23:52.920 from aborting your child. And, uh, and every time they hear that mantra, I want them to remember if
00:23:58.500 they go through with that abortion on that day, they weren't thinking that that black life mattered
00:24:02.900 much. Now there's definitely forgiveness, uh, through Jesus Christ and by way of repentance of
00:24:08.980 sin and placing faithful faith in him. Uh, but I, but I want them to, to recognize that,
00:24:14.080 acknowledge that and to keep them from walking into the evil, uh, that they're about to do as
00:24:19.000 they murder their child in the womb. Well, I think that this fight is just beginning, um,
00:24:26.220 for unborn lives. And if we think that if we think I, and I do agree that in some ways the pro-life
00:24:35.300 cause has gained a lot of ground and we have done wonderful things or the abolitionist cause against
00:24:41.300 abortion has done wonderful things. And God has given us so much grace and so much power and so
00:24:47.760 much discernment in this, but it is also easy to look at the arguments from the other side,
00:24:53.540 to look at the things going on in particular States like New York and be scared and be disheartened.
00:25:00.180 And just for me, there's no other issue that makes me just want to pull my hair out and say,
00:25:05.760 what, how the heck can people have this mentality and where in the world are we going? So if you
00:25:13.920 could just give some advice, some encouragement to people who they might be happy about the Georgia
00:25:21.240 and Alabama legislation, but they're feeling scared, nervous, confused, helpless, out of control.
00:25:28.680 Um, they want to do something for unborn babies and women. They don't know what,
00:25:32.100 and they don't know if anything is going to be fruitful. Can you just give some, a charge to
00:25:36.860 them maybe? Yeah. Yeah. That what you said reminds me of when I first kind of got into this about six
00:25:41.940 or seven years ago, uh, as the issue began to get real to me and I felt like I've got to do something,
00:25:50.060 but had no idea what to do. Um, man, I began to seek out people who, who knew more than I did about
00:25:57.220 the issue, who understood the issue well, and, and gave examples of how to, how to go about fighting,
00:26:03.060 uh, this particular issue, whether that means, uh, finding someone who's at an abortion clinic,
00:26:07.720 doing a sidewalk ministry, whether that's at, at an advocacy clinic, uh, where you could spend time
00:26:13.660 there with those folks, whether it's, whether it's praying. Oftentimes I'll, I'll post on Facebook
00:26:18.320 when I'm headed out to the abortion clinic and I'll just ask people to pray for me. And, and, uh,
00:26:23.560 because again, uh, I recognize that in those spaces and places at the end of the day, and this is the
00:26:28.660 one thing that all of us need to remember, and that is God is sovereign. And that if, if he wanted
00:26:35.280 to wipe things out tomorrow, he would indeed do it. And we pray earnestly, uh, for him to do just
00:26:41.460 that. In the meantime, we have to be faithful to, to telling truth, to sharing that truth and love
00:26:48.220 and operating from a standpoint of the absolute proclamation of the gospel, which is what, what,
00:26:53.160 what's required, uh, to see hearts changed and transformed and folks receive repentance, uh,
00:26:59.740 faith in Christ and, and follow him all the days of their life. Amen. Thank you so much for all of
00:27:05.340 your insight and thank you for what you do and for leading by example. And I know that you don't take
00:27:11.840 credit for any of it and that it's all the Holy spirit through you, but thank you anyway, uh, for that.
00:27:19.340 And of course, thank the Lord for what he's doing through you and what he's doing through that
00:27:22.780 ministry and how many lives have been changed for generations to come. So I just, I just want you
00:27:29.000 to know that you are appreciated. Oh, thank you for having me. So appreciate it a bunch. Appreciate
00:27:34.140 you, uh, with Daryl and myself with just thinking, and we definitely want to wish you all the best as
00:27:40.880 you get ready to have a brand new baby. We'll definitely be praying for you and looking forward
00:27:45.500 to when you, I know you're going to take a little bit of a hiatus break. Uh, we'll definitely miss you
00:27:49.880 and look forward to when you get back. We, uh, we just know that we watch you follow you and our
00:27:54.220 big fans. Okay. Thank you so much. And if you will just tell everyone real fast, if you'll just tell
00:27:59.120 everyone where they can find, uh, just thinking or where they can find you, if you want them to
00:28:03.560 follow you on social media or wherever you want to direct them. Well, you can, you can catch me on
00:28:09.060 Twitter, Virgil W L K R. So Virgil spelled V I R G I L W L K R Omaha, which is kind of my moniker on the
00:28:17.320 just thinking, uh, podcast. Uh, you can find just thinking wherever you, wherever you download your
00:28:22.040 podcasts on, on Apple or iTunes and or Android. And so, yeah, I would love to connect with you.
00:28:27.580 Love to love to check us out at just thinking. Uh, and I definitely appreciate, uh, uh, have it,
00:28:32.440 having me on, Allie. Thank you so much, Virgil. I appreciate it. I hope you guys enjoyed that
00:28:38.220 conversation. Uh, he is such a good example for all of us just to be bold in our faith.
00:28:44.060 A lot of times, uh, I'm probably guilty of this as well. When I am contending with the other side,
00:28:50.480 forgetting that the, uh, essential problem, uh, with those who think that unborn life is expendable
00:28:58.460 is that they don't know God is that they don't know Jesus Christ. And that is the capacity for all
00:29:04.180 of us. Now there are people who don't know God who are pro-life, but even that is, uh, wisdom and
00:29:10.120 grace from God that they understand that life inside the womb is made in the image of God.
00:29:15.660 But as Christians, we know that for sure. We are convicted by that in our souls and in our hearts.
00:29:21.520 There is no way to get around that. If we are children of God, we recognize the value of vulnerable
00:29:27.960 life. And we care about life, uh, not just inside the womb, but we also care about these mothers.
00:29:33.440 And it is our responsibility to do something, uh, for life that starts at conception and also these
00:29:40.180 mothers who find themselves in crisis situations, but to create an entire culture of life to make
00:29:45.440 them feel helped and cared for. That is part of what it means. That's an example of what it means to
00:29:50.820 be the hands and feet of Jesus. I'm thankful for, uh, for Virgil. He certainly challenged me. I hope
00:29:56.380 you feel that way as well. And I hope you feel enlightened and encouraged by that conversation.
00:30:00.620 I hope you guys have an awesome weekend and I will see you on Monday for Theology Mondays.