Adoption was God’s idea. We just decided to get in on a good thing.As a prospective adoptive parent I am appalled. As a Christian I am appalled.
This ad then insinuates that it was God’s plan for there to be war and destruction in this world so families are broken apart.
It was God’s plan for families to live in poverty that they relinquish rights to their children because they can’t care for them.
It was God’s plan for babies to be stolen from their families so the corrupt of this world can make a profit.
It was God’s plan that AIDS would claim the lives of parents so that their children would be available for adoption.
It was God’s plan that profound pain and loss would come to others so that us in adoption can gain.
I do not believe in this kind of God. I believe that God hurts when a child is orphaned or relinquished. I also believe that God works to bring people and circumstances together which is how adoption happens. I also believe that He can heal the hurt and loss. (This doesn’t mean it is forgotten).
Ads like this and other Christianese adoption language makes me cringe. I love the Lord deeply and know without a doubt that He has guided us along this journey, but I will not distort God’s character to make adoption all sunshine and roses. Instead I hope to have enough strength to face the tough stuff in adoption head on, all the while asking God for wisdom and guidance.
And I will be writing this agency a letter letting them know what I think about their ad.
6 comments:
What an idiotic ad. I bet they got caught up in the cleverness of their tagline.
I wonder if their response would be not that God's plan was for all these evil thing to happen, but that adoption is God's planned answer to the problems of a broken world (war orphans, poverty, etc.). I'd still argue that the ad is an insensitive way to present that idea.
I have a HUGE problem with agencies/ads/thoughts like this. I've written a few times about religion and adoption....I struggle so much it. I too can NOT believe in THAT God. As a first Mom, it breaks my heart that there are people that truly believe that God intended for me, and for other first parents, to experience this pain....
Good point Heather. My hunch though is that this agency wouldn't get that deep. Another line in the ad reads, "God is in control of our agency and your adoption." I just don't get this sort of drivel and the people that fall for it.
Hi Lavonne,
I really can't speak to this on any significant level, but I do agree that Christian marketing can be quite appalling in so many ways. Not just in this arena, but in so many others as well.
I also wanted to point you to a post that I read some time ago. It is written by a brother of a former prof of mine from college - who is now a pastor in BC. He is also an adoptive parent. It came to mind when I read your post.
http://rynomi.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/the-adopted-god/
I don't think the intention of his post is to paint a picture of adoption today, rather it serves to address adoption from a biblical point of view. Would love to know what you think.
I'm right on the verge of cancelling my subscription to Adoptive Families magazine for this reason. One of their advertisers includes the tagline "We believe that God is in control of our agency & your adoption" in their ad. How likely is a publication to listen to another point of view when a portion of their dollars are tied to their response?
hey, I meant to comment on this post before. but I had nothing clever to say about that ridiculous ad. very disturbing.
then I realized you left me a comment earlier. I hope we can connect sometime...
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