Patricia Heaton, a well-known pro-life Christian actress, recently engaged on Twitter with an atheist, sparking quite the exchange.
Heaton is known for talking about her faith on social media, often tweeting scripture or quotes from influential Christians on her account.
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On May 4, “the Middle” star tweeted: “‘You come to realize very soon, that prayer isn’t something you do, it’s something that God does that you’re open to. And so the more you try to be open to God, surrendered to Him, His life flows into us in prayer.’ A Carmelite Nun, Life in the Hidden Light.”
John Sharp, an atheist, tweeted back at Heaton, “The idea of ‘God’ was a way of putting literally the fear of God into people to make them believe that if they didn’t do as they were told by their leaders bad things would happen. No God, No Fear, No Power. It’s obvious really.”
“Maybe dig a little deeper,” Heaton replied to Sharp.
“Or maybe stop digging,” Sharp replied.
Heaton threw out the final words saying: “Never stop digging.”
A sharp response, but a thought provoking one nevertheless. It’s tempting to try and “destroy” someone in an argument when they try to disparage your beliefs, but this is a great example of sticking to the truth while not allowing the conversation to get personal or turn ugly.
It’s also not every day you see a celebrity defending faith in such a way, which is refreshing. Heaton has been outspoken about her faith, especially when it comes to the issue of life.
The Emmy Award-winning actress feels she has a “responsibility” when it comes to the entertainment content she puts out into the universe.
And while the “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle” actress has a penchant for and attraction to solid comedy and good script writing, she recently told Faithwire that her commitment to the craft — and to audiences — runs much deeper.
“I feel that I have a responsibility to put something into the culture which is enlightening and would add something positive to the culture,” she said. “That doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t necessarily do a darker role or show or subject matter, but it still has to have some kind of enlightenment in it and it has to tell the truth of whatever the topic is.”
Heaton once again made waves when she responded to a CBS News tweetadvertising a Monday night episode of “CBSN: On Assignment.” The news network’s social media teaser proclaimed that Iceland is “on pace to virtually eliminate Down Syndrome through abortion.”
Iceland isn't actually eliminating Down Syndrome. They're just killing everybody that has it. Big difference. #Downsyndrome #abortion https://t.co/gAONIzqRXW
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) August 15, 2017
As fans with children, siblings and relatives with Down syndrome responded and thanked Heaton for being so outspoken on the issue, she offered up some awesome responses.
It's an honor to stand up for these precious ones! https://t.co/jTljPz6tED
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) August 15, 2017
It's an honor to stand up for these precious ones! https://t.co/jTljPz6tED
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) August 15, 2017
Heaton is a rare gem in Hollywood, where it isn’t often we see someone who stands up and speaks out on pro-life values — especially in such a vocal matter.
Earlier this year, Heaton, an outspoken Christian, shared a Jan. 5 tweet from the March for Life that read, “Pro-life is pro-woman. We are FOR women at every stage in life.” To that, the actress added, “Yes please,” along with a number of hashtags, including #prolife, #prolifegen and #prolifeprowoman.
Life begins at conception. Said every scientist ever. #ProScience #ProWoman #ProLife @1lifela
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) January 6, 2017
“Life begins at conception,” she wrote. “Said every scientist ever. #ProScience #ProWoman #ProLife.”