Like virtually all professing Christians, I vehemently condemn the murder of abortion doctor George Tiller by a “pro-life” vigilante claiming Christ as Savior. I also condemn, with equal vehemence, the murder of two Little Rock, Arkansas, servicemen shot to death by a Muslim convert claiming adherence to Islam. Both are examples of sickening vigilantism fanned by inflammatory rhetoric from “more respectable” members of the faith, not to mention the assassins’ own evil.
Let’s be fair, though. If we Christians delight in the Little Rock killer’s being called in some quarters a “Muslim terrorist,” even as we deplore his actions, we ought to be aware that others are calling Tiller’s assassin a “Christian terrorist.” I don’t think the murderer of the two servicemen was a true Muslim any more than I would call Tiller’s executor a true Christian. As long as people who claim the name of Christ Jesus speak, in supposed reverence to him, words that incite hatred, violence, and sacrifices of vigilante devotion, the name of our faith will be used as an adjective describing murderers.
I believe with all of my heart that abortion is the taking of human life. In this, I echo the beliefs of my feminist foremothers, Christian or not. But I am as uncomfortable with legislating against first-term abortions as I am with the legality of late-term abortions. Further, I do not believe that “murder” accurately describes the intent of desperate women seeking to “terminate a pregnancy” under circumstances I can’t imagine. “Murder” presupposes intent; the crimes of the two vigilantes above accurately describe the word. The actions of most women who have aborted pregnancies don’t indicate the intent to kill a living being, because the unborn child is not seen by them as a human being. The result — a dead human — is the same, but as our laws recognize a difference between “murder” and “involuntary manslaughter,” Christians ought to stop demonizing women who seek abortion.
No, I have not had an abortion. Yes, I would acknowledge it here if I had. But as a woman, I have a stronger foundation from which to comment than the foundation that some men — some, not all — speak from. Some men revere fetal life more than they revere women and womanhood. There are many, many men who deplore abortion out of strong, consistent, Biblical beliefs, thank God, but there are many others who, as “Christians,” hate any form of women’s sexuality and being that isn’t subjugated to them. That kernel of fear is too often nurtured in the soil of hatred and suspicion that’s no more Christian for being proclaimed from the pulpit than it is “pro-life” in any form apart from it.
It’s undeniable that among pro-lifers there is a small but not insignificant element of nutty, Bible-thumping sons of thunder; these folks are schizophrenic antinomians — they are so outraged that God’s law is being violated that they feel compelled to violate God’s law in order to put a stop to it. These people should definitely be recognized as tares among the wheat in a way that Muslims who engage in violent jihad against non-muslims are not. The Muslim terrorist is obeying his scriptures while the Christian terrorist is directly contravening the Bible. That’s a big difference. Invariably, Christian churches worthy of the name will discipline a member who promotes or threatens vigilante violence. For example, Paul Hill was excommunicated by his church. Amazingly, Tiller was not disciplined in the least by his church. This is the most egregious dereliction of Christian duty imaginable. That guy should have been run out of his church on a rail. If they had done that, perhaps he would still be alive today. Listen to this superb audio of John Lofton recalling his two interviews with Tiller’s former pastor —
http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=1332
(The first of the two broadcasts is the one that has these extremely insightful interviews.) That pastor, and that church, are about as morally bankrupt as you can get. All those pathetic people are accessories to many murders — of the infants that George Tiller killed, and of the murderer himself. If church discipline to the point of excommunication is not applicable in a case like Tiller’s then when is it? When the church falls down flat on its face in its duties before God, this is what happens.
Comment by Dontbia Nass — June 6, 2009 @ 10:03 am
By the way, be sure to check out this John Lofton interview with James Hoffmeier, Author Of “The Immigration Crisis: Immigrants, Aliens And The Bible” — very interesting. I think that book would be well worth reading.
http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=1347
Comment by Dontbia Nass — June 6, 2009 @ 10:07 am
Of course I will check out the book on immigrants and Scripture. I imagine you recommended it as a corrective to my sentimentalist femininity regarding the poor, the alien, and the stranger, but I’m game for a reasonable challenge. And while I’m concerned, deeply, that the aborting of a late-term baby is , perhaps, too easily obtained, I’m equally concerned that examples of legitimate harm to women in carrying to full term is not enough to give pause to “pro-life” advocates. The horror of such, just as the horror of “partial-birth” abortion, seems to be evidence, in my mind, that it is necessary when performed and not a means easily or blithely reached at at all by women. You will no doubt disagree, but, this time, you’ve at least furthered an argument without the skylarking snarkiness that usually accompanies your posts, and for that I’m grateful. Keely
Comment by Keely Emerine Mix — June 6, 2009 @ 8:09 pm
Keely, after you listen to the interview with the author and read what’s said about it at Amazon, you will know as much about the book as I do. I suggest that you might be in a better position to speculate about my motives at that point.
I agree that there are rare instances when an abortion is not infanticide at all but rather a necessary medical procedure to protect the life of the mother from a clear and immanent danger. And if you can only save one or the other, I do not think it is a sin to choose the woman’s life over that of the baby. The trouble is, if you leave the narrowest of allowances for such cases in place, people will attempt to drive an armored tank division through the opening. I think we need to allow for such exceptions, but with strict enforcement. I like the concept that John Lofton referred to — that a court order should be required for an abortion, either showing why an exception should be allowed to save the life of the mother, or showing what capital crime the infant is guilty of.
Comment by Dontbia Nass — June 6, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
My presumption of your motives regarding immigration and Scripture is not at all unfounded, given your flip comments about my ministry to undocumented Mexican workers. Yes, the source of your flippancy was that I, a woman, was ministering, but the insouciance with which you dismissed anything positive about my work tells me that you are less than fully supportive of the idea of intensive, relational ministry among “these types” of people. And I want, terribly, to be wrong.
Keely
Comment by Keely Emerine Mix — June 6, 2009 @ 11:08 pm
Nass — I just ordered the immigration book from Amazon and should get it Tuesday. More on it later. Keely
Comment by Keely Emerine Mix — June 6, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
Keely, there are many needy people toward whom we should show compassion. Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is the highest form of charity, and I also recognize that our charity should not be limited to sharing the gospel. We cannot ignore how our Lord replied to the lawyer who, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” But we also need to recognize that there is a hierarchy of priorities. “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” Please remember also that “the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” I’m not suggesting you are a wicked person, but if the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel, we must also make a parallel observation for the tender mercies of well-intentioned but foolish, misguided people. If you aid the wrong people, or aid them in the wrong way, you might be unintentionally undermining your own children’s inheritance. I don’t know the details of what your are doing, or to what sorts of people, but I hope you will keep this in mind. There are some people in the USA today who deserve to be shown the door: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wetback
Comment by Dontbia Nass — June 7, 2009 @ 7:20 am
That you would, in all piety and wisdom, recommend for me a site that features “wetback” as a reference for undocumented Mexicans — and do so as a corrective, while hiding behind a pseudonym — renders anything you have to say on the issue both empty and foul. Keely
Comment by Keely Emerine Mix — June 7, 2009 @ 8:14 pm