Sunday, May 31, 2009

There aren't really words...

I woke up from my nap this afternoon to this news.  George Tiller was an abortion provider and a frequent target of those opposed to abortion rights.  His clinic has been bombed or otherwise vandalized several times, and he'd been shot in both arms in the 90s.

What makes me most sick at heart is that it happened at his church.  Where he was serving as usher.  

Surely whoever committed this crime - and the story does indicate they've caught the guy - will undoubtedly claim it was because of what Tiller did for a living.  As if that somehow justifies things.  Look, if you think that abortions kill unborn babies, and you think that killing unborn babies is wrong, you don't make your point by killing someone.  Do you not understand the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ?  That means God alone gets to judge people.   It is not your job to make an ultimate judgment of a person based on less-than-all the facts about his (or her) life and faith, and it is certainly not your job to carry out executions based on that summary judgment.

Opposition to abortion rights is steady and frequently frustrating, but this is far beyond what anyone would consider acceptable or appropriate.  To say nothing of its illegality.  I was going to give Operation Rescue a modicum of credit for the statement that's reported in the article, but then I read this.  Kathryn Lopez is ridiculous and insane regarding Tiller, but the press release is beyond the pale.  Why am I not surprised that the MSM didn't report THAT statement?  

I guess I just wonder why someone would complain about "intimidation" on the part of the Obama administration, but then go on to describe their own intimidation tactics as merely "peaceful protests."  Just because it's legal (say, to protest in front of someone's house and church) does not mean it is right.  Something I've heard the anti-abortion crowd say many, many times, come to think of it.

Needless to say, our sympathies are not with Operation Rescue.  We stand with Tiller, his family, his friends, his coworkers, his patients, and his church community, all of whom grieve this day.  Like so many others, we pray for the consolation that the Holy Spirit can provide to those who mourn, we pray for justice to come to the one who committed this act, and we pray for a time when women's bodies are not battlefields and women's choices are respected.  

May God give comfort to those who mourn, and may the one who did this terrible deed know repentance and forgiveness from behind the bars of a jail cell.  And may this one not become a martyr to the "pro-life" cause, having done nothing in this instance to support life.

1 comment:

Pastor Joelle said...

I was rather appalled by the statement put out by Priests for Life

suggesting the killer could have been "an angry post abortive mand or woman" or someone frustrated that Tiller has escaped prosecution" You mean frustrated that they were not able to sell juries on their trumped up charges?