A few weeks ago, Christians all over the world remembered Good Friday. They re-lived that dark day when an unruly mob rallied before the judgment seat of Pontius Pilate and demanded the death of an innocent Man. The principal reason for this demand was that He had become an inconvenience to their lifestyle. Pilate officially declared Him innocent, “I find no case against this just Man.” But when they threatened to report him to Caesar he added, “You take Him and crucify Him.” At that time in Roman history, Pilate combined in his person the authority of the government and the supreme court. His job was threatened!
History repeats itself
On reading the account in today’s papers, April 10, of the “biggest political demonstration in U.S. history” in favour of abortion, I could not help dwelling on the parallel. History has a habit of repeating itself in principle if not in factual detail. In the Jerusalem case, two thousand years ago, the victim, Jesus Christ, was certainly totally innocent. I don’t believe that even the most anti-Christian writer has ever suggested that Christ could be “convicted of sin.” Yet, He was condemned to the most cruel of deaths because an unruly and violent mob screamed for His destruction and warned the judge that he could lose his job if he did not consent to their demands. “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar’s.” An ominous threat!
Democracy
In the Washington situation- the U.S. being a democracy-it is the politicians and the judges of the Supreme Court who are being threatened. “The people have the power.” But they are making, in principle, the same demand-the death of an innocent human being, the Unborn Child. Crucifixion was the mode of execution that applied to Christ. Abortion is the mode of execution applied to the Unborn Baby. Take your pick. They are both murder. Both Christ and the Unborn Baby are innocent Victims sacrificed to the convenience of the lifestyle of others. “Anything you do to the least of My brethren, you do to Me.”
But I do see a difference in the application of the principle. In the “Jerusalem Trial” the focus was on the Victim. In the “Washington Trial” the emphasis is on the “rights of the woman.” The rights of the victim are totally ignored. I quote from the newspaper: “…300,000 boisterous, banner-waving demonstrators marched on Washington yesterday in support of women’s rights to abortion.” What about the baby’s right to life? There is nothing about that. Looking at the pictures in the papers, one sees several banners with the words, “freedom of choice.” Choice to do what? To kill an innocent human being – your own child? Another banner bore the words, “Women are citizens, not property.” Agreed. But what of the Unborn Child? No doctor or scientist today will claim that the baby is “part of the woman’s body.” The baby has exactly the same right to life as the mother-not more but no less. He or she is not the property of the mother to be disposed of at her whim or that of society. I would defy any doctor or scientist to appear on television and state that the “fetus” is not a human being.
Jesse Jackson
One of the most disturbing aspects of the Washington March, in my opinion, was the statement of Jesse Jackson. Describing him as a “civil rights veteran,” the paper quotes him as saying – to jubilant applause – “March on for reproductive rights. March on for freedom.” It would not be irrelevant to remind Mr. Jackson that in the year 1857 another man of similar race, named Dred Scott, stood before the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that he had a right to be freed from slavery because he was living with his “master” in a non-slave state. Here is a summary of the Court’s decision: (1) Negroes are not citizens and therefore cannot sue in federal courts. (2) A slave’s residence in a “free state” does not make him a “free man.” (3) The Missouri compromise of 1820 – which had forbidden slavery – was an unconstitutional exercise of congressional power.” I am certain that Mr. Jackson would not support these decisions. Why, then, would he deprive the Unborn Child of the “freedom” to live, simply because he or she is residing in the womb and not in the crib? Mr. Jackson is a purported leader of the black people in the States and it is very disturbing to see him using his considerable influence with his followers to damage their traditional love for children and respect for motherhood. Politics is a corroding profession!
The land of the brave and the free
It is so sad to see the great country of America, which has opened its borders over the years to so many victims of persecution, taking on the role of persecutor and executioner of her own innocent children – refusing them entrance into the land of the brave and the free. Their own land! When Nikita Krushchev visited America in – I think – the 1960s, he expressed astonishment at the materialistic lifestyle of the people. He was reported to have said something to this effect, “We shall conquer America without firing a shot.” I have read somewhere that since history began to be recorded, nineteen empires have ruled the world. All but two of them perished because of internal corruption. What could be more corrupt than a society that murders its own children? One wonders how long America can last!
