On the Murder of Dr. George Tiller
- Jun 1, 2009 - 6 -
The murder of Dr. George Tiller is a human tragedy.
If the perpetrator of this violence proves to be someone who was acting in the name of the pro-life movement, as appears to be the case, everyone in the pro-life community must swiftly and soundly repudiate him and his actions.
Murdering someone is a grotesque and bizarre way to emphasize one’s commitment to the sanctity of human life. People who truly believe in the sanctity of human life believe in the sanctity of the lives of abortion providers as well as the unborn babies who are aborted.
After a spate of violence against abortion providers in the early 1990s, as president of the then-Christian Life Commission, I convened a group of Southern Baptist ethicists and theologians who issued a statement in September 1994, which has become known as the Nashville Declaration of Conscience, that condemned the killing of abortion providers.
The document underscores the fact that each human life is sacred, noting that every “human being is made in the image of God.”
“For this reason, each human life bears divinely granted and immeasurable value. Human beings are not free to take the lives of others, for those lives belong to God, their Creator,” reads the declaration.
The statement recounts that there are legitimate forms of Christian response to the evil that is abortion and each of those responses fall far short of violence:
“Most Christians who believe, as we do, that the overwhelming majority of abortions are morally unjustifiable acts of killing, rightly feel the need to offer significant moral response. Indeed, millions of American Christians even today are engaged in activities that constitute such a response; most of these activities, in our view, are fully and morally justifiable and quite constructive. They are aimed at saving lives, and are directed at each of the participants in the abortion decision.”
Despite the fact that some have already used the media to try and paint the entire pro-life movement with the bloody brush of this heinous crime, in truth it is an extraordinarily tiny and maniacal minority that will condone Dr. Tiller’s murder.
As the 1994 declaration reads:
“We reject the argument that killing an abortion doctor is an act of violent civil disobedience made necessary by the gravity of the moral evil of abortion on demand. It is our conviction that no act of lethal force can be properly ascribed to the rubric of civil disobedience. …the killing of abortion doctors is not a morally justifiable or permissible Christian response to abortion. We utterly reject such conduct as inconsistent with Scripture.”
Particularly as citizens in a democracy, we must remember the government is ordained of God (Romans 13). It is His expectation that we submit to and obey those He has allowed to be in authority over us. Morally justifiable responses to abortion do not include violence against individuals or their property.
In December 1994, for an issue of First Things, I wrote,
“Pro-life Americans must take the moral high ground and vigorously oppose vigilante violence against abortion doctors or anyone else. We must tirelessly provide alternatives to abortion, engage the legal system, and affirm the overwhelming majority of physicians who refuse to perform abortions. So long as American democracy remains a legitimate form of government, with provisions for redress, reform, and nonviolent protest, we must remain “wise as serpents, harmless as doves.”
Clearly the killing of abortion providers is unbiblical, unchristian and un-American. Such callous disregard for human beings brutalizes everyone.
For people to take the law into their hands in this fashion and to attempt to be judge, jury and executioner of a fellow human being is reprehensible.
Let’s be clear about this. The struggle here is not between “pro-life” and “pro-choice”¬–it is between civilization and barbarism. The murder of Dr. Tiller is an act of domestic terrorism and should be condemned by every civilized person in our nation.
It is incumbent upon us to pray for Dr. Tiller’s family and all those who were forced to witness the terrible act of violence in a house of worship. The perpetrator of this violence should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of all human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. Our free, downloadable Impact resource on the sanctity of human life is now available at iLiveValues.com. Additional resources are available for purchase on our online bookstore and erlc.com.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Life, Abortion, Citizenship, Christian Citizenship
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comments
1 On Jun 2nd, 2009, at 11:49am, Bro. J.P. Williams wrote:
We have to have a consistent ethic of human life. If all life is precious, would it not follow then that war or torture, perhaps even capital punishment are sins against that image and the God who created us in it? Furthermore, would we not be guilty of sins of omission for not providing for the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, and visiting those in prison? What if the church truly locked arms around these poor mothers who turn to abortion because it is the only way out? We build bigger, better buildings, drive nicer cars, type on cooler computers, and speak of these issues as if they were abstractions instead of concrete realities.
God, help us as a convention to set the record straight.
2 On Jun 2nd, 2009, at 2:57pm, Ken Wilson wrote:
No. It does NOT simply follow. While war is an option of last resort it is sometimes justified (US entry into WW II is but one good example). Capital punishment is the state demanding justice on behalf of the nation’s citizens. Not often required but can be well justified. God condemned murder but demands capital punishment. Torture is too ill-defined to debate. Much certainly is inappropriate and counter-productive. Some of what some might call torture isn’t to someone else.
Sadly most mothers who choose abortion are not the poor with no way out. They are folks like most of us who make poor choices for poor reasons. I think we as a convention have been very consistent. May we always stay that course.
3 On Jun 2nd, 2009, at 3:55pm, David Hammock wrote:
The truth is…aren’t we all inconsistent and in the process of making progress in so-called “self-improvement? If progress is “trying to change ourselves,” then we drastically over-estimate the power of the human will to overcome what is rooted and grounded in sin. Only the life changing power of the blood of Christ, found in the crucified life, will ever bring consistent change. “Apart from me…you can nothing,” Jesus said. It is “not by might, nor by power but, by my Spirit saith the Lord” that any of us can overcome anything.
4 On Jun 2nd, 2009, at 7:03pm, Richard Humphries wrote:
Thank you for your prompt response to this incident. i respect your reminding everyone that moral and ethical values are still our ultimate goal as a people. i am still concerned about the hate level of the political rhetoric. If anything happens to President Obama, the potential bloodshed could fatally damage this Country.
Dick
5 On Jun 2nd, 2009, at 7:32pm, Dick Carroll wrote:
I greive for the family’s loss.
Having said that, I also believe that convience abortion is the cultural equivalent of child sacrifice in the ancient world. As they sought prosperity from the gods in return for sacrificing their children,so moderns seek to live free of the financial and parental responsibilities at the sacrifice of the unborn child. Abortion doctors are the priests of this idolatry and they profit off of it. Even so, God is the judge and no individual has the right to be judge and executioner. That is the role given by God to the state. If the state refuses that God given role then it is still God who decides the punishment for the nation and not an individual. Phinehas’ action in Numbers 25:8 is never to be the norm of action for the faithful.
6 On Jun 8th, 2009, at 1:14pm, James E Reeves wrote:
I see Dr Land knows the mistakes of maintaining the Ahab and Jewish mentallity of eye for eye instead of the two commands of Jesus. The idea of going back to the law and Jewish rule maintained by most dispensationalist will cause distortment of the truth found in Spiritual living in a natural world ruled by an awesome God, who has fulfilled and is fulfilling all things through Jesus.
Some view our ethical leaders actions as truth but when compaired with scripture those actions are like the foolish Galatians after Jews distorted the truth.
God’s judgement is His rule in this world and Heaven and He allows tragedy.
James E Reeves