Vol
11 Edition 3, Third Quarter 2001
The
Blood of the Innocent - On Our
Hands?
Criminals murder 20 000 to 30 000 South Africans every year.1
South Africans are more than 15 times more likely to be victims of
murder or attempted murder than US residents (and 45 times more than
UK residents)!2 Despite this, the most dangerous places
in South Africa are not Hillbrow, Langa and
Berea _ but with your mother at the government hospitals and private
clinics that provide abortions.
Who
has died?
51
132 babies lost their lives through abortion last year.3
Twice as many innocent people were killed by doctors and nurses through
abortions as by criminals last year.
"The
LORD said, `What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries
out to Me from the ground.'" Genesis
4:10
These
abortions were not primarily the desperate actions of teenage mothers.
63% of these mothers were over 18 years old (and the ages of a further
29% were not recorded).
"They
shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters …"
Psalm 106:38
Over
a third of the abortions (13 027) took place after 12 weeks
of gestation. From conception, the baby has his (or her) unique DNA.
At 3 weeks, the baby has a heartbeat. From 6 weeks, brainwaves can
be detected. At 8 weeks, the child is a well proportioned baby, with
every organ present _ the stomach makes digestive juices, the liver
makes blood cells, and the kidneys begin to function. At 10 weeks
the child's body is sensitive to touch, and at 11 weeks the child
will even smile.4
"For
You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works
are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from
You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together
in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the
days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them
came to be." Psalm 139:13-16
Abortion
on demand has shown steady annual growth since it was introduced
in 1997. Prior to 1997, a lot of resistance to passing the law was
mobilised, and after the law was passed, a lot of pressure was applied
to prevent abortions. Since then the momentum has been lost. Abortion
is murder, and we cannot accept a steady annual increase in abortion.
“Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of
shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.” Deuteronomy
19:13
The
Free State led the abortion tables in 2000 with 2.1 abortions
per 1000 people. Gauteng (1.9) and the Western Cape (1.6) were not
far behind. The Eastern Cape (0.5) and Northern Province (0.4) are
the “least worst” – but still saw thousands of babies
lose their lives to abortion last year.
“If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!
Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward
slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’
does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards
your life know it? Will He not repay each person according to what
He has done?” Proverbs
24:10-12
What
has been done?
Excellent work has been done by Christians in establishing crisis
pregnancy centres and homes for unmarried mothers. Christian adoption
agencies ensure that every child has a home.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is
this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep
oneself from being polluted by the world.” James
1:27
Christian
doctors and nurses have resisted intense pressure to aid abortions,
resulting in only 32% of “designated facilities” carrying
out abortions.5 Doctors for Life have
supported these brave men and women.
“… my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot
on their paths; for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed
blood.” Proverbs
1:15-16
Christians
For Truth have done excellent work in their Kwazulu-Natal heartland,
putting intense and sustained pressure on private clinics, resulting
in the closure of the Marie Stopes clinic in Pietermaritzburg
recently.
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you.” James 4:7
.What
must still be done?
The
‘silent majority’ needs to make their voices heard. The
Life Chain – the first Sunday in October every year (7
October 2001) is an excellent opportunity for a huge public outcry,
to educate and to pray. If your town doesn’t have one, YOU can
organize a Life Chain. YOU cannot be silent at this time.
Those who hate God and love death (Proverbs 8:36) are using abandoned
and HIV+ children as an excuse for abortion. Early Christians
in the Roman Empire rescued babies that had been abandoned on the
‘exposure walls’ outside the city – often illegally
and at great risk to themselves.6 When compared with the possibility
of being thrown to the lions for rescuing a child, the bureaucracy
and expenses involved these days in taking a child into a Christian
home seem a small price to pay.
“A Father to the fatherless, a Defender of widows, is God
in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families …”
Psalm 68:5-6
Churches need to preach the sanctity of human life and support
women in crisis pregnancies, as well as parents who chose to adopt.
“… In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons
through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will …”
Ephesians 1:4-5
More education is needed in the homes and in schools. The message
needs to go out that sex causes babies to be conceived, and a pre-born
baby is not a blob of tissue.
Pro-lifers need to be organised to ensure that no-one can walk into
an abortion clinic or hospital without being confronted with the
facts about abortion. Retired people, who are available during
the day, can stand in the gap here.
More
research is needed. Accurate numbers and demographics are needed.
Testimonies of women who have chosen life (and even death)
are needed. South African photos of aborted babies must be
obtained.
Finally,
we need to mourn for the lost lives and pray that God will give
the victory. We need to aim, not merely for a reduction in abortions,
but change hearts and minds and ultimately to end abortion. Human
life, whether that of 20 000 already born victims of criminals, or
of 50 000 pre-born victims of abortion, is made in God's image and
must be protected.
Jeanine
McGill
Notes:
1. It's impossible to be precise because of the current moratorium
on crime statistics. According to the South Africa Yearbook 2000/01,
there were 23 823 murders in 1999.
2.
From the Interpol figures for 1996, 1997, as quoted in the South
Africa Survey 2000/2001, p 75.
3. Fax from the Department of Health to Africa Christian Action, 22/6/2001.
These numbers may include significant under-reporting since some chemically
induced abortions are recorded as miscarriages, and (from telephone
conversations with the Department) it appears that the figures exclude
private abortions.
4. Milestones of Early Life tract. Moore and Persaud, The
Developing Human, Clinically Oriented Embryology, 1998, supports
these figures.
5. Public Hearings on the Implementation of the 1996 Choice on
Termination of Pregnancy Act, A Short Report November 2000, p10.
6. George Grant, Third Time Around, p26.
BANKROLLING
THE REFORMATION
Although
God has sometimes miraculously provided for His people, often He has
given ordinary people the privilege of sharing in His work through
their provision for His servants. At other times, since others were
not willing, God's servants have given self-sacrificially to do His
work. Keep reading for a look at some examples from history ….
All
Christians are exhorted to excel in the grace of giving (2 Corinthians
8:7). In addition to this, those who have the gift of contributing
to the needs of others are urged to give generously (Romans 12:8).
Biblical
Examples
Abraham
used his own provisions and private army to rescue his
nephew Lot from war-torn Sodom (Genesis 14).
"When
Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out
the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far
as Dan." Genesis
14:14
Gideon
sacrificed his father's second bull in obedience to God, to
break the power of idolatry (Judges 6).
"That
same night the LORD said to him, `Take the second bull from your father's
herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal
and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind
of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the
wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull
as a burnt offering.'" Judges 6:25-26
In
1 Samuel 11, Saul cut into pieces his own oxen and sent
these all over Israel to call the tribes to war against cruel
and oppressive Ammonites (now that's an unusual mailing!).
"He
took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by
messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, `This is what will be done
to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.' Then the
terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one
man." 1 Samuel 11:7
The
wicked Israeli king Ahab promoted idolatry and provoked God to anger.
After the prophet Elijah bravely spoke God's judgement
in the form of a drought, his bread is provided by a very
poor widow in Zarephath (1 Kings 16,17).
"Go
at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow
in that place to supply you with food." 1 Kings 17:9
The
prophet Elisha was blessed with meals and luxury
accomodation by a well-to-do woman in Shumen (2 Kings 4).
"One
day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged
him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to
eat. She said to her husband, `I know that this man who often comes
our way is a holy man of God. Let's make a small room on the roof
and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then
he can stay there whenever he comes to us.'" 2 Kings 4:8-10
Our
King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus' itinerant ministry was
supported by grateful women who had been delivered from demon
possesion (Luke 8:1-3). These provisions also enabled the disciples
to follow Him full-time.
"These
women were helping to support them out of their own means."
Luke 8:3
Besides
his tent making, churches like the Philippians supported Paul
and Christians offered hospitality to him on his travels.
"I
can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Yet it was good
of you to share in my troubles."
Philippians
4:13-14
Examples
from the Reformation
Printers
reproduced and distributed Martin Luther's writings across the
whole of Germany. At a particularly dangerous time, he was
"kidnapped" (taken into protective custody) and
secretly housed for ten months by Frederick the Elector of
Saxony, since the Catholics wanted to kill him. He took this opportunity
to complete the translation of the New Testament into the German language.1
After
his allegiance to the Roman church was broken, on principle, John
Calvin resigned from two income-producing benefices, despite having
no other support. Later, in Geneva, like the other pastors,
he was called and paid a salary by the Little Council.2
More
Recent History
Charles
Spurgeon's Stockwell orphanage was kick started by a 20 000 pound
gift from a clergyman's widow. Generous support from a variety
of people through the years provided the running costs for the orphans,
as well as for a variety of other causes, including a temperance society,
a ladies' maternal society, a poor ministers' clothing society and
ragged schools.3
Besides
his work in the British Parliament to abolish slavery, William
Wilberforce felt a strong call for the "reformation of
manners (morals) in this country". His Clapham Christian
action group fought against child labour and for prison
reform and improvement in factory conditions. This group
used pamphlets, drawings, petitions and boycotts to inform and exert
pressure. Wilberforce gave very generously of his own time and money
to a wide variety of causes, and died bankrupt. 4
David
Livingstone had to send his wife and children back to England
because he was in debt and his salary from the London Missionary
Society did not arrive for over a year. He had very little, and
local people (including the Boers) stole most of that.6
God certainly used him in spite of his poor support!
What
can you do to promote Reformation?
Support
your local church _ and make sure that your church spends the
money Biblically. If the Lord has blessed you with more to give than
your tithe, read on ….
Support
the organisations that prophetically proclaim God's truth and
work for righteousness in South Africa (Matthew 10:40-42). Besides
giving generously, you can support these organisations by buying,
reading and acting on their books _ and you too will be blessed!
Support
Godly leaders _ getting elected into public office is not cheap.
Find, pray for, encourage and financially help Christian men and women
who are capable, trustworthy and who hate corruption (Exodus 18:21)
to take positions of influence.
Show true religion (James 1:27) and support widows and orphans,
and those who help them. Modern needs include Crisis Pregnancy
Centres, AIDS hospices and adopting "unwanted" children.
Change
the next generation - we need Christian lawyers, doctors, teachers,
journalists … Support the education of promising young people
_ but make sure that provision for "mind renewing"
(Romans 12:2) books, camps and courses are included in the budget.
Be
sure to offer hospitality to visiting Christians. Offering
hospitality to girls in crisis pregnancies and Christians in financial
difficulty can be a challenge, but reflects what the early Christians
practiced.
"…
Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
1 John 3:18
Jeanine McGill
Notes:
1.
JA Morrison, Martin Luther, The Great Reformer, Christian
Liberty Press, Illinois, 1994.
2.
Dr. William Lindner, John Calvin, Bethany House Publishers,
Minnesota, 1998.
3. Ernest W. Bacon, Spurgeon, Heir of the Puritans, Christian
Liberty Press, 1996.
4. Wilberforce video by Gateway films and "Setting the Captives
Free" by Peter Hammond.
5. C. Silverster Horne, David Livingstone, Man of Prayer and
Action, Christian Liberty Press, Illinois, 1999.
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For
more information and resources contact:
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