Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Is Christianity to Blame for the Murder of George Tiller?

Is Christianity responsible for the murder of abortion provider George Tiller? Once again, many good-hearted, sincere Christians find themselves begging to be separated from whoever would do such a thing as kill an abortion doctor.

Soon after George Tiller was murdered in his church, a quick search on the web revealed new articles with titles like "The Culture of Life Strikes Again" and "The Sick Side of Pro-Life." And there was talk about holding "pro-life speech" responsible for the murder. This is an appeal to pro-choicers and opponents of the Christian faith: please do not generalize. Here are just a few examples of statements denouncing the murder from pro-life organizations:

Kansas Right to Life Condemns Tiller's Murder;
Nevada Right to Life Condemns Tiller's Murder; and
The Susan B. Anthony List Statement on the Death of George Tiller.

A church that accepted George Tiller as a member or attendee of their church should stand as proof to the world that there is Christian love even for someone whom many Christians would feel committed a grave sin in his clinics. And some Christians are pro-choice or struggle with the pro-choice/pro life dilemma in their personal convictions. So it's just as wrong to make generalizations about all Churches and Church-goers as it is to say "all gays are this" or "all blacks are that."

An abortionist who went to church may have had some inner struggle going on in his heart and mind with what he was doing as a profession. But the someone who would kill him, and kill him in a church, could not possibly be stable-minded in any way. As of this date, there is no news whether the person now in custody was a church member, or a "Christian," or someone who just walked into the church looking for Tiller. Yet many conclusions are being drawn.

One of the Ten Commandments says "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13). Another biblical principle exists: "Vengeance is the Lord's" (Isaiah 61:2, Romans 12:19). No sincere Christian living the Christian life would take judgment of Tiller upon themselves.

I offer prayers to the Tiller family, his congregation, the family of the killer, and for sensitivity within the Christian community no matter how much we dislike the fact that abortion is legal.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Ms. Young regrets she can no longer accept Anonymous comments at this blogsite, due to incidents of extreme spamming.

20-20 Faith Sight © 2009-2011 Sheryl Young. Template by OurBlogTemplates.com, Optimized by DeluxeTemplates.net, Concept and design by April Lorier.