Common Ground: Don't Use Violence to Make Your Point

World decries recent violence related to pro-life activists. But it's not what you think. In this case, the pro-life activists are the victims.

World makes the interesting point that there seems to be more of a media outrage over violence by "pro-life" activists than there is over violence against them. It's one reason for World to exist, I suppose, to bring balanced reporting. Regardless of what the media chooses to cover, this is just another thing all reasonable people can agree on: Whether you're pro-life or pro-choice, it's wrong to use violence to make your point about abortion.

See my book, Common Ground Without Compromise, for more on this.

Comments

[Mo]

It's a shame World Magazine no longer has full articles online. (Except for subscribers.) Anyway, I looked elsewhere to read the story.

How horrible is that? And you're right, not a peep of it anywhere. if this had been a pro-life person attacking a pro-abortion person (which we wouldn't do in the first place!) it would've been plastered over the papers for weeks on end.

'What liberal media?' indeed.

[Chris]

Why is violence wrong in this case?

A person can be justified in using violence against someone attacking an innocent person?

Why not attack a butcher tearing apart a child in order to save it?

[Wanda Zippler]

"Why not attack a butcher tearing apart a child in order to save it?"

I totally understand your question, but we have got to ask ourselves what would happen if we did start attacking abortionist.

One you would go to jail, and instead of being out in the world where you can actually help Crisis Pregnancy Centers, and other organizations which try to discourage abortions, you are stuck in a world where witnessing about abortion won't do allot of good.

As a result of being locked up you will lose your right to vote for pro-life candidates.

You will have created yet another abortion martyr which will make people who are pro-abortion harder to reason with, and at least some of the abortionist killings have inspired new people to become abortion doctors.

And of course when you commit a crime you abandon all of your responsibilities because it is impossible to help your family, friends or provide for your own future while in prison.

In short you are almost always more productive when you work within the law then when you work outside of the law. If you really want to help the cause locate your nearest Crisis pregnancy Center and find out what you can do to help.

[Patrick R]

Using violence will do nothing to help the unborn. It may actually hurt our cause more than it helps. As Steve has shown we have well reasoned arguments that in the long run will do more to stop abortion than an act of violence. Another doctor would merely take the place of the one who was murdered and perform the abortion. We need to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

[Louis Kuhelj]

"In short you are almost always more productive when you work within the law then when you work outside of the law. If you really want to help the cause locate your nearest Crisis pregnancy Center and find out what you can do to help."

Wanda, you made some excellent points and I agree with your methods for the reasons you outlined. However, I can see how some folks out there can't but wonder at what point does one start thinking about overthrowing the government? There are provisions within our system for such a course of action, but it is not to be taken lightly.

[Wanda Zippler]

"However, I can see how some folks out there can't but wonder at what point does one start thinking about overthrowing the government?"

The odd thing aout that statement is we should not have to take over the country. Our government is supposed to take on the charecteristics of the
the majority of the people, and if you just look at the raw numbers we outnumber non-christians (atleast the last time I checked we did) .
But clearly something is wrong because we no longer have a Christian Government.

Since I am disabled my real world experiences are now limmited so I could be wrong, but as far as I can see a huge portion of the church has made herself
unfit for service.
I know "Christians" who will scream at people that it is wrong to judge.
I know a preacher who when I first became a Christian complained that I read the Bible to much (twice in one year). But did not seem phased in the slightest when he found out that only two people in the entire Church had read the entire Bible. The preacher was not the other person!

I even know "Christians" who think that it is immpossible for anyone to change thier ways under any circumstances. If a formerly bad person claims to have become a Christian they insist the person must be lieing, even if they have had no recent experience with this person.
If they don't believe Christ can change lives why do they bother calling themselves Christians?

I am sorry I ranted for so long, I am just so tired of preachers who seem to be more at home in dark alleys, then they are at Church I even at one time had a preacher that was
married with children, but prefered hanging out with homosexuals at the local XXX bookstore, but didn't get kicked out of the Church till he got caught embezzening from the Church.

In short before we even think about overthrowing the government (preferably at the ballot box) we need to make sure we have people who are fit enough to take over.
While I applaud anyone who wants to clean up the government, I believe we need to start with the Church. If we can not run our own affairs in a godly way, we certainly
can not run the affairs of others in a godly way.