Functional paganism

How many have heard the pro-abortion slogan "our lives, our bodies, our choices?" In this godless, hedonistic, society called Pagan America, the slogan fits well. But are we, the Church of Jesus Christ, also guilty of "functional paganism?" Haven't we adopted the same slogan? When we tolerate "birth control" within the Church, either by endorsement or by silence, aren't we saying the same thing?

There are many reasons for "birth control" -- the economy, a career wife, finishing school, spacing children,etc. In maintaining this reasoning as Christians, aren't we telling our Lord -- Who clearly has said that it is He who opens the womb and closes the womb -- that we want to control when, or even if, the womb will open or close?

Brothers and sisters, how can we think this way and still be able to confess Galatians 2:20, "It is no longer I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me."

"Birth Control" aptly named

When most people think of birth control, they really mean "conception control," figuring that if they can stop human sperm from fertilizing a human egg everything's fine and no sin has been committed. However, most chemical "birth control" is marketed as an "ovulation inhibitor," a fancy word for stopping the egg from being released by the ovaries in the woman's 28-day cycle. No egg, no chance of fertilization, no new person to deal with.

The truth about "birth control" is that it also contains chemicals that cause the uterine lining to be highly resistant to the implantation of fertilized eggs. Most "birth control: contains these anti-implantation chemicals because the anti- ovulation chemical has a high failure rate and to make a truly effective anti- ovulation only "birth control" that chemical must be increased to dosages so high that it causes medical problems in many women.

Now if you, my dear pro-life friends and colleagues, believe the pro-life statement we've made over and over, "life begins at conception," a conceived, fertilized egg that is denied, chemically, an opportunity to implant on the uterine wall is thus a murdered human being.

One cell or many cells, "a person's a person, no matter how small." The list of "birth control" that therefore kills children by this action is like Who's Who of contraceptives - The Pill, intrauterine devices (IUDs), Depo-Provera shots, Norplant, RU-486, and "morning after" pills administered to rape victims.

It is estimated that these "contraceptives" mentioned above kill up to thirteen-and-a-half million children a year. That's nine times the number killed by surgical abortion!

My friend, to allow "birth control" in the Church is to make murderers out of all of us who would use it and accessories out of us who would promote its use or condone its use by our silence on the issue.

In light of this, can someone tell me why blood should not be on our hands according to the book of Ezekiel if we refuse to warn our fellow Christians to avoid this murderous "birth control?" It kills human beings, which, according to God are people even if only eight-celled people, or even fertilized one-celled people.

Passive contraceptives

The word "contra-ception" means "against conception" and there are mechanical devices that passively attempt to block an ovulated egg from coming in contact with a sperm. These are diaphragms and condoms and similar devices - as well as chemical spermicides which are advertised to kill the man's seed before implantation can occur. Now even male birth control pills and female condoms are available.

Many would say that, since sexual relations are encouraged by God in the marriage relationship, if contraception is used, there is no sin. Are we not back once again into "functional paganism" with the same rhetoric as the pro-abortion crowd - "our lives, our bodies, our choices?" Certainly, this attitude in the Church contributes greatly to the vast silence heard from the Church on abortion.

Blood guilt

During my last stay in jail for rescue activities, one clergyman wrote me and told me that since all the babies that die go to heaven anyway, I was wasting my time trying to save their lives. Certainly blood guilt has been written about at length before, so I will not cover the ground again.

Suffice it to say, we know innocent blood cries out to the Creator for justice when it is shed. It is not just the individual whose life is cut short by abortion. All the generations the Creator had planned in that individual are never generations away from being born or conceived, was said to be in the lions of conceived or born.

If anyone disputes that innocent blood being shed involves more than the life that is taken, please remember that in Hebrews chapter 7 Levi, who was Abraham.

Conception, birth control, and indeed abortion thwart the will of God in our lives. We show a lack of faith that our Creator knows what's best for us. By using any type or method to determine how large our families will be, or when to have another child, we are saying, "my life, not Your life; my will, not Your will be done in my life."

What are we to do?

The battle to restore the right to life of every person in this nation will never be won until the church of the Living God identifies its own selfishness in this area and addresses all attempts to control conception as a grievous sin that has cost an untold number of lives. This is especially true when it realized that more than one life is affected -- that all the generations springing from that life are also never brought into being.

We are responsible for the truths that we have. The blood guilt is on our hands if we fail to warn our Christian brothers and sisters of this great sin of not trusting God with our reproductive future.

As technology rapidly moves mankind into chemical non-surgical abortion (yes, attempt to make it impossible for a fertilized egg to find a home in the uterus is abortion) with life and death decisions cast upon individuals in their privacy, it is high time for the Church to take the lead and denounce all of it as sin and call herself to repentance and to have no fellowship with churches who call themselves Christian but selfishly continue to insist "not Your will, but mine be done" in their reproductive lives.

The Church of the Living God is ordained by God to be the conscience of the society she exists in. How can we call a nation to repentance over surgical child-killing when we refuse to call ourselves to repentance for non-surgical child-killing - using the same reasoning.

As controversial as this subject may seem to some, the innocent blood being shed by our silence is not ignored by our Creator.

It is time to "come out from among them, and be thou separate, and touch not the unclean thing."

Mike Skott is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin pastor and is currently serving a six- month sentence for a September 29, 1994 rescue and, with five others, is facing a federal FACE trial for the same rescue.

Life Advocate
March, 1995

COMMENT: That was a very good article even though the verse [Rev. 18:4] that he mentioned in the last sentence is basically talking about coming out of the Whore of Babylon which is the Roman Catholic Church but any other wicked system that we are working with or within we are to come out of too. There are some of God's people in there and they are commanded to come out and touch not the unclean thing. Jesus loves those people but he must see repentance and a coming out or they will be partaker of her sins. That is a lot of bear, too much for anyone. Payday is coming soon for all the blood that was shed by that apostate church!