Shoulder To Shoulder #1265 -- 11/15/21 ---- "The Folly of Forgetting God -- Demise of a People: Part 8 -- Sacrificing To Molech (Part F)"
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics
selected to motivate people to be strong students of the Word and courageous witnesses of Jesus Christ.
It is a personal letter of encouragement to you, written solely to help "lift up hands that hang down".
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil,
but by those who watch them without doing anything." -- Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day,
which many have, and think they have -- a cheap Christianity
which offends nobody, and requires no sacrifice, which
costs nothing, -- and is worth nothing.” – J. C. Ryle
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica,
for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the
Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." -- Dr. Luke (Acts 17:11)
Shoulder To Shoulder #1265 -- 11/15/21
Title: "The Folly of Forgetting God -- Demise of a People: Part 8 -- Sacrificing To Molech (Part F)"
My Dear Friend and Co-Laborer with Christ:
My deepest apology again, for not getting this out until Wednesday evening. This has been another hectic week as we continue working on our new house, trying to get our contractor back to finish work, going to doctors' appointments, and the like. But in spite of it all, . . .
"What a lovely day it is in the neighborhood!" So goes Mr. Rogers, and so goes Yuma. While many subscribers are probably already suffering from unwanted cold weather, and some may already be dealing with freezing temps and/or snow, Jo Ann and I are enjoying a day with high temps projected to reach 85 and a low tonight of 57 -- all with no precipitation of any kind. Hopefully you are joyfully enduring your weather "lot in life". We certainly are.
We just concluded the second service of the season for Chapel de Oro, and our attendance already jumped by 40% over the previous Sunday. Our Canadian members are beginning to quickly arrive, and so many are expressing the new "freedom" from all the mandates, quarantines, and protocols still in place there. Several of them said they felt like they could breathe again and didn't feel like they had to look over their shoulder all the time to make sure they were doing everything "by the book".
Once again we had first-timers in the service. And again, it came as a result of one of our chapel members meeting them at the hot-tub, striking up a conversation, and inviting them to services. One couple was so impressed and thrilled with the services that they insisted they planned to attend regularly. This ministry is so much fun!!!!
One of the most exciting developments pertains to rebuilding our worship team. When we arrived five seasons ago, the team consisted of nine and sometimes ten musicians -- piano, ukulele, electric bass, fiddle (violin, depending on songs), banjo, and guitars. Due to death, moving, and/or not returning, we currently are down to three with a fourth one coming later in the season. So, it was a wonderful surprise when our former Coordinator of our Northwest Ministry Team living in Seattle called to tell me of a recently retired couple who have moved to Yuma.
He is an engineer, a "media guy", a guitarist, and an experienced worship leader from their church. They were unable to attend this past Sunday, but want to meet with Jo Ann and me this week to get acquainted and begin probing how they might be able to minister in the chapel. So, as the Lord calls us to mind, please pray with us about this potential development.
I cannot be more grateful than I am for the numerous words of encouragement and appreciation so many have expressed regarding my recent letters about the issue of abortion. It certainly is a "sticky" topic, especially for believers -- they have greater struggles than unbelievers because they have to deal with the teachings of God's Word and not just Planned Parenthood, pro-abortionists, and Roe v. Wade. Just last night two ladies thanked me for what I had been sharing.
My heart breaks over the devastating way in which the world's thinking has so permeated the Body of Christ. With humility I still must assert that what has happened to many churches and many Christians today is so much alike what happened to Israel, as we examined in the first letter of this series. The church has left its first love just as Israel repeatedly did. As Jeremiah wept in his day that Israel had forsaken the "Fountain of Living Water" and had dug for themselves broken cisterns that hold no water (Jer 2:13), so America has done the same.
Israel's depraved condition consisted of pagan idolatry, inter-cultural marriage, and sacrificing babies to the pagan god, Molech. America, in spite of our strong founding on the absolutes of Judeo-Christian teachings (that is, the Bible), has followed after the same ways. They are the ways indoctrinated into the psyche of the first humans in the Garden of Eden -- live entirely independently from God, thus rebelling against Him and His purposes. Today our pagan idol is secularism as manifested in Socialism and Marxism, the total perversion of the biblical pattern of marriage, and the rampant practice of abortion to the tune of over one million murders a year.
It is no wonder that we are being judged and reprimanded by God at every level of society -- political, environmental, academic, economic, and medical. One can only wonder how much longer it will last. My suspicion is that it will continue until we either repent, or God turns His back on us because we refuse to surrender to Him.
So, today, I want to let you read first-hand accounts from some people who performed abortions, and also from some who had abortions and deeply regretted it. It is important to hear directly from some "been-there-done-that" people, and these are just a few of literally scores of accounts I found. So, we'll do that right after you take a look at . .
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ Something Different Just For Your Enjoyment: A friend sent me this link some time ago to a Ukrainian band, "UniSon", playing a blues/jazz rendition of "Amazing Grace". If you stay online, you'll hear more of them as they worship the Lord. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F52S-kh0akE
+ Typo's -- Sometimes Inadvertently, Sometimes Intentionally: I'm a stickler for grammatical accuracy, but more often than not, some sneak into my letters. I was reminded of that recently when a friend agreed with me that "Spell Check" doesn't do a thorough job. It's a particular issue with me because I so frequently use quotes by others. In using quotes, I often use one from an author from a non-American English background or from others who use grammar from the old "King's English" school. I never correct the grammar or misspelled words in a quote; that isn't my right. So, if you see a legitimate grammatical error, and you can't keep it to yourself, at least let me know "kindly". 😂
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK
> "I once participated in a debate where I was asked to describe the constitutional rights afforded to the unborn. For me, the answer was easy because I've studied the Founders. For the other guy – who completely dodged the question – it was just another opportunity to spout some platform slogans about choice and women's rights." -- RIchie Angel
> "Behind every political, moral, economic, entertainment, and academic decision or action in the visible world, there is a hidden invisible influence behind it. Whether it is good or bad, all in the visible world is impacted by the two forces at work in the invisible world -- one that is Divine from a Creator, and one that is Demonic from a Destroyer. You will never fully understand the outcomes in the visible world until you seriously consider the intentions of the invisible world. This is manifested in issues such as family violence, sexual perversion, and abortion. All three are the products of the Demonic attempt to destroy what God cherishes most -- mankind and the human family." -- T. Allen Robburts
> What makes human life valuable and worthy of protection is that it is human life, bearing the inviolable image of the Creator. Life is valuable because of what it is, not what it does -- whether that's making beautiful music or being tone deaf, inventing a light bulb and unlocking spectacular scientific mysteries or needing help tying shoelaces...or yes, leading the most powerful nation in world history." -- Peter Heck (The American Thinker, 5/11/11)
> ". . . what is ‘going on’ in America is spiritual: two distinct religions are vying for control and supremacy of the public square: eternal and immutable Christianity versus transient and mutable secularism. Both cannot coexist for long, if ever, as one will ultimately go down as a consequence of the elevation of the other." -- David Lane (American Renewal Project, 11/16/21)
> "Hence I have always frankly admitted that abortion is murder, the extermination of the powerless by the powerful. Liberals for the most part have shrunk from facing the ethical consequences of their embrace of abortion, which results in the annihilation of concrete individuals and not just clumps of insensate tissue." -- Camille Paglia, (Salon, 2008. Camille is a hardliner pro-abortionist)
> “I was once pro-choice and the thing that changed my mind was, I read my husband's biology books, medical books, and what I learned ... At the moment of conception, a life starts. And this life has its own unique set of DNA, which contains a blueprint for the whole genetic makeup. The sex is determined. We know there's a life because it's growing and changing.” -- Kathy Ireland (Actress, Author, Fashion Model)
> "It is wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being. Anyone who wants to live among others has to subscribe to that presupposition. Abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being. The science of embryology and the words of abortion rights advocates both affirm this claim. Therefore, abortion is wrong." -- Marc Newman (author of Contenders: A Church-Wide Strategy to Unmask Abortion, Defeat Its Advocates, Empower Christians, and Change the World, Town Hall, 8/7/15)
> “Justices in the United States believe that their duty is to uphold the Constitution, but if they do not understand that the authority of the Constitution itself rests upon the inalienable natural rights of all human beings, then they not only undermine the Constitution, which they are sworn to uphold but also turn themselves into wielders of arbitrary power." -- Robert J. Spitzer (in Ten Universal Principles: A Brief Philosophy of the Life Issues)
> "Christians do not need the Bible to tell us that abortion is wrong, because science concludes without a shadow of a doubt that the pre-born child is a human being and reasonable people can agree that it is wrong to kill innocent human beings." -- Dr. Brian Clowes, PD (in What Does the Bible Say about Abortion?, June 5, 2020, Human Life International, http://www.hli.org)
WHAT FORMER PRO-ABORTIONISTS HAVE TO SAY:
Doctors, nurses, employees, and directors from abortion clinics around the country have been steadily leaving the industry for the past forty years after realizing that what they were doing was totally wrong -- ethically, economically, politically, spiritually, and medically wrong. Developments in ultrasound systems that improve imagery even more have contributed to those departures.
So, that brings up a significant question ---- if abortion was so beneficial to women's health all these years, why would they decide to leave? Well, let a few of them tell you in their own words. These are real people, and these are their real words. None of them are fictional.
+ Deanna Falchook ---- Deanna Falchook is the author of To Be a Mother and The Cinderella Mindset where her work has been featured in Charisma, Breitbart, 700Club, EWTN, and Faithwire. She is the mom of 7 children (5 internationally adopted), and lives in Orlando, FL. A few weeks after sharing her story at a Pro-life Women’s Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted by former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson in May, 2019, Deanna wrote the following a few weeks later:
"I had a warped preconception about the character of pro-life women. Convinced they were all judgmental, self-righteous, and filled with little concern for my wellbeing, I preferred not to associate with them. I saw them as women who were misinformed, ultra-conservative, groveling at the feet of their husbands, women who had picket signs attached to their uteruses, carried fetal models in their purses at all times, and had no sense of style, including big, Texan hair.
". . . . I became pro-life about five minutes after my baby was painfully sucked out of my body. That was over 20 years ago. I could’ve cared less at that point what the pro-life women looked like, smelled like, or talked like. I just knew that the pro-choice women who looked all cool in their bra-less halters and flat hair ruined my life with their bait-and-switch rhetoric. They baited me into a lie in minimizing the after-effects of the abortion experience, and then when I said, 'Hey, what was that?' they grew silent and didn’t look so cool anymore.
"I didn’t tell anyone about my abortion, and I didn’t find healing until ten years ago. When it came time to pick up the pieces and reconcile over my abortion, I found that the big-haired pro-life women were the ones who came running to my side to pick me up off the floor. Pro-life women are not what I expected.
After going in to some detail about her erroneous perception of what "pro-life women" were like, she pointed out that they are extremely diverse in every way -- religious and not, poor and not, conservative and not, etc., concluding with a pointed little statement, . . .
"I, for one, am now so proud to call myself a pro-life woman."
+ Char (hopefulheart) ---- This woman wrote her story at 1:00 AM dealing with her denial of what her abortion had done. After wrestling with her actions, she at great length finally told her story. Here are excerpts of what she wrote, . . .
". . . I've come to a realization of what I've done. I think . . . about my abortion, the pregnancy, and the baby; often, probably on a daily basis. . . . Any time that these scenes play in my mind, from when I found out I was pregnant to the present moment in time, I cry. It's difficult to think about any one event, but when they all come together, the pain is immense.
"I am a twenty-eight year old single Mother of a beautiful eight year old son. When I found out I was pregnant with him, I was upset and scared, but I always felt like I could handle things. I did for a very brief time consider both adoption and abortion, but once I told my family, and I knew that I had their love and support, I never thought about it again.
". . . . In early September of this year, I wasn't feeling well. A few days before I'd eaten at a picnic. I assumed the nausea and vomiting was from some food that was cooked improperly. Near the end of the week, the vomiting had subsided.
"I had dinner with a friend. The nausea afterwards was vaguely familiar. I decided to do a pregnancy test, just to 'set my mind at ease.' My menstrual cycle can be irregular so, I wasn't worried. I still remember the panic when I saw the second line appear on the test. The tears started rolling down my cheeks immediately. . . .
"I opened the phone book that night and found a phone number for a clinic several hours away. [It] offered a procedure called a non-surgical, or medical abortion. The woman on the other end of the phone was very nice and caring. She explained the procedure to me. She told me the pain and bleeding would be like a heavy period. I would get a sonogram at the clinic and if my pregnancy was early enough, I would receive a shot to 'stop tissue growth.' A few days later, I would use some vaginal suppositories that would cause me to miscarry. She made it sound so easy. I made my appointment for the following Saturday.
"I confided in my sister-in-law, and she arranged an appointment for me at a local crisis pregnancy center. While I was there, I had a sonogram that told me I was about six and a half weeks. I really couldn't see much on the sonogram and I really couldn't see how deep in crisis I was. I was not thinking as clearly as I thought I was. I remember telling the woman there my hundreds of reasons why I couldn't have this baby. I didn't know then that they had heard them all before. Finances, marriage, health, work; I had so many reasons. I really needed someone to pull me aside and tell me that they knew I could do it, but no one did.
"As I told my boyfriend about the baby that evening, he was just as upset and confused as I was. After a few days to think things over, he told me that he didn't think we should keep the baby. I was devastated. If I would have had his support, I would have continued the pregnancy. The thought of raising two children by myself terrified me. I kept telling myself that I couldn't do it alone.
"As I kept my appointment, my drive to the clinic that day was the longest of my life. I was scared. . . . My counseling session was short. They never really discussed any of the possible physical and emotional complications. I had a quick sonogram and then received a shot of methrotrexate. This is a drug that is used for cancer treatment, it stops cell growth. After the shot, I came home.
"In next few days, . . . I tried not to think a lot about what was going to happen. I spent the day on Thursday in a fog. I knew I needed to use the suppositories that day, but I tried not to think about it. I went to bed that evening around 9pm. I used the suppositories as soon as I went to bed. I remember feeling the contractions start about half an hour later. In the beginning, they were mild, but within an hour the pain was severe. I continued contracting and bleeding most of the night. Around three in the morning,
"I went to the bathroom. I had been passing a lot of clots most of the evening. I assumed that the pain and pressure I was feeling was from more clots. When I stood up, I noticed that the pain and the pressure was not from clots, but from passing the placenta. When I looked in the commode, I saw laying in the center of the placenta my baby. I saw the baby's perfectly formed hands, the little fingers. I remember the scream that came from my mouth.
"The last few months have been tough. The grief, depression, and anger at myself have been at times overwhelming. . . . I've started healing. A wonderful woman who understands women and the awful grief this experiences leaves behind has come into my life. God has led me to her and I only hope I can be as helpful in someone else's life. Thank-you Brenda. You will never know how deeply your compassion and caring have touched my life.
"For weeks after my abortion, every time I closed my eyes I saw the vision of my aborted baby. I have been able to replace that difficult image with a vision of a beautiful blonde haired, little girl. She has blue eyes and long hair, up in a ponytail with a big contagious smile on her face. When I see her, I tell her how sorry I am. How much I love her. I beg for her forgiveness.
Emily Rose I love you, and I am sorry.
+ Melanie M. ---- Melanie began by describing how she had been strongly pro-choice and as early as age 14, used all the typical pro-choice arguments about how women would die in alleys, no one has the right to tell women what to do with her body, abortion's legitimacy for rape, incest, etc. Then at age 17 everything changed. She wrote, . . .
"I was preparing to go off to college in the fall, to accomplish all of these dreams that would make me important to the world around me. I got pregnant. My fiancé was only 18, barely out of high school. All of a sudden, abortion didn't look like a very good idea, for me...it was still okay for other women, but not me. I didn't want to make this baby-to-be pay for what I knowingly did- having sex before I wanted children. I didn't want my child to be born out of wedlock, so we got married a year early. I got married one week before my senior prom.
"My child was born the same week I was to start college. I held him and all I could do was thank God for this child and for planting the pro-life seed in my heart when I was at the cross roads. Still, yet, I didn't think there was anything wrong with other women doing it. I was still of the mind set that that was a personal decision.
"At 19, I had an affair. I got pregnant and didn't know if my husband was the child's father or if my lover was. I ended up staying with my husband. He was aware of the affair and the possibilities of the child I was carrying. Yet, there was enough 'what if's' to prevent me from aborting the child. . . .
"All of this time, my reasons for supporting abortion started slipping. I turned my life over to God, thankfully Then, I read a book. A book changed my heart and my outlook, Who Broke the Baby? I had never thought about the value of all human life, regardless of deformities or the method in which the life is created. Finally, I have seen that the choice one makes is the moment of conception...to have sex or not... If, by rape or incest, a child is created, it is not the fault of the child. It is no less human then the most wanted baby.
"I am now completely pro-life. We thought I had a tubal pregnancy, even then, we knew that if we were to abort that baby to save me, I would never recover from killing my child to save myself. I have been raped once, if it were to ever happen again and a baby was the result, we would keep the child. Nothing changes the fact that a baby is human, no matter what. God bless,"
+ rhianwenj ---- Whoever this woman is, she described her strong position, even being not only "pro-choice", but even more strongly "pro-abortion". She described how she would verbally attack anyone who was pro-life, being very rude and unkind. She was, herself, the product of two teenagers who had sex outside of marriage and ended up being raised by her grandmother. She described her story like this . . .
"I was bought up Catholic, in an Irish household, mainly by my grandmother. . . . I was good, until I was 20, when I had a one night stand with an Irish musician. I felt terrible, of course, having succumbed to lust and violated my faith. I became pregnant as a result of that, and, as I did not want to disappoint my beloved grandmother as had done my mother, I went and had an abortion in secret. I committed a terrible act to cover up a bad one.
"Becoming pro-choice was the way I dealt with the emotions arising from the abortion. . . . So, I was not 'truly' pro-choice, I felt I HAD to be in that camp to justify my own actions. Of course, it did not work, really, and I felt worse than ever. I was consumed with a lot of anger, and told everyone I knew that I had an abortion and was very glad I did. It was my way of dealing with the pain inside. I was outspokenly in favour of abortions and encouraged others to do as I had done. I even made tasteless jokes about fetuses.
"As to my conversion, I had been having doubts about the moral correctness of my pro-choice views for a while. I believe that life is special, that it is wrong to take the life of even an animal without good reason, and pretty much had a pro-life ethic, apart from the unborn. Of course, that felt wrong, as it indeed, was.
". . . I again became pregnant. It was a surprise, but I am now married, and it was welcome. Being pregnant seemed to have switched on something inside, and I found I could no longer BE pro-choice at all any more. I cannot justify the taking of innocent life just because it is not Ok for me at the time. I know I did something that was wrong, and I don't like the feeling of being in favour of something just to justify myself."
@yahoo.com
+ Susan ---- Susan described her life in college where it wasn't "hip" or "enlightened" to be pro-life. However, when she became a mother, all of the "political correctness" about being pro-abortion changed. She wrote, . . .
"Having babies changed my perspective on abortion greatly. It's difficult to even imagine killing the person who kicks, rolls and even hiccups in your womb. . . . My third child really affirmed my pro-life beliefs, though. She was born with Down syndrome and a heart defect. Thoughts that perhaps she'd have been better off not being born [actually] crossed my mind. When we visited her in the Neonatal ICU that she'd been transported to, my husband said that he wished God would 'just take her'.
"During the next fourteen months of her life, though, Kelly demonstrated to us that she wouldn't be ready to go for quite some time. We grew to understand that her life has as much value and meaning as anyone else's. She reached some milestones late -- sat up at 8 mos., walked at 20 mos., but I was amazed when she rolled over at 4 mos. And began to respond to her favorite activity, baths, by saying "baaa" at 11 mos.
"When her heart defect was repaired when she was 14 mos. old, she had complications. She bled through the sutures in her chest, and her blood pressure dropped dangerously low. Over the next couple of days, she retained 4 pounds of fluid. 'Just take her' changed to 'Please, Lord, don't take our precious daughter yet'. T
"Thanks to God, she pulled through after two more surgeries. She is now a happy eight year old, and although she faces another health obstacle called subaortic stenosis, we pray it will be resolved. One thing is clear: my daughter loves her life and has a right to it. I see daily that my daughter's life has value, yet I also see opinions in the public forum that devalue the lives of the disabled."
+ Connie S. ---- After describing how she was pro-choice enough during her high school and college years that in her late 20's she even told her boyfriend that if she got pregnant, she would have an abortion. Then she got married at age 30. Abortion didn't cross her mind during those early years, and she remained childless until age 33, but she was still pro-choice. She went on to write, . . .
"After the birth of my son, my opinion gradually changed. The older he got, the more I questioned how someone could choose to destroy something as wonderful as a baby. . . . I started going to church on a regular basis, and my son's baptism was a joyous occasion. I read the Bible, the lives of the saints, and studied the Catechism. I asked God to let me do His will. The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is a sin, in fact, a mortal sin. How could I condone something that was in direct conflict with what I longed to be a part of? . . .
"I believe that as I open my heart and mind to God, the Holy Spirit works to show me what is truly right and truly wrong in the eyes of Our Lord. And that the most important thing in our everyday, mundane lives, is to do the will of God, so that we may be united with Him and His Most Holy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Now, I can say that I am pro-life. Abortion is wrong. Disposing of a human life is wrong. . . . For those pro-choice people who say that it is a fetus, and not a baby, I say it is just mincing words. It is human, it is alive, and no one has the right to throw it away with such little disregard as what is happening in the world today. If we do not stand up for what is morally right and try to change the horrible conditions in our society, nothing is ever going to get better. God has given us free will, and how each of us chooses to conduct our life has an impact on the next generation. . . .
"May the peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
+ "Jlaksh" ---- This lady described how she had been a strong pro-choice (pro-abortion) advocate until something that happened during her first year in college. It wasn't a matter of her own situation, but rather that of a close friend. She wrote, . . .
". . . Probably the turning point was at dinner one night when some of my friends and I were talking about our families. One of my dear friends, who is multiracial (as am I) said that when her mother became pregnant with her many people suggested that she have an abortion. I was stunned by the fact that this wonderful person sitting across from me might never have existed, and I would never have traveled with her, cried on her shoulder, written her overly long letters, cared for her plants while she was on vacation . . .
"The biggest part of being pro-life is an inherent faith in humanity, a belief that, in the words of Anne Frank 'all people are really good at heart.' Profile sentiments do not deal only with abortion and euthanasia, but also with hunger, poverty, and social and political oppression. To be profile is to support the rights and dignity of ALL human beings, from conception onwards. American society has convinced us that many things are disposable. Let us never forget that people are not disposable."
+ Emily ---- This lady indicated that 35 years ago she would have said a woman can do what she chooses with her body. Ten years later she believed abortion was wrong, but choice should still be allowed. Ten years later her belief was that abortions should be allowed only in a "life or death" situation. She attributes the change to changes in her own spiritual life, stating, . . .
"What has changed over the years is my love for the Lord. The deeper my love grows for Him, the more I hear, 'If you love me, keep my commandments,' and among those commandments is, 'Thou shalt not commit murder,' Thankfully, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, all our sins can be forgiven, including the sin of taking the life of an unborn child.
"However, I'm sure that every time a baby is aborted, it grieves His heart. I think that maturing as a Christian means that more and more, His desires become our desires and it grieves our heart to grieve His. All life belongs to Him, there are no unplanned pregnancies.
"Because God knew these unborn babies before they were even conceived, they are just as much a person as the mothers and fathers whose union made their conception possible. God created each of these babies with a purpose, which we, as His servants, can help fulfill by ensuring their continued development and birth. I love the old bumper sticker, 'God don't make no junk.' This certainly applies to those teeny, tiny babies nestled so helplessly in their mothers' wombs.
". . . we are daily asked that very familiar question, 'What would Jesus do?' How would Jesus minister to women and their unborn children? . . . First of all, I know He would love them and would speak only the truth to them. He would also invite them to trust in Him and to believe that all things could be redeemed through Him. Finally, He would draw them away from their sinful lives into a relationship with Him In the opening,
". . . Only God has the right to say when life begins and when it ends. I thank and praise Him that He has entrusted me to minister His truth through love."
+ Alesia ---- Raised in a Christian school, Alesia described the revulsion she had when her friends would talk about the abortions they had. She then stated,...
"These children had not asked to be conceived, yet they was paying the ultimate price for their 'parents' irresponsibility. How hard would it have been to use birth control? After one of my friends had her abortion, the Planned Parenthood clinic she went to gave her a year's free prescription for any birth control method she chose. 2 weeks after her abortion, she was having unprotected sex again. I asked her why and she responded, 'It's too hard to remember to take those pills everyday.'
"From that point on I was pro-life. Before I had assumed that most women who had had abortions had tried to prevent pregnancy from the beginning, but had accidentally conceived. I don't consider conception an accident when you took no steps to prevent it.
"As a woman I feel the greatest gift I have been given is the ability to bring forth new life. And, as a Black woman I feel that throughout history, when everyone had been against us, the mothers in our community were the safe havens, the ones who were there to protect us. . . . It took a long time for me to recognize abortion for the murder that it is, but now that I have, I plan to let my views be known."
+ Carmela ---- In this lady's testimony, she described how she discovered the depth to which Planned Parenthood went in lying to people about abortion. She wrote, . . .
"The whole reason I was pro-choice was based on lies. I was very loyal to Planned Parenthood, but, when I did some research, I found out that a lot of the things they were telling me were false. I didn't know that most of the world's top scientists have said that the fetus is human, and I never really thought about it.
"I also didn't know that PP was lying when they said 1 million women died as a result of illegal abortions in 1972. The number is closer to 39. There were so many lies that I decided to see what the pro-lifers were really all about, instead of relying on what PP had to say about them. That's when I learned that the fetus deserves to live just as much as any of us. I still believe that if the mother's life is in danger, she can choose, along with the father of the child if he is in the picture, to save her life instead of the child's. But any other time, I now think abortion is murder."
I have more than two dozen other such stories, but space and time require that I end this part of today's letter. Perhaps at another time I can share more stories like these. In the meantime, consider some testimonials from the professionals: ----
THE ABORTION PROVIDERS AND PERFORMERS:
Not only have I found numberless stories of those who have been on the receiving end of abortions, but also former Planned Parenthood providers and doctors who have performed abortions are leaving clinics and discontinuing performing abortions. Here are a few stories.
+ Dr. Paul Jarrett ---- Paul E. Jarrett, Jr. was an abortionist in the 1970s. On the "liveaction" pro-life website, he described an abortion he performed in 1974 that changed his mind about abortion forever. While doing a suction abortion, Jarrett realized the suction curette was obstructed by one of the baby’s torn-off leg. Jarrett then changed techniques to dismember the child with ring forceps. In a written testimony he said:
"And as I brought out the rib cage, I looked and I saw a tiny, beating heart. And when I found the head of the baby, I looked squarely in the face of another human being -- a human being that I’d just killed. I turned to the scrub nurse and said, 'I’m sorry.' But I just knew that I couldn’t be a part of abortion anymore. I began to feel like a paid assassin. That’s exactly what I was.”
+ Dr. Anthony Levatino ---- Dr. Levatino performed numerous abortions that took the lives of babies, but when his wife struggled to get pregnant. it became another story. Grieving over her failure to become pregnant, and while he aborted roughly 10 children a week, he silently wished he could take one of them home. Looking for a child to adopt while taking the lives of pre-born children begin to weigh on him. Thankfully the Levatinos were able to adopt a little girl named Heather, and they later had a son.
Dr. Levatino continued to perform abortions until one day his daughter, Heather, was killed when hit by a car. Levatino said, . . .
“I couldn’t even think about a D& E abortion anymore. No way.”
During his career. Dr Levatino had done over 100 second-trimester suction D&E procedures up to that time when the fetus was up to 24 weeks in development. In all, he performed some 1,200 abortions. He continued to do early abortions for a few months, but said, . . .
“I began to feel like a paid assassin. That’s exactly what I was….So I quit. You start to realize this is somebody’s child. I lost my child, someone who was very precious to us. And now I am taking somebody’s child and I am tearing him right out of their womb. I am killing somebody’s child.
That is what it took to get me to change. My own sense of self-esteem went down the tubes. I began to feel like a paid assassin. That’s exactly what I was. You watch the movies; somebody goes up to somebody, pays them some money to kill somebody. That’s exactly what I was doing. And when my own sense of self-esteem went down the drain, that was all it took.
It is still “old habits die hard.” But it got to a point, and Cic and I talked about it together, that it just wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t worth it to me anymore. The money wasn’t worth it. I don’t care. This is coming out of my hide; it is costing me too much. It is costing me too much personally. For all the money in the world, it wouldn’t have made any difference. So I quit. I realized that what I’d done up to that point was not helping people. I was compounding their problems.”
+ Dr. John Bruchalski ---- A number of experiences led Dr Bruchalski to the point of ending his abortion practice. One related to a trip to Mexico City with a friend where they visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. While standing in front of the image, he heard a voice say clearly, ‘Why are you hurting me?’
Unable to cope with the experience, Bruchalski brushed it off and tried to ignore it. However, he began attending church, going so far as volunteering at a pregnancy center. That in itself, of course, made him feel hypocritical so he decided, “I’m going back to my residency and I’m terminating pregnancies; it became a little schizophrenic.”
On one occasion that year, he delivered a baby that weighed 505 grams. Sadly, the baby sadly didn't survive. It was ironic that he both delivered babies alive, and yet put others to death through abortion. Following the death of that tiny one, one of the hospital's neo-natologist questioned him saying, . . .
“I’ve seen you with your patients. On one hand, you take such good care of them, and on the other hand, when they don’t want the baby, you give me garbage. These are children, and they deserve better.”
Dr Bruchalski stated, “Sometimes the babies were alive when they were born…We just left them to die.”
Some time later, a young woman from a Belgium pro-life group approached him and said, . . .
“I have some messages for you from the Blessed Mother. You’re a doctor, and you’re supposed to help. In health care, practice excellent medicine, see the poor daily and follow the teachings of my Son’s church. If you can do those three things, you will help my Son renew the face of the earth.”
Bruchalski broke down in tears. Of the experience he said, . . .
“All of a sudden, the scales came off my eyes.”
+ Dr Noreen Johnson ---- Following their residency, Dr. Johnson and her husband, Haywood, moved from LA to Bryan-College Station, TX. While introducing herself to other members of the medical community, one doctor asked her, “Dr. Johnson, are you planning to do abortions?” Proud of her work, Dr. Johnson said, “Oh yes,” to which the doctor warned, “Well, if I were you, I’d tread pretty slowly on that. You know, you don’t want to be called ‘the abortionist’ in town.”
Since she always viewed her job as important and wanted to be a respected physician in the community, that comment troubled her, and that point decided to keep her abortions private, performing them for women for close patients or friends who would keep the procedures.
It didn't long for the word to get out, and one of her colleagues sent a patient to Johnson for an abortion. She was shocked he knew she was doing them. Johnson felt her reputation in the community was in jeopardy, so she stopped performing the procedures. Through a series of later events and circumstances, they both became Christians and today continue speaking in churches and pro-life events against abortion, having appeared on numerous networks speaking for the unborn.
+ Dr. Kathy Aultman ---- Dr. Aultman is a retired Board-Certified OB/Gyn and is currently an Associate Scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute. She is a member of the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, the Florida Medical Association and is a Life-Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Five years ago, March 2016, Dr. Aultman testified before Congress, telling them what had changed her mind about abortion and in favor of pro-life values. She spoke in defense of two pro-life bills. One bill would protect the baby if it was developed enough to feel pain. In the process of her testimony, she recounted three specific cases where the women had abortions. Contrasting the three women, she stated, . . .
“I finally made the connection between the fetus and baby. I realized that what struck me was the apathy of the first patient and the hostility of the second towards the fetus, contrasted with the sorrow and misery of the woman who knew what it was to have a child.”
During her testimony before Congress, Aultman what it was like when she realized she had killed more people than most serial killers, including Ted Bundy. She went on to explain that the real victim in an abortion is the innocent pre-born child. She also emphatically stated that just because a baby is unwanted is no longer a justification for abortion. She said, . . .
“I realized that the baby was the innocent victim in all of this, and the fact that it was unwanted was no longer enough justification for me to kill it. I could no longer do abortions.”
Aultman went on to describe in great detail how the abortion industry uses euphemisms and false rhetoric to hide the humanity of the pre-born child and urged Congress to protect the pre-born. She went on to say, . . .
"As a society we have shifted our priorities from basic human rights to women’s rights and have taught our young women that nothing should interfere with their right to do whatever they want with their bodies, especially when it comes to pregnancy. We have also done a good job of sanitizing our language to make abortion more palatable. We don’t speak about the 'baby'; rather, we talk about the 'fetus.' The abortionist 'terminates the pregnancy' rather than 'killing the baby.' As medical doctors and as a society we have moved away from the idea that life is precious and closer to the utilitarian attitudes which wreaked so much havoc during the last century.
FINALLY:
It is my personal conviction that, just as with Israel, blessings come when we are obedient to God's laws, and curses come upon us when we are disobedient (see Deut 30). If America has ever disobeyed God, turned our backs on Him, and forsaken Him, it is in the area of abortion. While it is only one of numerous ways, I believe it is the most despicable because it attacks the very essence of Who He is and of what we have received from Him ---- LIFE.
The abortion industry cares not one whit about a woman's welfare. It is a commercial enterprise posing as a health care industry. You have certainly seen past reports of undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood leaders, clinic directors, and employees discussing financial transactions over body parts. You have heard stories from former pro-abortionists who left the cause after learning the truth -- people like Norma McCorvey (the original "Jane Doe") and many others -- thousands of others, in fact.
There is no phrase in the Bible that even remotely approaches the phrases “freedom of choice,” “woman’s body, woman’s choice,” “plan your family,” “use your conscience,” or any of the other popular pro-abortion slogans. There is, however, the phrase . . .
“Choose life, therefore, that you and your descendants may live” (Deut 30:19).
In context, here's what God says: . . .
". . . the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.
"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.
"But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
Everything about God speaks of life, divine purpose, divine provision, everlasting joy, . . . Rather than aborting what God has created, enter into His blessing by keeping the baby, strengthening your faith, and trusting Him to provide; or if not that, give the baby up for adoption to someone who will love, cherish, care for, and raise that child to become a productive individual who can live out the life God gave him or her and can carry out the purpose He has created for them. Abortion should never be an option.
"The thief has come to steal, destroy, and kill, but I have come that you might have life, and have it to the fullest." (John 10:10)
In His Bond, By His Grace, and For His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
Life Unlimited Ministries
LUMglobal
[email protected]
Copyright November, 2021
"A fire kept burning on the hearthstone of my heart, and I took up the burden of the day with fresh courage and hope." -- Charles F. McKoy
"If Jesus had preached the same message that many ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will have clowns entertaining the goats." -- Charles H. Spurgeon
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