DAY TWO, EXPOSING EVIL IN THE NATION'S CAPITOL

While Washington DC closed streets and set up $17,000,000 security checkpoints to filter those who would be in the Inaugural festivities, the roadblocks and gates could not stop the message brought to the city by Missionaries to the Preborn.  On a day cheered by millions who consider themselves good Christian pro-lifers, the Missionaries brought a reminder that the White House has not lived the pro-life platform it has used to gain votes.  Preaching from multiple venues all around the cordoned off security zone, the Milwaukee crew was able to reach out to those who often think they are supporting the cause of the children. 

I followed two of the Missionary teams, the first was staked out by the Washington Monument.  The team by the Monument was in excellent position to preach to thousands as they streamed down Constitution Avenue towards the Inaugural celebrations.  Drew Heiss and Dan Holman, supported by Donna Holman, proudly proclaimed the truth under the shadow of the Washington Monument on this cold but beautiful day.  With voices booming across the streets, they secured the eastern passages to the ceremonies. Along this route, crowd response was more sedate. 

I watched the response of people as they walked past the Monument bastion, and while very few seemed to want to engage the Missionaries in conversation, it was obvious they were hearing from the discomfort on many of their faces. 

The second team picked a spot right next to a security checkpoint.  Michael Marcavage of Repent America preached alongside Jason Storms on Independence Avenue and supported by a couple other Missionaries.  As they were located beside one of the security gates leading into the main Inaugural area, they had a somewhat captive audience while they rebuked and extolled and admonished the people. 

This crew encountered more dissension while I was there as there were a fair number of anti-Bush, and apparently anti-life liberals in the crowd.  Several times, individuals tried to shout over the truth horns, but compared to actively hostile crowds the street preachers have encountered elsewhere, the opposition on this day was amateurish.  I witnessed both of the street preachers get into more in depth conversations with some people who seemed more open to the truth.  The huddled masses were generally quiet, and many simply listened to the preaching while they waited their turn at the security gate.

If I may editorialize for a moment, there is a deeper flaw that is evidenced in this Inaugural protest.  It is true that our government should be at the forefront in protecting the pre-born, but we also know very well that wishing will not make it so.  I do agree that we need to hold our elected officials responsible for their actions, especially
those who claim to be moral and to be on the side of God's law; however, we cannot continue to hold double standards currently in place.  It is madness to expect elected officials to lift a finger for any cause when the can find only a ragged few who openly and uncompromisingly support that cause.  No Congressman, no Senator, no Governor, nor President will commit themselves to an act that will squander their political capital or potentially kill a future campaign without knowing they have a solid base of support.  People like the Missionaries to the Preborn are vital, and they have one of those rare pastors who does speak the truth regardless of consequence, but sadly, most pastors are more than willing to compromise, most churches have all the moral backbone of a plate of jello. 

How many churches actively speak against abortion?  How many churches make allowances for homosexuals in their pews?  And when the flocks are lead by corrupt shepherds, can we not expect them to go astray?  Many of the "good conservative Christian Republicans" were confused by the preaching, because they hear from the pulpits that they are okay, that compromise is acceptable, that God's law is negotiable.  It is not mere apathy that kills four thousand babies a day, it is not merely the will of evil men and women; no, there is an equal share of responsibility for the shameful teaching in our very churches!  We say George Bush is not the moral man he claims, but I submit he is every bit as moral as he has been lead to believe by the church.   Should we hold our President responsible for four thousand children murdered every day?  Of course we should!  However, if we are to judge our President, this man of faith, however flawed, we cannot do so without judging the pastors that have taught him, the churches that should have helped mold a true sense of morality, and every church, every pastor that helped him attain political office without ever demanding  the acknowledgment of the simplest rights and wrongs.

Unfortunately, our government is, more often than not, a true reflection of the voters.  From too many pulpits, the voters are told that God is all loving, all accepting, and all tolerant; with this in mind, why would anyone choose the harder path when moral relativism is put forth as the Word of God?  The truth is often harsh, the truth is often
unkind, and the truth is often unwelcome because of this; nevertheless, truth will spread when spoken and lived. 

May the truth being spread by the Missionaries in this tour be like the ripples in a still pond, radiating far beyond its origins.

Maybe in the future, when we see soldiers lined up on the parade routes, they will simply be getting into formation to march on the killing centers in our own country.

Joshua Graff, January 20, 2005
 

See Day Three