Cultists and Conspirators
Consider the angels. You know how the Scriptures speak of territorial
angelic beings - good and evil - warring against one another (cf. Dan. 10:
13, 21; 12:1). Must be some attentive, good ones conspiring together to
protect those Pensacola babies.
The Scriptures reveal much about the activities of angels. They sing lots of
praises to God (Rev. 5:8, 9); make his announcements (Luke. 1:26f.); harass
the enemies of His people (Ps. 35: 5, 6); and execute His judgments in
history (Gen. 19; Ps. 78:43, 49; Ex. 12: 13, 23).
One doesn't get the best theological education from Sunday School. It's a
start, but the recollection most of us have of the ministry of angels - I
think it fair to say - is that of the choir in Bethlehem. We generally don't
bear in mind the death of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers by the hand of an angel
of God in the middle of the night (2 Kings 19:35). (It must have made the
two or three pacifist Hebrews, who might have existed, happy that they didn't
have to defile their spiritual selves with swords.)
Consider, for another example, the conspiracy between God, Moses and the
angel of death (Ex. 12:13, 21, 23). Moses' part in the conspiracy was to
have the people mark their house entrances with blood. Then God would come along and bring death to all houses except the specially marked ones (vv. 13,
23, 29). Technically, it wasn't God doing the "dirty" work. He gave that
job to another conspirator, one of his angels (v. 23).
The modernist antisupernatural mind-set pollutes our thinking so that we
sometimes forget to consider the angels. An illustration. We were listening
to the news driving up from North Carolina the day after the aborting of
Abortionist Britton. Our ears were blessed with the news of the Falls Church
divestment ($10,000 in damages) of a local abortuary. And our hearts were
renewed with the assumption that some of God's people somewhere were alive
with the zeal to defend His innocent ones. But, alas, on behalf of humanity,
we had to humble ourselves with the realization that it wasn't necessarily a
member of our race who performed the good deed! Credit may well have been
due the hosts of heaven.
These are hard truths for our peace-loving ears: 1) there are holy and good
conspiracies, and 2) the Lord and His angels sometimes do some nasty things.
But it is truth; it is sound biblical doctrine.
It is reasonable to assume that there are many righteous conspiracies in
progress to save the preborn from death. As we have said on countless
occasions to members of the press, anyone who believes that abortion is truly
murder is a potential manslayer or destroyer of abortuaries. A conspiracy
can emerge from any couple of Christians reading a Bible and discussing its
ethical demands. In mid August, CNN took a poll of the general public
regarding attitudes toward the use of force to stop abortion. 8% supported
the use of force. 3% supported its lethal use, i.e. the doctrine of
justifiable homicide in defense of the preborn. That means seven million
Americans approve of the use of lethal action against abortionists - and this
with virtually no discussion in the nation's churches or public forums. This
means that seven million could conscientiously sign the very Defensive Action
statement which has aroused Attorney General Nero to track down and
interrogate each of the couple dozen signatories!
To their shame and the retardation of Truth's advancement, Christian
columnists, pundits and leaders have condemned the actions of Griffin,
Shannon, and Hill. What if these erring leaders would repent, honestly
consider the issue, and then gird up their loins and speak the truth?
Cultists
Along with the pejorative conspiracy rap, the deadly "cult" label is
emerging. Rev. Matt Trewhella has been featured in a (de facto federally
funded) Planned Barrenhood video tape which showed excerpts of him giving
speeches in support of Americans' Second Amendment right to bear arms and to
maintain militias. The local Milwaukee papers produced cartoons and several
articles on him in keeping with their avid, pro-gun-control fanaticism. They
also added to this a series of articles about a fellow ("John" - real name
withheld to protect the innocent from nefarious prolife fanatics or something
to that effect) involved with the Missionaries who had written a treatise
calling for the termination of abortionists. John wandered off and at his
parent's behest wound up under the care of Rick Ross, a self-proclaimed
"deprogram-mer" from Phoenix. Ross is associated with a secularist
organization called Cult Awareness Network, which has sought to "deprogram"
people in all kinds of "cults" - including, unfortunately, Jews for Jesus and
other Christian evangelistic groups, (giving the astute observer a clue as to
his theological orientation).
The stories from the Milwaukee Sentinel have been picked up by other news
media, including Newsweek magazine: "Inside the Anti-abortion underground"
(August 29). The article suggests that Trewhella was John's mentor and then
drops an important little slanderous tidbit: that Ross's former clients
include "followers of Branch Davidian leader David Koresh." And from the
mouth of Ross, we read: "Trewhella had brainwashed John so the young man
could be wound up and sent out on autodestroy."
Your editor took particular notice of the Newsweek article because he was
mentioned as an author whose writings were read by John. The "cult" smear is
an ironic one. Your editor spent five years attempting to evangelize members
of non-trinitarian cults - Moonies, TMers, The Way, Scientologist, Mormons,
Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. If we use the term to describe a religious group
which deviates theologically from orthodoxy, viz., by denial of the trinity,
we might also include much of apostate mainline denominations! But if a cult
is defined behaviorally, then it is the nonconformists who are vulnerable to
the cult label. (Folks who have lots of children, school their children at
home, maintain ignorance of the latest TV sit-com, avoid watching trashy TV,
and despise or reject Social Security numbers for their children are not far
from such a label).
It is on the basis of behavior that the secularists and the federal
government define a cult. (It is on this same basis that the government
grants tax-exempt status to a group which claims to be a church.) A
non-practicing Aztec or a cannibal on sabbatical is no different form the
Little Sisters of the Poor if they both maintain orderly behavior and refrain
from owning big guns. But if a group separates from whatever the evolving
norm is, the suspicions of the secularist cult-sniffers are aroused.
The cult innuendo is not small offense, given the recent atrocity committed
by this administration. Waco has not faded from our memories sufficiently
for us to be unconcerned about the demonizing of a group by the Clintonistas
and their "courtier journalists" (as Sobran calls them). More disappointing
than the major media was the response of Christian teachers. Radio preachers
and Christian cult experts like the popular Christian Research Institute
lectured about the dangers of being lured into false teaching and
soul-snaring teachings of Davidians and other non-trinitarians.
They miss the more pressing point. The government and the press are inclined
to demonize religious non-conformists - whether so-called fundamentalist
Christians or Davidians. Our federal government has no standard above
itself. It has no God; it is a god unto itself.
And when Christians shrink back from defending those who are under attack,
they make provision for their own destruction. Martin Niemoeller, one of the
pastors in Germany who resisted the Nazi government, regretted that he hadn't
come to the assistance of the ones who were under attack. To paraphrase him:
They came after the Jews, but I was not a Jew. They came after the Slavs,
but I was not a Slav. They came after the Catholics, but I was not a
Catholic. When they came after me, there was no one left to help me.
Niemoeller's words are relevant to the case at hand. Christian backs have
been turned against true brothers and sisters Griffin, Shannon, and Hill.
Defenders of these three have been vilified by the establishment prolife
movement as an irresponsible "fringe" which gives the movement a bad name.
But when all the radicals in word or deed have been hauled away, those who
simply call abortion "murder" will be charged with inciting citizens to do
"violent" and "hateful" acts.
Why draw back from someone investigated for conspiracy or slandered as a
cultist? It is past time to stand for the truth that is unpopular. Pray for
your local conformist pastor to repent, gird up his loins, and fight the
battle.
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