In a July post titled "Throwing Down the Gauntlet," I described the launch of an important new strategy in the pro-life movement. Acknowledging that “abortion will end when the church wants it to end,” the strategy involves calling the church to repentance for its decades-long silence and apathy on abortion. The strategy is gaining momentum.
The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform is the latest pro-life organization to conduct more projects targeting exclusively Christian audiences. In a recent newsletter, CBR's Maryland co-director, Kurt Linnemann, explained the organization's decision for taking its graphic sign displays to explicitly Christian venues: “Pastors, Christian schools and Christian radio promote pro-life thinking,” he said, “but not pro-life doing.”
That’s why CBR launched “Run2TheBattle,” a project that took volunteers to churches, Christian high schools, and Christian music concerts with CBR's giant full-color posters of aborted babies.
The reception they got was telling. According to the newsletter:
The majority who saw the sign displays and spoke to the team were surprised that we would be present where most viewers were pro-life,” the newsletter said. Some listened to our team explain our position. Others responded angrily, including:
1.) Baltimore Lutheran Church — A parent told us, “Get the f*** away from my daughter’s school!” The Principal would not take information or meet with us. He claimed his church is “very pro-life.”
2. ) Shine FM Summer Blast concert — One patron threatened to push a Run2TheBattle volunteer into the Baltimore harbor.
3. ) Shine FM DJ Michael Alley tried unsuccessfully to have police remove CBR volunteers from the gates of Summer Blast.
4. ) St. Margaret’s Catholic Church in Bel Air, MD — A man called CBR volunteers “white trash” and repeatedly triggered his car horn with a handheld panic button in an attempt to drive the team away. Another man going into the church held his middle finger up rudely.
It is clear that pro-lifers have decisively thrown the gauntlet, and the church has begun to pick it up. But if one is to judge from initial signs, things do not bode well for additional images of chivalry to attend the joust.
To be continued.