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Emancipation Proclamation
Taking Buffalo by storm
The following article appeared on the front page of the
local Christian newspaper here in Buffalo, New York The article
was conceived from an interview of Rev. Robert Behn by Rick
Kern of The Word and appeared in their January 2002 issue.
Pastor Rob Rotola of Word Of Life Church In Wichita Kansas
Signs
The Emancipation Proclamation Declaring All Life Sacred
New Emancipation Proclamation
Declares Unborn Children Fully Human and Free
Calls America to Formal Repentance
By: Rick Kern
It peers from the shadows with the vigilance of a lioness
watching over her cubs, and has all the subtlety of a thousand
nails screaming across a chalkboard. It has ignited the
fierce indignation of an atrophied conscience that would much
rather snuggle deeper into its stiff, callous slumber than again
feel the stabbing sorrow for its indifference.
But snuggle as it will, the disturbing ring of truth reckons
from the pages of a new Emancipation Proclamation echoing
the silenced cries of 40 million stilled heartbeats. And
they just may rouse the censored scruples of a morally withered
America, stirring her sluggish church from the cozy pews where
she lies nestled. Love it or hate it, agree or disagree
with this latest "rescue," you've got to respect
its agility as happiness may once again be apathy in our rearview
mirror.
It began last July in Wichita, when Operation Save America
(OSA) coordinated a national event to inaugurate the document
(drafted by its leadership). Some 2,000 believers gathered
in a demonstration of support and solidarity with fifty ministers,
pen in hand, who affirmed the declaration that "the lives
of all children (born and unborn) are sacred to God and worthy
of our defense." And that "…the unborn child shall
now and forever more be set free to live in America. They
shall be welcomed in life and protected by law." Enormously
compelling ideals that reveal much about the brittle moral stature
of the American people simply because they need to be articulated
at all.
The proclamation is said to have had a dramatic and sobering
effect upon the citizens of Wichita and their elected officials.
In fact, the city's mayor is alleged to be a professing
Christian who declined the opportunity to publicly sign it.
Wielding language deliberately designed to prevent people
from continuing to use pro-life rhetoric while their actions
(or inactions) reveal an involuntary pro-choice bias, it is
not an easy document to sign. Those who do so, execute
a moral and spiritual instrument that effectively binds them
as a matter of conscience. It mandates that they actively
rescind their permission granted by default, for abortion to
flourish as part of their community, and do all they can as
individuals to both give life to their convictions, and protect
it for the unborn.
The proclamation is not intended to provoke a knee-jerk
reaction to another costly pro-life fad, but rather squeeze
the gray from a black and white issue that has been invaded
and compromised by it. To sign on this dotted line demands
some serious, thoughtful reflection that must eventuate
in a sweeping personal commitment to stop the bloodshed sanctioned
by a runaway judiciary, using every spiritual, moral and legal
dynamic available.
Drawing inspiration from its precursor signed by Abraham
Lincoln, it is hoped that this contemporary successor will draw
the blessing of God much the same way many feel its ancestor
did. Reverend Flip Benham, Director of OSA, commenting
on the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation noted that, "For
the first time in American history there was now open and public
repentance of the national sin of slavery. It was a sin
that plagued our nation through the years. It was a sin
that would not go away and could not be politically resolved!
It could only be repented of."
Just as the 1863 document struck a blow against the suppression
of truth in unrighteousness, officially proclaiming the reality
that blacks are fully human and free, so does its progressive
counterpart strike the same blow against the same suppression
of truth, proclaiming the unborn as fully human and free. As
such, this currently maligned group of Americans, (marginalized
as sub-human since 1973), should be entitled to the same rights,
privileges and protections under our laws and Constitution as
every other citizen. Unfortunately it is safer to be an unborn
eagle than an unborn baby in these United States. And
with butchering them beneath the polite (and casually abused)
banner of "freedom" evolving into a very lucrative,
though disgraceful American enterprise, it is clear that in
this land where "all men are created equal," some
are more equal than others.
The new Emancipation Proclamation is intended to
be offered to numerous cities throughout the nation this year,
and will make its formal debut in Western New York in the near
future. Incredibly, it is scheduled for presentation to
President George W. Bush for his signature, by a Congressional
Representative from Kansas sometime in January 2003.
While the implications of the most powerful and influential
man in the natural world publicly endorsing such a document
lends itself to considerable speculation, the only foreseeable
fallout appears to be political. The moral and spiritual
ramifications are painfully clear for the personhood of the
unborn is a biblical given, with plenty of science riding on
its coat tails. It rises as a living indictment pointing
40 million fingers, lifting 40 million voices and weeping rivers
upon rivers of tears flowing into oceans of innocent blood.
Accordingly, the benefit, impact and sheer moral momentum
of the president's humility by formally establishing the full
humanity of the unborn, coupled with his acknowledgment of the
national sin of abortion before God could not be overstated.
Again echoing Benham's allusions, this is a national sin
and consequently a spiritual problem first and foremost. As
such, it cannot be politically resolved until it is repented
of.
The real question is whether the president possesses the
love of truth, spiritual stature and moral courage to blow off
the political risks and govern as a statesman, a servant of
the American people. Especially his most vulnerable constituency.
The Word, Inc.
The Word Inc., grants permission for Last Call Ministries,
Operation Save America and Operation Save America Buffalo to
reprint the story: "New Emancipation Proclamation Declares
Unborn Children Fully Human and Free, Calls America to Formal
Repentance" from their January, 2002 issue, Volume 5 Number
1 provided it is reproduced in its entirety, contains a link
to their website ( www.thewordnews.org)
and contains the following information: "The Word is a
Western New York news publication that covers community and
civic events from a Judeo-Christian perspective."
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