Introduction

I read with great interest your latest editorial entitled "The Sabbath and Public Life" in the September 14, 2000 issue of the Adventist Review because, coming from the Sancta Sanctorum of the Adventist media, it represents an impressive vignette of SDA reporting. Our church has valiantly stood in defense of Sabbath observance for nearly two centuries, and I believe that we must continue in this fine Adventist tradition. The Good Book states that the Sabbath is a sign pointing to the fact that we belong to God.

Nevertheless, the most elaborate sign is useless if what it points at is not behind the sign. If an ambulance driver, for example, sees a conspicuously placed sign reading "Hospital Emergency," but there is no hospital behind the sign, the patient he is carrying may die for lack of medical care. The Sabbath is a sign pointing to God and to what he requires from us as expressed through the other nine Commandments. We have done quite well as a church in preserving the Sabbath sign in good condition of repair. How about some of the other Commandments?

I am thinking especially of the one that reads "You shall not murder." Right now infanticide is being practiced and tolerated in our country, and this has been reported in the news recently. George Will, for example, had a recent article in "Newsweek" describing how born alive babies are routinely left to die without medical attention at a Chicago hospital for the simple reason that the mother had requested an abortion which failed to kill the innocent creature. Some congressmen and senators are trying to do something to stop this horrible genocide, and non-Adventist media organizations are soliciting the support of the public in order to put pressure on Congress to act in behalf of the innocent victims.

My question is: Why is it that we Adventists are totally oblivious to this tragedy? I have been waiting for two decades for my church to wake up and raise its voice against the killing of the unborn. Now the fully born are perishing too, and nobody among our "Remnant" people is interested in doing anything about this tragedy. Yet, no sooner the Sabbath keeping of Joe Lieberman becomes a news item, we jump on the wagon. Did not our Lord tell us that "The Sabbath was made for mankind, and not mankind for the Sabbath"? Aren't those born alive, and even the unborn, members of mankind?

Recently La Sierra University Professor Fritz Guy, in his book "Thinking Theologically," (p. 236) made reference to the fact that when Hitler engaged in his "Final Solution," our church, together with the rest of Christendom, opted to remain silent. Now we are repeating our forefather's mistake while another genocide is taking place! Isn't it time that we learn from history? How can we dare to continue labeling ourselves "The Remnant Church" who keep God's Commandments, if we devote most of our energy and financial resources to preserve the sanctity of the Sabbath, while we turn a blind eye to the sanctity of Life itself? As a church we have done so much to help smokers quit a habit that shortens their life span, yet we will do nothing about those doomed to destruction prior to and even after they are fully born! Can you explain this obvious inconsistency?

May the good Lord bless you and the church under your care!

I want to post here material I wrote for another forum two years ago, but which is as relevant today as it was then:

Millions have perished in our own land for the crime of being unborn. It is estimated that approximately forty-five million unborn babies have been either poisoned or butchered by physicians who were trained to save lives, but who, for profit sake, engage in the business of summarily executing those innocent babies waiting to have the rare chance of taking their first breath.

This is another topic where we, Seventh-day Adventists, have chosen to remain silent while the genocide is taking place. We have plenty of printed space to talk about the importance of worshipping God on the correct day of the week, but we have no interest in raising our voices in condemnation of the slaughter of the innocent in our own land. Every weekend, over three thousand unborn babies are sacrificed for the sake of convenience, and those criminal abortionists do this again and again with impunity.

If we as a nation and as a church continue to remain silent, I believe that the 9/11 event will be followed by other terrible calamities, which will dwarf what happened in New York. God cannot forever remain silent and continue to protect our nation, if we remain silent while those destined to the slaughter house go to their death and perish before they have a chance to see the light of day.

This does not surprise me, since historically, we have been more concerned about the sacredness of holy time than human life. The same thing happened when Hitler began his genocidal program against the Jews. We SDA's turned a blind eye to the plight of the innocent. We were more concerned about making sure Christians were warned about the dangers of worshipping God on the wrong day of the week.

We have championed many good causes. One of them is our concern for the health of those who had the great privilege of being allowed to be born. We have invested our precious resources in our efforts to help those eager to stop smoking, for example. Why? Because, by doing so, we can add about five years to their life. We are blind to see that, by saving the unborn from a sure death, we could add not merely five years to the life of human beings, but an entire life span.

We think that by keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, we are rendering a great service to humanity, forgetting that Jesus stated that the Sabbath was made for the sake of man, and not the other way around. We also forget that the Sabbath is a sign, a mere sign. Signs are important. The sign that reads Emergency in front of a hospital is a big help in guiding ambulances to the place where help is available. Nevertheless, if there is no hospital behind the sign staffed with trained physicians and nurses to render vital help, the sign turns into a dangerous distraction which can cost the life of the patient on the verge of death.

This is where we fail. Physicians who have been trained to save lives, devote their entire energy and know how, not to save the lives of those destined to perish; but rather, for the sake of profit, engage in the art of killing, instead of the art of healing; and we, the people who claim to have the last message of hope for a perishing world, prefer to remain silent while the genocide of the unborn continues unabated. I do not know if you are aware that one of the most prosperous abortionists in California, who owns over twenty abortion clinics, is a graduate from Loma Linda University.

Some time ago, I stopped at the White Estate section of the Loma Linda University library, and checked the list of printed material we have been publishing on the subject connected with the Sabbath. We have spent tons of ink in our efforts to convince the rest of Christians about the need to worship God on the correct day of the week. Then I looked for what we were doing in defense of those being poisoned and butchered inside the womb, the modern torture chamber of humanity. What did I find? Nothing! Zero! This shows very clearly where our interest is. We proclaim that prenatal human life is a magnificent gift of God which should be protected, and then admit that the the church has chosen not to define the precise moment human life begins. I can't understand this! How can we expect our physicians to protect prenatal human life if we affirm that we do not know when human life begins!

The Pope, whom we have demonized and labelled as the Beast of Revelation knows when human life begins. And yet we, the Remnant church of God don't. Beasts of prey kill the innocent and defenseless. Isn't this what abortionists are doing? Isn't that the true image of the beast? Doesn't this sound like an anomaly to you? We have labelled the one who is more determined than anybody else in the world to protect the innocent as the Beast. I think that our SDA eyes need to be examined. We have lost our 20/20 vision. How I wish somebody would come to the rescue of those destined to perish.

It is true that in ages past the Catholic church persecuted, tortured, and killed many Christian, whom Rome labelled as heretics. There is no way of denying what the Catholic Church did through the notorious Inquisition. Nevertheless, should we judge Rome on the basis of what the church did centuries ago, or rather on what the Pope is doing in defense of the defenseles? Should we ignore what Mother Theresa did for the helples, and what she did for the unborn?

I don't think we can! Credit should be given where credit is due! Shouln't we join John Paul II in his tireless effort to protect those who have no legal defense in this land of freedom: Freedom that is restricted for those lucky to have been allowed to be born.

This is what I wrote two years ago for another forum. Do I still believe what I wrote then? Of course I do. Nevertheless, I must admit that there has been a faint effort by some or our church's communications channels, as well by some independent ministries to correct this silence about abortion. A good example is the recent reprinting by the Adventist Review of an article dealing with this controversial issue.

To access the "Fatherhood Aborted" story, click on the link listed below:

http://www.adventistreview.org/2000-07/story2.htm

Nic Samojluk wrote:

"The technical term is BS, Blind Spot."