Nothing Happening Here
Studies show that the more people that are around to witness a crime, the less likely it is that someone will come to the aide of the victim. Psychology has named it the “Bystander Effect.” They watch but act like there’s “nothing happening here.”
Because of a discussion about that phenomenon in our country someone shared an article written by Dr. Gary North[1]. In it he is addressing Paul Hill, a man who killed an abortion doctor. In the midst of North’s reasons why we should not take that kind of justice on abortionists into our own hands he said this:
“This is our problem. It is a political problem resting on a specific moral foundation: humanism. The problem is judicial. It is corporate. And finally, when the physicians are driven out of business by mass produced abortifacient, pro-lifers are going to face a new reality. They are going to realize that it is not abortion as such that is the problem. It is the problem of a society that has legalized abortion.”
“An anti-abortion protester today may save a few lives on a particular day. There may be a protest that saves a couple lives, but there is still going to be a million and a half that are not saved this year. There will be a million and a half who are going to die, whether or not you protest. The protests are symbolic. The protests are focusing on the evil of the act. But if they are to be life-saving, the protests must be used to call the whole society to its moral senses. The primary problem is the whole society, not the abortionist around the corner. This is a symbolic war which must be fought politically.” (Emphasis mine).
Recognizing that we live in a culture that hates God and loves death, it is difficult to see any way to change it except by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are created in the image of God and this is why life has value from conception. We must start with the society’s core problem which lies in the hearts of human beings. It is a problem so deep today that it elects politicians who will replace their American flag lapel pins with “Love Abortion” pins handed out by Planned Parenthood. [i]
The culture of the Church is also in question on this issue. The first politics to be examined by the Church are those within the Church. Is anyone teaching what the scripture says about life, including life in the womb? Are we so protective of our teens that we are not teaching them to understand the evil that it has brought into our nation – how our land has been polluted with innocent blood and how God views land that is polluted with innocent blood? (Numbers 35:33). The politics of our Curches is such that most don’t face that reality or the potential wrath of God head on.
Christians have been pretty silent. We have gone to the fundraising banquets for pregnancy centers. We give money to help the woman who wants to keep her baby. We even throw baby showers for women in need. But, we have done very little in stopping the killing or educating others regarding what the scriptures say about it.
Even with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there are many states that have “legalized” abortion at all stages of pregnancy. The babies may now be killed in buildings with better entrances and exits, wider hallways, and you can even find a ride to the closest state offering them.
As the Church, God’s people, are we living this “bystander effect” hoping or expecting that people with more social or political clout will step up and abolish abortion for us? We know it needs to be done, we just don’t want to get our hands (or relationships) messy by speaking up about it.
Are we willing to step out of the silent crowd and speak the truth about abortion to anyone who will listen; our families (especially the next generation), our brothers and sisters in the Lord who are not hearing much about it, our neighbors, and our politicians? Are we willing to stand firm for God’s Word and say that women who abort are murdering a baby?
As “Complacent Bystanders” sat by, our nation has killed over 63 million children. Those babies certainly qualify before God as “innocent blood.” Our complacent behavior says to the world, “Nothing happening here,” when there is something happening that is an abomination to God.
God’s Word is hard on complacent people (Isaiah 32:9-11 and Zephaniah 1:12-13). Why will we not stand firmly against this evil that the Lord tells us to expose (Ephesians 5:11)? There is evil in the killing of the baby and evil in those who so firmly fight to make it “legal.” We have a responsibility to speak the truth and not remain as complacent bystanders.
[1] http://www.reformed.org/social/index.html
[i] https://www.lifenews.com/2023/02/08/democrats-wear-love-abortion-pins-showing-how-much-they-love-killing-babies/