Some Christians would think it doesn't matter how God gets His glory as long as He gets the glory. But does a sinful act bring the kind of glory God wants? Does it reflect His nature or ours?
I recently read the story of Dr. George Tiller, a physician who performed late-term abortions for women with reported problem pregnancies whose health was at stake from life-threatening complications or whose infants would be born dead or dying. Abortion foes turned him into an object of hate and violent attacks. His clinic was bombed in 1986. And in 1993, he was shot in both arms by a woman with a semi-automatic pistol. Then, several months ago, Dr. Tiller was murdered at the Reformation Lutheran Church where he was an usher.
After the shooting anti-abortion crusader Randall Terry said this about Tiller: "He was a mass murderer. We have to say that over and over again. He was one of the evilest people on the planet, every bit as evil as Nazi war criminals. And I know that offends some people who are watching this, but it is the truth. He was a mass murderer. And he reaped what he sowed."
I am personally against abortion, however, I do not believe any position should be encouraged or supported by actions of hatred, anger, or violence. It is never right to do wrong to make it right -- regardless of the strength of your convictions.
I don't think anyone is guilty of the murder of Dr. Tiller except the man who pulled the trigger. However, everyone who spewed hate and threats of violence toward abortionist proponents has some degree of responsibility. Bill Moyers of PBS said, "I wish the vendors of venom, and their sponsors, would think harder about how angry words become accomplices of foul deeds. God only knows the price we pay when we turn political opponents to be debated, into mortal enemies to be eliminated."
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