The Far Reaching Implications of Our Pro-Choice Position. The above quoted statement had far-reaching implications, I believe, for the life of untold millions of unborn babies. Notice that while the Roman Pontiff and our Christian Southern Baptists were declaring far and wide that human life begins at conception; we announced to the world that we did not know what the biology books have been publishing for endless decades. The tendency of such a declaration by our church was to strenghthen the cause of the pro-abortion community.

Is It True That Our Church is Pro-Choice? Whenever I bring this subject in my converstion with members of our SDA Church, quite often people are surprised to learn that we are in fact on the Pro-Choice side of this controversy. If you are still in doubt, notice what one of our leaders stated recently:

Our Silence as Additional Evidence of our Moral Support of the Pro-Choice Agenda. If you are still in doubt, I wil ask you the following question: When was the last time you heard a sermon, read an article or a book published by our SDA denomination defending the Pro-Life position? A few years ago, I spent a few hours researching in our LLU library in my attempt at locating articles defending the sanctity of human life. I went back about ten years, and I discovered to my amazement that there was almost an absolute silence on the issue, while I had no problem locating hundreds of articles dealing with the Sabbath question.

What is More Sacred, Sacred Time or Human Life? At this point, I have a question for you: What is more sacred in the eyes of God: Our worship on the correct day of the week, or our respect for innocent human life? You might say: The Sabbath is the most sacred of God's Commandments. Is this really so? How come Jesus did not state that? But he did say in Matthew 25 that our eternal destiny will hinge on the way we treat the little ones. He also said:

I ask: How can the little ones come to him if we either poison or dismember them before they have a chance to take their first breath? And how can they have an abundant life, if we deprive them of life before they are born? We have been championing the campaign against smoking for many decades now, and thousands of smokers are grateful for what we have done for them. This is very laudable. By doing this we add four or five years to the life of former smokers. If we did the same for the unborn, we would be adding--not simply four or five years to their life--but rather an entire life span.

More Evidence of Our Moral Support for the Pro-Abortion Cause. But there is additional evidence of our moral support for the Pro-Abortion cause. Notice what John V. Stevers Sr., a former Pacific Union Conference of SDA Adventists Public Affairs/Religious Liberty Director, wrote on August 20, 1990:

It has not? I'd rather say, "It has indeed." By affirming that we do not know when human life begins, and by our silence on this issue, I would venture that we have been strenghtening the cause of abortion. When I read the above-quoted article, I almost fell off my chair. If we can say that Jesus died to restore our freedom to take the life of innocent human beings, then why can't we say the same about adultery, rape, burglary, and Sabbath breaking? Did Christ really die to restore our freedom to fornicate, to murder, and rape? If not, then how can we say that he died to restore our freedom to poison or dismember the unborn? Doesn't the Bible say that we should not shed innocent blood?

Our Undeniable SDA Blind Spot. There is no doubt in my mind that we SDA's have developed a blind moral spot and can't see what is crystal clear in the Bible: That shedding innocent blood is one of the most abhorrent practices condemned throughout the Bible. Last week I noticed some evidence of this fact as I studied the Sabbath School Bible Study Guide [formerly known as the Sabbath Quarterly]. In the lesson for Tuesday, Febrary 28, the author, after quoting several Biblical passages describing how some Israelite individuals participated in the pagan ritual of burning their children in honor of God Moloch, he asked the following question:

The writer answered his own question by saying that a modern counterpart for the burning of children ritual is the way we abuse our children today. My question is: Isn't abortion a better equivalent for the infanticide practiced in Biblical times than child abuse? After reading this, I thought: Evidently we SDA's have developed a blind spot in dealing with the abortion issue. We look at the forest, but we can't see the trees!

Two SDA Books Defending the Right to Kill. Since the abortion controversy started, thirty years ago, I could count only two books published by SDA authors, and both are on the side of women's right to kill the unborn. They are: What Is a Person, by James W. Walters; and Abortion Ethical Issues & Options, Edited by David R. Larson. The second book is a compilation of presentations made by a large group of SDA leaders, most of them defending women's ritht to choose. I have a debt of gratitude towards both of these SDA scholars for their contribution to SDA thinking, but I cannot agree with the Pro-Choice material those books present. Both books illustrate the undeniable fact that the leadership of the SDA Church has a definitely Pro-Abortion leaning.

Am I Preaching to the Choir? Sometime ago, I was talking to one of our church members, and he said: I think that you are preaching to the choir! Am I? Where is the choir? I ask. If in fact there is a choir supporting my position, then I must say that it is a silent choir that never sings anything. On many occasions people have asked me: Why don't you publish something on the subject? I must confess that I have submitted some of my writings to most of the SDA official and aindependent publications to no avail.

Some years ago, I submitted a short article to the Adventist Review. I received a message from the assistant editor saying that my submission had been accepted, and there was a check in payment for my contribution. I am still waiting for the magazine to publish what I wrote. At this rate, I will probably be seven feet under by the time they decide to publish it. This is why I started the SDA Forum. If you see any light in my mission, please, join me in my efforts to raise the alarm.

Have We Learned From the German and Austrian Adventists?. Recently the leaders of the German and Austrian SDA Church issued a declaration appologizing for the SDA colaboration and silence during the Nazi program of extermination of six million Jews. Apologizing is good medicine, but isn't it much better to avoid repeating the same mistake here in America while the genocide of the unborn is taking place?

This is my humble opinion, but don't rely on it, since I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet!