Adam posted a pretty lengthy response to my post on Eric Rudolph, below. Therein he explains how ridiculous it is of me to try to portray “Pro-Life” Christians as sharing anything in common with Rudolph.
So as a public service, I offer this simple table comparing the viewpoints of Eric Rudolph and your average “Pro-Life” Christian:
| Convicted Fundamentalist Religious Terrorist Eric Rudolph | Average “Pro-Life” Christian |
| Believes that Jesus Christ is his personal Lord and Savior | Believes that Jesus Christ is his personal Lord and Savior |
| Relies on Biblical Scripture to gain insight on morality | Relies on Biblical Scripture to gain insight on morality |
| Believes that human life begins at conception | Believes that human life begins at conception |
| Believes it is his Christian obligation to live true to God’s law | Believes it is his Christian obligation to live true to God’s law |
| Believes that his God is the one true God | Believes that his God is the one true God |
| Believes that the laws of Man in conflict with God’s law should be abolished | Believes that the laws of Man in conflict with God’s law should be abolished |
| Believes that homosexuality is an abberant sexual behavior that should be hidden from the public, lest the “gay agenda” be spread | Believes that homosexuality is an abberant sexual behavior that should be hidden from the public, lest the “gay agenda” be spread |
| Believes that abortion is murder | Believes that abortion is murder |
| Believes that the 1973 decision that legalized abortion was tantamount to government endorsement of murder | Believes that the 1973 decision that legalized abortion was tantamount to government endorsement of murder |
| Believes that as a result of Roe v. Wade, millions of unborn children have been slaughtered over three decades | Believes that as a result of Roe v. Wade, millions of unborn children have been slaughtered over three decades |
| Believes that a woman’s right to choose is merely a smokescreen for endorsing a hedonistic, selfish, irresponsible lifestyle | Believes that a woman’s right to choose is merely a smokescreen for endorsing a hedonistic, selfish, irresponsible lifestyle |
| Believes that no woman has a “right” to “choose” to commit murder | Believes that no woman has a “right” to “choose” to commit murder |
| Believes that despite “thou shalt not kill”, killing and force are justified in cases of war, self-defense, or defense of the innocent | Believes that despite “thou shalt not kill”, killing and force are justified in cases of war, self-defense, or defense of the innocent |
| Believes that every abortion is an attack on an innocent human life | Believes that every abortion is an attack on an innocent human life |
| Believes that defending innocent unborn babies from murder, therefore requires a response of killing and force. | Believes that existing adult human lives should not be killed to defend innocent unborn babies from murder |
| Believes that the government that sanctions mass infanticide is illegitimate, therefore its officers and laws are illegitimate | Believes the government that sanctions mass infanticide is merely broken and a few million babies’ lives can be sacrificed while he works within the system for change. |
| Believes the bombing of an abortion clinic or a gay nightclub is as justified as bombing an al-Qaeda training camp, because all three threaten our society | Believes in bombing al-Qaeda, but abortion clinics and gay nightclubs aren’t as serious of a threat to require deadly force. |
| Believes clinic doctors, staff, patients, guards, and bystanders lives are no more important than the innocent babies he’ll be saving | Believes that the right of adult people to life supercedes the right of unborn people to life — it’s not right to kill innocent adults to prevent the killing of innocent babies |
You know, you’re right, they are nothing alike. Eric Rudolph is morally consistent — murder is murder and force is justified to stop it. “Pro-Lifers” who say “abortion is murder” but react like it is just a public policy issue, are not.
Now, is there a morally-consistent Christian anti-abortion position? Sure! It starts with recognizing that abortion is not the termination of a human life (emphasis on “human”) but the prevention of a human life. It believes that the process of creating a human life is personally sacred and should not be interrupted, but realizes that not everyone shares that view. It understands that the “human” part of human life happens when the Lord “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7) It is disgusted by the abortions others participate in, but it remembers that God is the final judge and those abortionists will have to answer before God.
