The Church Must Confess
Before he was executed, Dietrich Bonhoeffer voiced criticism of the German Lutheran Church for its compromises with the Nazi government:
The church must confess that she has witnessed the lawless application of brutal force, the physical and spiritual suffering of countless innocent people, oppression, hatred, and murder, and that she has not raised her voice on behalf of the victims and has not found ways to hasten to their air… By her own silence she has rendered herself guilty because of her unwillingness to suffer for what she knows is right.463
James Dobson has used this quote to point to the present day church’s passivity on the issue of abortion.464 I am not qualified to comment on the validity of this criticism. Many individual Christians and churches have worked diligently in this area, especially to give viable choices other than abortion to troubled expectant mothers. I am very much in favor of this approach on the personal level. I am not so certain of what is appropriate on the political level. I believe churches and Christian groups are on dangerous ground when they seek power through the political process, no matter how worthy the cause. We certainly make our primary duty of bringing Christ’s message to the world more difficult for ourselves if we are perceived as trying to coerce others in matters of conscience. Our Founding Fathers wisely preempted this issue as they wrote the Constitution. Christians should be thankful for this freedom of conscience and for the freedom to use persuasion in changing the conscience of others.
This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.
—Hebrews 10:16