Loving the sin and not the sinner
When abortionist George Tiller was killed last week, many Christians were surprised to hear that he was an usher at a Lutheran church. How could someone whose life clearly contradicted the Gospel be allowed to be not only a member, but an usher, at a Christian church? Many Catholics in particular might have assumed that Lutherans do not stand for life and are unapologetic supporters of abortion.
What was not reported is that Tiller was actually excommunicated from a Lutheran congregation years ago due to his abortion practice. So how was he able to be an usher at another Lutheran church? Because the two congregations belonged to separate, and very different, Lutheran groups.
His former church is part of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Its website proclaims:
Just because something happens to be legal does not make it moral, ethical or right. Abortion is perhaps one of the most dramatic examples of a situation where something is legal, but is very much a sin against God. Since 1973, abortions have been legal in the United States. Abortion remains a sin against God, whether or not it is legal in our society; therefore, we must “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). The church needs to inform its members that abortion is sinful and then encourage them, as Christian citizens, to use available legal means to change the law. Christians do not resort to illegal activities to change our nation’s laws.
Tiller’s new church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which states on its website:
A developing life in the womb does not have an absolute right to be born…The church recognizes that there can be sound reasons for ending a pregnancy through induced abortion.
Kudos to the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod for loving George Tiller enough to confront him with his evil practice. Shame to the ELCA for loving the sin and not the sinner. If the ELCA had confronted Tiller like the Missouri Synod church did, perhaps he would have followed in the footsteps of former abortionists like Bernard Nathanson. Now we’ll never know.
