From: Darrell128@aol.com Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 05:51:00 -0500 Subject: NR 003: Allegan CRC Overture Equates Abortion with Nazi War Crimes NR #1997-003: Allegan Christian Reformed Church Asks Synod to Equate Abortion with Nazi War Crimes Dutch Reformed Christians in the rural Michigan town of Allegan are asking the national synod of the 292,000-member Christian Reformed Church to go on regard declaring that tolerance for partial birth abortion falls into the same category as Nazi war crimes against the Jews. "The veto of the ban on partial birth abortions was kind of the catalyst or the impetus which propelled the submission of this issue to council," said Rev. Dan Dykstra, pastor of Unity Christian Reformed Church in Allegan. "That was one more example of certain elements in our culture that are becoming increasingly contemptuous of the sanctity of life." The overture asks synod to take three actions, including voting to "authorize its officers to send official correspondence to the President of the United States and to the Congress of the United States lamenting the presidential veto of the ban against partial birth abortions and calling upon our government to enact legislation which protects 'the unique value of all human life' and prohibits 'the wanton or arbitrary destruction of any human being at any stage in its development," and to "declare the practice of partial birth abortion tantamount in nature to the war crimes of Nazi Germany." NR #1997-003: For Immediate Release Allegan Christian Reformed Church Asks Synod to Equate Abortion with Nazi War Crimes by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (January 3, 1997) URNS -- During World War II, seminary professor Dr. Klaas Schilder risked his life to criticize the Nazis in his newspaper, individual Christians such as Corrie Ten Boom struggled to hide Jews from the Nazis, the underground leaders published a paper that after the war became a Christian daily newspaper, and the population as a whole suffered through the carpet bombing of Rotterdam and the "hunger winter" during which the Germans confiscated the Dutch crops and left the population to starve. When the war ended, the Dutch people emerged with one of the best records in occupied Europe for active and passive resistance to Hitler's attempt at mass extermination of the Jewish race. Dutch Reformed Christians in the rural Michigan town of Allegan are now asking the national synod of the 292,000-member Christian Reformed Church to go on regard declaring that America's tolerance for partial birth abortion falls into the same category as Nazi war crimes against the Jews. "The veto of the ban on partial birth abortions was kind of the catalyst or the impetus which propelled the submission of this issue to council," said Rev. Dan Dykstra, pastor of Unity Christian Reformed Church in Allegan. "That was one more example of certain elements in our culture that are becoming increasingly contemptuous of the sanctity of life." In its overture, Unity CRC asks synod to take three actions: * "Reaffirm its commitment to the sanctity of life and its opposition to abortion, as taught by Scripture and delineated in previous synodical decisions;" * "Authorize its officers to send official correspondence to the President of the United States and to the Congress of the United States lamenting the presidential veto of the ban against partial birth abortions and calling upon our government to enact legislation which protects 'the unique value of all human life' and prohibits 'the wanton or arbitrary destruction of any human being at any stage in its development," and to * "Declare the practice of partial birth abortion tantamount in nature to the war crimes of Nazi Germany." For over two decades, the Christian Reformed synod has been strongly on record in opposition to abortion. Synod 1972 declared that "induced abortion is an allowable option only when the life of the prospective mother is genuinely threatened by continuation of the pregnancy," voted to "call believers to a ringing testimony against the evils of abortion as practiced in our society, and encourage them to promote action and legislation that reflects the teaching of Scripture," and in light of the Sixth Commandment's prohibition of murder, voted to "condemn the wanton or arbitrary destruction of any human being at any stage of its development from the point of conception to the point of death." Four years later, Synod 1976 not only voted to adopt the National Right to Life Committee's proposed Human Life Amendment to the US constitution but also voted to "call classes, consistories, and members of our congregations to do all in their power to protect and promote the sanctity of human life at any age; publicizing the issues, educating people, organizing committees, and doing whatever is considered necessary to confront people with the crucial physical and moral issues which are at stake." If adopted by the Christian Reformed synod this June, the Allegan overture will not be unprecedented. While synod has historically been very hesitant to send official communications to governmental officials, Synod 1988 authorized the stated clerk of synod to send a letter to the Canadian Prime Minister and Parliament regarding "the impending introduction of new abortion-regulatory legislation in the Parliament of Canada." Unity CRC has a history of active opposition to abortion. "That's an issue which is pretty close to the heart of Unity CRC," said Dykstra. "We have in the past been involved in supporting crisis pregnancy centers. We've had dressers set up in church for people to put into them children's supplies. We have members who are heavily involved in Allegan Right to Life, and we typically have good showings at the life chains in our city." According to Dykstra, President Bill Clinton's veto of the partial birth abortion ban passed by the US Congress was more than his church could take. "Our point is as the context of the church becomes increasingly contemptuous of the sanctity of life, not only may the church reaffirm its opposition to abortion, but it ought to," said Dykstra. "For synod to remain silent at a time like this would be not be a ringing testimony, it would be a ringing omission." Dykstra said that the CRC's own debates over abortion were not a factor in the council decision to send the overture but may have been a factor for individual members who promoted the overture. Classis Wisconsin currently has a committee studying the views of Calvin College biology professor Dr. Hessel Bouma regarding abortion and is considering bringing an overture to Synod 1997 to deal with Christian Reformed members who advocate abortion in cases other than saving the life of the mother. Bouma came to the attention of Christian Reformed abortion opponents with the 1989 publication by Eerdman's of a book entitled "Christian Faith, Health, and Medical Practice," produced by the 1985-1986 team of scholars at the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship. Bouma was a member of the team of scholars that year. The book states that "abortion is not the moral equivalent of murder," that "under exceptional circumstances, abortion occasionally may be recommended, cooperated with, or tolerated," and calls the Synod 1976 decision supporting the Human Life Amendment to the US Constitution "an emotional response to the dramatic increase in abortions in the wake of Roe v. Wade, based on minimal Scripture exegesis." Classis Zeeland will meet at 9 am on January 15 at First CRC of Zeeland. If classis adopts the overture it will be forwarded to synod with the endorsement of a regional body of the denomination containing 20 churches with 7500 members; Unity CRC could also send the overture to synod on its own with the note that classis declined to adopt it. While past synodical decisions on abortion are quite strongly opposed to abortion, that is not a guarantee that synod will adopt the Allegan overture. When Classis Wisconsin overtured Synod 1996 "to declare that [Christian Faith, Health, and Medical Practice]... presents a position on abortion contrary to the position of the Christian Reformed Church" and "to instruct Dr. Hessel Bouma to bring his position on abortion into compliance with the position of the Christian Reformed Church and to instruct the Calvin College Board of Trustees to ensure his compliance," synod rejected the overture. In rejecting the overture, synod affirmed an earlier conclusion by the Calvin College board of trustees "that the book [written by Dr. Hessel Bouma III] and Professor Bouma are strongly but not absolutely pro-life and that Professor Bouma maintains a healthy respect for the decisions of synod and reflects this in his teaching." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1996-073: Synod Rejects Wisconsin Overture: Calvin Prof. Dr. Hessel Bouma III Remains Free to Teach His Views on Abortion #1996-114: Classis Wisconsin Appoints Committee to Study Calvin Professor Dr. Hessel Bouma's Views on Abortion Contact List: Dr. Hessel Bouma III, Professor of Biology, Calvin College Science Building 233, 3201 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 O: (616) 957-6401 Rev. Dan Dykstra, Pastor, Unity Christian Reformed Church 147 Sunset Dr., Allegan, MI 49010 H/O/FAX: (616) 673-2034 Dr. David Engelhard, General Secretary, Christian Reformed Church in North America 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560 O: (616) 246-0744 * H: (616) 243-2418 * FAX: (616) 246-0834 * E-Mail: engelhad@crcnet.mhs.compuserve.com Rev. Les Kuiper, Convener, Classis Wisconsin Abortion Study Committee 215 S. 8th St., Oostburg, WI 53070-0305 O: (414) 564-3238 * H: (414) 564-2725 Rev. Steven Sytsma, Stated Clerk, Classis Zeeland 4452 - 38th St., Hamilton, MI 49419 O: (616) 688-5290 * H: (616) 688-5603 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive97: nr97-003.txt (corrected) .