Financial Assistance requested    

Reverend David C. Trosch
Post Office Box 850307
Mobile, Alabama 36685-0307
Phone/FAX: (205) 639-7456

July 25, 1994

Dear Jean,

It is interesting to make a comparison of your Board of Directors requirement for signing an agreement "Affirming Non-Violence" with the reference to Proverbs 24:11-12 just below the return address on your brochure: Rescue those who are being dragged to death, and from those tottering to execution withdraw not. If you say, "I know not this man!" does not he who tests hearts perceive it? He who guards your life knows it, and he will repay each one according to his deeds.

The statement, "Rescue those who are being dragged to death", is clear and not optional. If it is within ones power, by whatever means available, to save a person about to be put to death, then that person must be saved according to this verse. Horrible violence is known to have taken place in abortion clinics and is continuing to take place. A war against the innocent has been declared by the legal decisions of "Roe vs Wade" and "Doe vs Bolton". In war one cannot withdraw from one's obligation to serve, particularly when so directed by the Lord as noted in Proverbs 24:11-12. The rationale that one should be non-violent is ludicrous when horrible violence is unquestionably currently taking place by abortionists and their assisting staffs.

I have also heard some say that they are praying against abortion. What is it they expect will result from their prayers? Do they believe that God is going to come down and do their work for them? That He will resolve problems that we have been assigned to take care of in this life? God has already demonstrated by His inaction that He is waiting for us to take action. He has given creation into our custody. How we accept or reject our responsibilities in this life determines how we will be judged on the final day.

Jesus prayed in preparation for activity--accomplishing the works He had been given to achieve in this life. He also prayed as a form of spiritual uplifting, for communication with His Father, and for focus concerning His mission. He prayed in petition for release from suffering, stress and anxiety concerning His upcoming persecution and death. He prayed for His disciples that they would each be faithful to the assignments given them by being kept safe from the temptations of the prince of the world. Jesus never prayed that God the Father would take care of things that He could do Himself. We should pray as Jesus prayed: as a prelude to action; in concern regarding coming events; for evangelists that they fulfill their mission; and that government leaders might open their minds and hearts to God through witness given to them by true evangelists and people of faith.

At Fatima, Mary asked for prayer that future events predicted to take place would be averted. Mary, however, never said that a change of heart would take place without the action of man acting in accordance with the mind and heart of God. In essence the praying of the Rosary was to serve as a preparation for the actions of man so that they would grow and become aligned with the will of God, i.e., for valued Christian activity that comes through growth in faith brought about by prayer.

One does not pray for the safety of a child that is seen to be drowning and could be saved if one were to take immediate action. One does not pray and realistically expect God to send one of His angels to protect a screaming and struggling woman who is about to be raped and perhaps murdered when it is within ones own power to successfully intervene, even at the possible risk of ones own safety. If one knows that innocent people are going to be murdered --during a given period of time at a given location by a particular person or persons, and cannot obtain lawful protection for them-- and has it within his ability to stop the murderer and/or his direct accomplices, and does not act with the full necessary force which is available to him, he himself becomes "a participant in the crime by an act of omission."

Truly God is capable of doing all things. He can immediately stop abortion and all other evils which are taking place. To do so however would in effect remove our free will. There would be no moral activities taking place upon which to base a decision as to whether we have accepted or rejected His will for us in this life.

We were placed in this life for spiritual growth. The growth process is arduous because we are asked to make many decisions which are against our basic sinful nature. We all desire human peace in this life and shun that which may bring us into conflict with others. Jesus, on the other hand, proceeded on course from day-to-day rejecting all of the trials and temptations of this life. He allowed Lazarus to die. This was an event which brought much grief to Lazarus' sisters but was necessary so that God's power might be made manifest. During the "Agony in the Garden" Jesus pleaded with His Father to not have Him suffer and die, but, acknowledged that His Father's will must be done. He fully accepted the perfection of the knowledge and wisdom of the heavenly Father. Jesus proceeded on course and suffered a horrible death so that we might believe and be saved.

Jesus was given a special mission and did not divert from that mission. It is true that at any time He could have called legions of angels to protect Him. But, His death was seen as necessary, by the Father, so that many would be saved that otherwise would not be saved. His particular assignment was not to search and destroy. His task was to teach and convince people of all nations in a manner that would have long term persuasive effect. It was for this reason that Jesus stopped Peter from protecting Him. Jesus had no false belief that humans would never be required to use justifiable violence on many occasions to protect the innocent and stop other grave injustices. However, His particular mission did not allow Him to use violence or otherwise intervene to stop the atrocities and other grave injustices commonly taking place around Him during His lifetime. Had He done so His unique mission of teaching and then giving special witness by being executed and then being raised from the dead would never have been accomplished. Jesus accepted execution so that others would have sound witness to His own belief in the truths He had taught. His desire was that all future generations would believe in Him and His teachings and thereafter be called to join the eternal Father with Him. His life on earth would not otherwise have accomplished the required long term goal directed at human salvation.

Our mission in life, to please God by developing our own spiritual nature so that we will be with Him for all eternity, is intrinsically different from that of Jesus'. As we learn and grow in spirit we are progressively asked to accomplish ever more difficult tasks in this life. Tasks which are often contrary to the ways which we would naturally follow while we are living humanistically, i.e., for temporal goals. Teachings and then challenges are given us to help us grow. They are intended to help us recognize how we should be developing and improving our relationship with God. Ultimately the tasks we are asked to perform are tests which establish whether we are true believers or are merely believers of convenience. Jesus was greatly weakened in the desert for forty days and then given strong temptations as tests to establish His readiness for His assigned ministry. We should each try to focus on the importance of our ultimate goal. Is Heaven worth taking materialistic risks in this life? Is living with God eternally worth being called to do the unusual, something out of the ordinary? We are not judged on strictly ordinary things of life, things which follow the natural pattern of life. We are ultimately judged upon doing extraordinary activities given according to each ones own gifts and capabilities. Keep in mind that what is ordinary for some is extraordinary for others.

In Pro-Life activities if we are willing to only do that which is convenient or routine, and not grow further in our relationship with the unborn, have we done all that we could? Regardless of how sincere and even meritorious our actions have been, to a given point, should we not progress and do more when it becomes evident that it is necessary?

Please carefully rethink your position against nonviolence. Too often we act on emotions and/or faulty beliefs. Many teachings we have learned were based upon conditions which do not apply to problems which exist in regard to the present circumstances of procured abortion. When conditions change we must be willing to adapt and meet the new challenges we have been given. If every possible circumstance that could arise were to be clearly spelled out for us, we would have to have the memory and power of God to extract, on demand, all of the rules we would then possess and then be able to apply them correctly.

Jesus often scolded the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees of His time for their close mindedness. He said they were stiff necked with hardened hearts. They were not open to the fuller understanding of teachings which He was presenting to them. They closed their minds and hearts to Him and planned His death in order to protect their own set of standards. God wants us to keep an open mind to developing conditions around us and be able to meet new challenges with open minds and hearts.

One person who recently wrote me agrees with the concept of "Justifiable Homicide" but states that the termination of an abortionist would only be acceptable if one were a direct witness to an act of murder in the process of taking place. This is a learned response acquired from teachings which in no way envisioned the circumstances of legalized abortion. To repeat, we must be open to adapting to ever new conditions in our developing world. If we remain with rules which were not intended to apply to new and different circumstances then we have not kept our minds and hearts open to growth of the "Word of God" within us. We are then no better than were the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' time.

Think carefully! Do the conditions today, in relation to procured abortion, match the conditions of the age when particular rules of defense were written? If not, one must adjust his thinking and act accordingly. One must be willing and able to meet new challenges as they are presented. God is dynamic, not static. We are made into His image and likeness. We to should be dynamic and not static. Laws are guidelines for those who are seeking rehabilitation in order to establish a positive relationship with God. These guidelines serve for a time to replace what has been lost through sin. They serve to help us re-establish the natural openness to truth that has been lost and affirm the knowledge of what is good and just.

Truth is in the nature of God and the desire for truth must be made a part of our nature. Through the positive seeking of truth and the placing of truths learned into action we establish the relationship with God that is needed in order to enter eternal life. We must keep open minds in order to develop truth within us. When we avoid having truth grow within us we are avoiding growth with relationship to God.

Jeremiah was given difficult and humanly undesirable tasks to perform in this life: "To root up and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant." (Jer 1:10) These tasks required much spiritual growth on the part of Jeremiah.

Jesus spoke of the seed, the Word of God, which was to grow and yield a hundred or sixty or thirty fold. First the seed, truth, must be planted and then allowed to grow. For it, truth, to remain static, as with the coins given to the one who buried them to keep them safe, is a grave offense against God. The one who does not allow truth to grow within himself and then act upon it is not serving God and will suffer the consequences, on judgement day, for his failure to take human risks in order to spiritually grow.

Jesus said: "I use parables when I speak to them because `they look but do not see, they listen but do not hear or understand.' Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: `You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes lest they see with their eyes, they have closed their ears lest they hear and then understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.' "But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear." (Mat 13:13-16)

Even considering the above, there was one among their number who saw and heard but did not understand. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. If we understand Jesus' words in the absolute and not in the general, then we must acknowledge that Judas was not present on this occasion. He may have been away purchasing daily supplies.

Your nonviolence agreement requires everyone involved with your activities to stay back and allow the slaughter of the innocent to continue to take place. The lessons concerning the need for violence on certain occasions were well established in the Old Testament and there was no need for Jesus to deal directly with this question in the New Testament. Keep in mind that your quotation is from the Old Testament. If anything that was not directly invalidated by Jesus concerning the Old Testament is to be ignored, then there is little reason not to ignore the entirety of the Old Testament. However, I know of no Christian religion that does not use readings from the Old Testament to establish or reinforce valid points of teaching. Indeed St. Paul says, "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16) He also stated that disciples of Jesus were to, "proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching." (2 Tim 4:2) Both of these references included the teachings of the Old Testament. In fact, the first of these quotations refers exclusively to Old Testament writings as the New Testament had not yet been formulated.

Witness to the need for violence in New Testament times was given by St. Joan of Arc. She led an army in defense of her country and many opponents were killed. During World War II many freedom fighters attacked and killed occupation forces and traitors--(Note: Conditions were similar to those which existed during the time of Christ between Israel and their Roman conquerors.) Men, women, and even children during World War II, of varying religious beliefs, were never condemned either during or after the war for their just actions. Many of these men, women, and children were killed or executed by the occupation forces as a consequence of their activities. Many innocent people were summarily executed in order to deter freedom fighters from their disruptive and often violent activities, but, following the war neither church or state placed any condemnation upon freedom fighters. They were commonly thought of as heroes.

One of the most evil of beliefs is that a murderer of innocent children should not have his or her life terminated when extinction of his life would save, at least for the time being, the lives of innocent persons--(Note: The saving of a person from being killed in a traffic accident today does not prevent him from being killed in a different accident tomorrow.) This belief goes directly against God's expressed will stated in Genesis 9:6, "Who ever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed." God is unchangeable. His is totally consistent. If this were not true there would be no reason to accept His teachings or to believe in Him. The sentence of death by human hands is required by God's law. The immediate execution of this sentence is required most particularly when it is in defense of the innocent. The circumstances of particular situations determine how and when this is to be accomplished. Keep in mind the certainty of what will happen to the innocent if such sentence is not expeditiously carried out. Keep in mind the circumstance that evil civil law is not acting justly according to the will of God and that God's will must be carried out if one expects to have eternal life. When Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's", He meant that when we were required to, we should pay taxes and follow just civil laws of even otherwise unjust governments. We were to render to God allegiance to truth and justice and give Him full honor and glory.

The condition of relationship one has with God at any given time is ones own responsibility. Such condition should not be a question others need take into consideration when he is performing gravely unjust acts. Justice has priority when there has not been given an indication of a desire for mercy coupled with a demonstration of willingness to reform. Further, as God is a just God, it must be believed that every effort has been or will be made by God to see to it that no person suffers eternal punishment without having been given just and reasonable opportunity for salvation. However, to repeat, each one is responsible for the condition of his or her own soul at the time of death. Final judgement is in God's hands. He has told us to act justly at all times. It is manifestly unjust to take the lives of the unborn. He has clearly told us to protect, to save innocent human life. Scriptural references in regard to the consequences for shedding innocent human blood, or allowing it to be shed in ones community, are quite numerous.

For over twenty years now pro-lifers have been nonviolently protesting while over thirty million people have been cruelly slaughtered. How much longer and how many more children must die before direct intervention is seen to be necessary and taken?

Your concerns and questions are important to me and to the innocent children daily being destroyed. If you have any you would care to share, please send them to me at your earliest convenience. Please make them as clear as you can. If you feel you have sound references and/or reasoning to support a different position please clearly state them.

sincerely in Christ,

            /s/

fr. David C. Trosch

P.S. Copies of this document are being given to and sent to a variety of people. May God be with you in your efforts for the unborn.

Note: This document and other documents of mine you may have in your possession may be freely copied and distributed if no charge is made. Other documents are available upon request for a small charge made necessary by growing costs.

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