2018 - Should True Christians Attend the “March for Life” Event?
READING TIME: 25 MINUTES
The following are the notes to the discussion found at this link (https://www.facebook.com/tammy.cheetham.77/videos/341624989670549/) for anyone who would like to study the subject more in depth.
A good number of people would automatically answer yes to this question about attending the March for Life because Christians should be pro-life and absolutely against abortion. Now, before we continue, we will say we should absolutely hate abortion, no doubt about it. The heart of the matter, and what we would like to address in this discussion, is can the enemy use what seems good and actually cause harm? The answer to that question is an emphatic yes!
Here are two scriptures that help illustrate the concept that something may appear as light and actually be quite dark. One is Isa. 5:20: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” The other is 2 Cor. 11:14: “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” These verses are played out on occasions when man is exalted rather than Jesus; when man is said to have the solutions if one will just join the right causes. An initial concern about this event is that when anything is presented as a solution for man’s sinful activities besides the Blood of Jesus, then more harm is done than good. In the case of abortion, we can expend a great deal of effort to convince women not to get abortions, but if these women are not saved, they will spend an eternity in hell. We can obviously see which concern takes top priority here.
Another concern about the March for Life is the ecumenical nature of the event. The pope has an agenda and it's one the entire Catholic church has pursued since Vatican II. It involves bringing the "separated brethren" back to Rome. Many evangelical leaders have joined in with this ecumenical movement, sad to say. The true church has been persecuted for the last two thousand years and millions have died because they would not accept Catholicism. Nothing has changed. Catholicism is a religion based on the traditions of men, not just another denomination within Christianity. So, when Catholics and Christians come together, even if it’s for a good cause and to fight a common enemy, an ecumenical activity has occurred. Additionally, the lines get blurred and often the reports concerning an event do not distinguish between the two groups, but rather just lump all those working together under the banner of Christian.
People often quote John 17:11, "Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name these whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are," as a call for unity among Christians. (However, in this verse, Jesus is praying for His followers to be one, not for believers to unite with unbelievers. And, the absolute fact of the matter is that many calling themselves Christians today have not placed their faith in the Jesus of the Bible, but rather in a Jesus of their own imagination. True believers need to pray for false converts, but under no circumstances should they unite with them).
Now, to give some history concerning the March for Life. It was started by American pro-life activist Nellie Gray in 1974, following the Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, which decriminalized abortion the previous year. Gray was a native of Big Spring, Texas and a Roman Catholic convert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Gray_(activist). So, due to the fact that its founder was Catholic, and she worked closely with Catholic churches and bishops, attendance at the annual event has predominantly been Catholic. Not recognizing the Biblical directive concerning separation by true believers, evangelical leaders have been advocating for a greater presence of evangelicals at the event as evidenced by this quote: “I don’t want to see any fewer rosary beads at the March for Life, but I want to see more evangelicals,” said Dr. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Commission (ERLC), to a gathering of Evangelical leaders during the Evangelicals for Life event held in January of 2016. He continued, “Our absence is a shame. And so we don’t need any less ‘Ave Maria,’ but we need some more ‘Amazing Grace’ in the mix as well” (https://juicyecumenism.com/2016/01/13/35331/). And, at the evangelicals.life/march for life link one can read the following: “As part of the Evangelicals for Life conference (Jan. 18-20), join with evangelical leaders from across America—leaders like Russell Moore and Jim Daly—to put your pro-life witness in action by joining hundreds of thousands of others and peacefully marching on Washington D.C.” (http://www.evangelicals.life/march-for-life/) (And, I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised by Moore’s ecumenical push in this case considering he attended a conference on marriage and the family at the Vatican in November 2014, along with Rick Warren). (http://religionnews.com/2014/11/03/vatican-to-host-religious-leaders-tackle-marriage-family-issues/).
In a biographical article about Nellie Gray we see a statement concerning her motivation for holding these events: “Everybody is trying to say we are imposing our religion, but we are actually just following our religion and American patriotism,” she told the Post. “God almightily created man and woman in his own image, and we recognize that. The United States Constitution recognizes that the human being is endowed with a right to life, and of course the churches must be involved in this. We must carry out our patriotism and our love of God almighty through such events.” (http://heavy.com/news/2017/01/nellie-gary-march-for-life-founder-biography-anti-abortion-pro-life-quotes-2017-date/) (The fact that she wanted to demonstrate patriotism and a love of God is quite unusual. Where in God’s Word are we given directions concerning the concept of patriotism? Rather, we are referred to as pilgrims in this world (1 Pet. 2:11) and our inheritance is in heaven (1 Pet. 1:4). The concept of patriotic Christians speaks to Dominion Theology which we have discussed many times before.
The current president of March for Life is a woman named Jeanne Mancini who is also a Catholic (http://marchforlife.org/march-for-life-staff/). The following statements by Mancini are from an interview she conducted with Lifesite News (https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/interview-march-for-life-leader-reveals-silver-linings-in-snowpocalypseand) She says this concerning working for the March for Life organization: “The irony of it is, we are not actually an inherently religious organization. We are non-sectarian—though most who work here have a deep faith. We are very prayerful and pray together as a staff. We seek God’s guidance on what our next steps should be.” (Since the definition of non-sectarian is, “organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group,” this means the members of the staff to whom Mancini refers could practice any faith or none at all. She states they pray together, but we know that most every religion believes in prayer and true Christians should not pray with members of other religions).
The following statement by Mancini speaks to the fact that March for Life has mainly been a Catholic event from its inception as noted earlier: “We’ve definitely seen more evangelical groups get involved over the last few years. Having come from a background of working at Family Research Council, it was difficult for me to comprehend why—for the most part—my pro-life evangelical brothers and sisters weren’t participating in the March for Life.” (Well, perhaps these pro-life evangelicals to whom Mancini refers recognize they should not join with Catholics thereby creating an ecumenical event. And, we don’t have time to discuss it, but this is a huge red flag concerning the Family Research Council that it would present itself as a Christian organization, but would have Catholics on staff).
Another quote from this article by Mancini is: “In addition, many groups are joining with us who are not faith-based. One group, Secular Pro-Life, is truly an amazing organization; I’m always impressed with the different resources they have to offer. We encourage all groups to be involved in the March for Life as long as their approach to being pro-life is non-violent.” (Well, this statement makes the obvious point that one doesn’t have to be a Christian to be pro-life. There are millions of members of other religions, atheists, gays, so on and so forth, who would identify as pro-life. However, a very important question we need to ask is, in fighting against an evil, should we unite with those who don’t recognize the God of the Bible? With those who teach contrary to His Word? I think not).
Now, with that information as background, let’s discuss this year’s march which took place on January 19th. The following is from an article written by Jeanne Mancini concerning the theme for the march: “Each year, the March for Life theme is carefully chosen to reflect the message we deem most needed for the hearts and minds of our community and our country. Though we look forward to gathering the pro-life community in our nation’s capital on Jan. 19 it is our sincere hope that love will one day prevail, and that this 45th annual March for Life will be the last of its kind. Thus, the 2018 March for Life theme is “Love Saves Lives” — a reminder that love is, and always has been, woven into the fiber of the pro-life movement, and that it will ultimately be the power that makes abortion unthinkable (http://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/368946-love-is-and-always-will-be-the-basis-of-the-pro-life-movement). (And, while we do not doubt people’s love and sincerity in marching and whatever else they may do for this cause, we just recognize that whether people have eternal life or not is of ultimate importance. If those marching truly understood this they would focus on salvation rather than just on preventing abortion. You know, people need to hear about the ultimate act of love – of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins – the act that made it possible for lives to be saved for eternity).
Now, let’s discuss a few of the statements made at the march. I am including the link to the event at this point in the note we’ll put on facebook so the listeners can view any of the speeches (https://www.c-span.org/video/?439812-1/lawmakers-address-march-life-rally). Right before Jeanne Mancini announced the opening prayer she made this statement: Each year we are grateful for the collaborative witness of the Roman Catholic Orthodox bishops of the United States. She then introduced His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, who is an Eastern Orthodox bishop and led the Orthodox delegation at the March. Here is part of his prayer: “I come here to speak out the gospel, to speak for the one who died for the life of the world…together with my brothers from the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Roman Catholic traditions I ask you to join me in offering a prayer to the one who died not for the lives of the world, but for the life of it. Lord, Jesus Christ, we know that all things and all people of all times share a kinship, a oneness that even surpasses our understanding. They all have one life and one life only flowing through everything that breathes and exists. When You came into the world You didn’t just become human, You also took on this one life and clothed Yourself in it, making it Your seamless tunic…Lord, You show us that life has only one source and one victory, self-sacrificial love. Help us to be self-sacrificial love for all and we will conquer death.” (Well, sad to say, this man said he came to speak out the gospel, but then failed to do so. Jesus came to die for the sins of the world, not for the life of the world. And, then his statement, “one life only flowing through everything that breathes and exists,” and that Jesus took on this one life sounds like pantheism. Then, the phrase, “help us to be self-sacrificial love for all and we will conquer death” is quite odd because the only One who can and who has conquered death is Jesus Christ. And, concerning the Eastern Orthodox religion itself, it has several similar beliefs to those of Catholicism, such as denying justification by faith alone and practicing infant baptism. And, when true believers attend events with those of other faiths, we are giving credence to those faiths, something we should never do).
One of the next speakers is a nun named Bethany Madonna and, sister Tammy, I know you have prepared to speak about her.
Sisters of Life, which according to Wikipedia and their own website is a female Roman Catholic religious institute, following the Augustinian rule. It is both a contemplative and active religious community, dedicated to the promotion of pro-life causes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisters_of_Life
Augustine Rule Overview from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_St._Augustine
The Rule of St. Augustine, written about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. The Rule governs chastity, poverty, obedience, detachment from the world, the apportionment of labor, the inferiors, fraternal charity, prayer in common, fasting and abstinence proportionate to the strength of the individual, care of the sick, silence and reading during meals.
Please do read further to see this is not giving a true gospel of repentance from sin and trusting Jesus for our forgiveness through His blood, but rather the emphasis is on man made rules and traditions.
Bethany Madonna speaks during the March for Life about the institute she is part of. Please click to hear the speech from her https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cnS-CUoVvE
During her speech she began by saying that she was praying every day, which to begin with we know that God will not honor these prayers coming from people with another way of salvation and another Jesus as Second Corinthians 11: 4 shares with us in the precious Word of God.
The prayers God will honor, and answer are those of repentance unto faith in His real Son. The Jesus, the Only Jesus, Who alone paid for the sin debt and was buried and rose again. He is the Only One Who can forgive people of their sins and change wicked hearts. He alone is the Only One and Him plus no sacrament, good works, Eucharist participation and certainly not through any goodness of our own in anyway shape or form.
She talks about the Scripture how Jesus love casts out all fear and made all things new, she twists this verse on its head to put the focus on this stopping people from aborting their babies, yet in context this is meaning Jesus’ perfect love casts out all fear of judgment because He paid this for us on the Cross and this is what again changes the inward man. Knowing Jesus through repentance and faith casts out the fear of punishment from eternal hell and separation from God. The abortionist’s heart will be changed as the true clear gospel is given and believed from the heart of this murderer.
Standing against abortion for a true Christian is the proper heart to have, yet this in and of itself is not the power of God unto Salvation. Your next-door neighbor and the woman or man at your workplace that is unsaved can have this correct moral, but still be at enmity with God because they love this world and have unbelieving hearts towards Jesus Christ.
You know I have said to a few Christians before about this issue, that we know abortion is murder and wrong, homosexuality is sin and wrong, lying and stealing is wrong and what can be worse than unbelief towards Jesus Christ God’s Son Who died for the sins of the entire world to be saved from eternal death and hell? I mean many true believers are joining in with this fight against abortion thinking that this is the answer, they really do not give any true message of salvation and are encouraging these that do not abort their babies to think they are on their ways to heaven because they never murdered their child, yet these are as self-righteous as can be! The worse type of murder is that that doesn’t give the truth to these that are perishing in their sins, they give them no solution for the problem that lies within the heart!
The Christian would do far better justice by standing outside the abortion clinics with the gospel message, give tracts and proclaim that sin leads to death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord and that He can set the sinner free. Maybe a few of the doctors performing these atrocities may hear and repent, too! At least give them the true answer!
Many Christians are joining with other religions in these last days to fight a common or moral cause that they think God will be okay with as long as they don’t join in with what they believe, yet what happens at these events is that prayer takes place, everybody believes they are praying to their god. They all say amen together, there is no clear-cut distinction of the true gospel going out because that is not the emphasis at all! It is an unholy alliance and God will not honor this. He said any proclaiming to be a brother or sister and doesn’t abide by the true doctrine of Jesus, then we faithful must separate and expose them, mark and avoid them even because of the corrupt version of Jesus they spout out. We do not bid them God speed or let them into our house. We have our spiritual house as true brethren that we need to protect. The reason God give us these admonitions is for the sake of those in error to repent as well as the protecting of the flock.
I can also say that any who have given over to a false dominionist gospel that says this world will get better by changing the laws in the government and even believing that there will be a great revival in the world before Jesus comes, well these are highly deceived, and I doubt these truly understand the truth at this point. I do know God will have mercy on the repentant but even in this we still need to expose the errors because of the damage done through these false doctrines.
The Catholic religion does not give a true proclamation of the gospel and are not saved, the god of the Catholic religion is man, the Pope is the one they look to and men’s traditions. We have some information on the website talking about the Catholic system and how this is not the same as Christianity and we do have a discussion on the unscriptural errors of the mass they participate in, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJeDtZtdWa4&t=16s Errors of the Catholic Mass
I noticed through Bethany Madonna’s speech that she was lifting up these women as though they were great for not aborting, and pointing people to trust in each other, and not look to the Lord for eternal life. These types of ways are seemingly doing much good yet doing a great deal of harm because they use the correct terminology for people that do not understand about the Roman Catholic religious system. She talks about a jesus, prayer and fasting, even talks about casting out the demon of murder, but has no clue that one day if she remains in this unscriptural system that God will say He never knew her when she stands before Him telling Him what she thought was right.
Bethany goes on to say drawing to the close of her speech that Jesus trusts us, and Jesus needs us! I just would like to leave you with these verses to clarify the errors in these statements too besides all the other and encourage you not to have anything to do with the Catholic religious system and the ecumenism involved with joining together with the false church.
Psalms 118:8 - [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Micah 7:5 - Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
Jeremiah 17:5 - Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
Psalms 118:9 - [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Exodus 3:14 - states that God is the I AM THAT I AM, this means that He depends on no one, needs no man. He lacks nothing. If God needed us, then He would not be God.
Thank you so much for all of that information, sister Tammy.
Then, the next main person who spoke was Mike Pence. He was one of the main speakers last year. At this year’s event he called Trump the most pro-life president in American history, along with mentioning some of his accomplishments this past year, and said the following: “Know as you march for life your compassion, your persistence, your activism, and your prayers are saving lives and this pro-life generation should never doubt. We are with you. This president stands with you. And, He who said before I formed you in the womb I knew you is with you as well.” But, Pence made this statement to an especially diverse group of people. An article from National Review from Jan. of 2017 supports this idea by saying, “The March for Life has always been a highly inclusive event, with Feminists for Life and Atheists Against Abortion standing shoulder to shoulder with Catholic priests and nuns, Protestant ministers, and rabbis (http://www.nationalreview.com/article/444359/march-life-anti-abortion-rally-draws-huge-diverse-crowd). (So, here Pence is assuming a lot to say God is with unbelievers and false converts just because he thinks God is happy with the cause they are supporting. These people desperately need to hear the gospel, not be made to feel God is smiling down on them).
Pres. Trump is the next speaker I want to mention. He, of course, received much praise for being the first president to address the event which he did by video. Here are a couple of statements he made that are quite problematic: “We are protecting the sanctity of life and the family as the foundation of our society. This movement can only succeed with the heart and the soul and the prayer of the people…That is why we march, that is why we pray, that is why we declare that America's future will be filled with goodness, peace, joy, dignity and life for every child of God." (Well, he mentions prayer, but again he is speaking to a large group which includes Catholics, those from the various Orthodox groups, Jews, and so forth. So the result is that, in the minds of most of the people in attendance, he has validated all prayer, but we know God doesn’t hear the prayers of those who have another Jesus. Since Jesus is the way to the Father, we have to know the true Jesus of the Bible, not a Jesus created by the traditions of men. Then, he speaks of America’s future being filled with goodness, peace, etc. Well, here is a clear indication that the president hasn’t read the entire Bible no matter that he’s said he’s been a Presbyterian for decades, or somehow he missed the parts about perilous times and evil men waxing worse and worse in the end times. In fact, as we get closer and closer to the time of the Great Tribulation, anyone who is declaring goodness and peace for the people of any nation before Jesus returns is a false prophet, plain and simple. And, again he uses the phrase “child of God.” We have addressed this before because he uses this phrase quite often. If he means everyone has been created by God then he needs to say so because “child of God” has a specific meaning as we see in verses such as Gal. 3:26 which says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus”).
And, then someone else I wanted to mention who addressed the crowd is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Some may not know that he is a Catholic. (So, just as a side note let’s think about this for a minute concerning the top three positions in this nation’s government. We have the president who attended Fordham University, a Jesuit school in the Bronx, for two years, and whose wife, Melania, is Catholic; we have the vice-president who was raised Catholic and has referred to himself as an evangelical Catholic; and, we have the Speaker of the House who is Catholic. And, most people don’t even think this is a big deal because they don’t know the history or beliefs of the Catholic church; they don’t know about the Decree on Ecumenism from Vatican II and that the Catholic church has been hard at work attempting to bring the “separated brethren” back home as I already mentioned; and, they don’t know anything about the Jesuits. So, a good number of people are completely in the dark, sad to say).
So, back to Paul Ryan and a few of his statements: “Can we just thank God for giving us a pro-life president back in the White House? What a crowd. This is so exciting. It is so exciting to see so many young people here today. Your energy is so infectious…One thing that gets lost is how compassionate the pro-life movement is. To help women who have gone through the pain of abortion, to help single mothers, to give them resources through thousands of pregnancy centers: This is the face of the pro-life movement…People come from all over the country. You march with your churches, your friends, your neighbors. You march with joy and hope, not with anger or hate.” (And, just to be clear, we are not saying there is anything wrong with helping women in these situations. But, again, where is the focus? You know, if people want to truly be pro-life, they will give these women the gospel. We’re talking life eternal, not just the here and now. And, then, he says, “you march with your churches, your friends, your neighbors.” He says “churches,” but he is speaking to a crowd that involves all different religious groups. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; people are absolutely being conditioned to accept Catholicism as another denomination within Christianity). Here is another example of this conditioning and it also concerns Paul Ryan. In an interview with CBN News, Ryan is quoted as saying the following: “"I could not do my job as a husband, as a father, as the speaker of the House without my faith. It is indispensable. It is an integral part of my life. I start my day in prayer; I end my day in prayer," he explained. "I pray with my kids at night on the phone before they go to bed. I just did with my son Sam last night, so it's a big part of our family life and it's what sustains us." (In this entire article there is not one mention of Ryan being Catholic so CBN News is contributing to this conditioning process). (http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2018/january/beyond-the-shutdown-showdown-how-faith-fuels-paul-ryans-fight-pray-that-we-help-heal-this-country)
Well, that is all the speakers that I wanted to mention, but I do have some information from three articles that I wanted to share before we bring this discussion to a close. The first one is from the Family Research Council site and it says,
“For the thousands packed in the blocks between the Capitol and Washington Monument, it was a striking moment to see two of the most powerful men in the world carrying the torch for the unborn.” (So, again we see the focus on people as you discussed so well earlier, sister Tammy). The article continues: “And it was all the more significant because what grows the movement isn't politics. We aren't just winning because of good debates, ‘or a well-crafted bill in Congress. All of those things have their place, but that's not what's going to transform hearts and change minds. Life is winning because technology always advances, it never retreats. Life is winning... one ultrasound at a time.’" (http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA18A26&f=WU18A10) (And, these statements just make us cringe because when believers hear the phrase “transform hearts and change minds” we expect the next words to be Jesus Christ. But, when the article promotes technology, specifically ultrasounds, instead of the gospel, we just want to cry. And, what makes this all even more heartbreaking is, as I mentioned earlier, Family Research Council promotes itself as a Christian ministry. I said it at the beginning of this discussion and I will say it again. We can expend a great deal of effort to convince women not to get abortions, but if these women are not saved, they will spend an eternity in hell.).
I just want to mention two sentences from the second article which is entitled, “Christians Championing the March for Life.” “Christians, the predominant religion in the US, are easily the most identifiable demographic in the pro-life movement. From devout Catholics to deep in the Bible-belt Baptists, Christians are an overwhelming voice for the unborn, for good reason (https://rousernews.com/2018/01/20/christians-championing-the-march-for-life/). (So, here is just another example of Catholics being described as Christians, of the lines being blurred, and of people being deceived).
The third article relates the fact that Catholics who participated in the March for Life event would be able to receive a plenary indulgence for doing so. The instructions are as follows:
“In virtue of the authority granted by our Holy Father, Pope Francis… a plenary indulgence can be obtained under the usual conditions…by the Christian faithful who are truly penitential and compelled by charity, if they take part in the sacred celebrations, along with the great assembly of people, throughout the whole course of the annual event that is called ‘March for Life,’” announced a Dec. 20 letter from the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington.
In addition, the usual conditions for a plenary indulgence must be met: that the individual be in the state of grace by the completion of the acts, have complete detachment from sin, and pray for the pope’s intentions. The person must also sacramentally confess their sins and receive Communion, up to about twenty days before or after the indulgenced act. (https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/01/08/participating-march-life-theres-indulgence/)
Now, here is a little information from a Catholic website to help us understand indulgences: “In the Sacrament of Penance the guilt of sin is removed, and with it the eternal punishment due to mortal sin; but there still remains the temporal punishment required by Divine justice, and this requirement must be fulfilled either in the present life or in the world to come, i.e., in Purgatory. An indulgence offers the penitent sinner the means of discharging this debt during his life on earth. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm) (I just wanted to include this information to help the listener understand that Catholicism is a works-based religion and that is, of course, just one of many examples that could be given).
(So, in conclusion, we have seen that true believers joining together with those of other faiths and presenting a united front, knowingly or unknowingly, gives credence to these false beliefs; such joining together flies in the face of clear, Biblical commands to remain separate (1 Cor. 6:11-14 and Rev. 18:4, for example). Besides the ecumenical aspect, we have seen that emphasizing man’s efforts pushes the gospel of salvation to the side and offers no hope of being born again and spending eternity with Jesus. For these reasons a true believer will not join the March for Life activities, but will rather present the gospel to a lost and dying world).
READING TIME: 25 MINUTES
The following are the notes to the discussion found at this link (https://www.facebook.com/tammy.cheetham.77/videos/341624989670549/) for anyone who would like to study the subject more in depth.
A good number of people would automatically answer yes to this question about attending the March for Life because Christians should be pro-life and absolutely against abortion. Now, before we continue, we will say we should absolutely hate abortion, no doubt about it. The heart of the matter, and what we would like to address in this discussion, is can the enemy use what seems good and actually cause harm? The answer to that question is an emphatic yes!
Here are two scriptures that help illustrate the concept that something may appear as light and actually be quite dark. One is Isa. 5:20: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” The other is 2 Cor. 11:14: “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” These verses are played out on occasions when man is exalted rather than Jesus; when man is said to have the solutions if one will just join the right causes. An initial concern about this event is that when anything is presented as a solution for man’s sinful activities besides the Blood of Jesus, then more harm is done than good. In the case of abortion, we can expend a great deal of effort to convince women not to get abortions, but if these women are not saved, they will spend an eternity in hell. We can obviously see which concern takes top priority here.
Another concern about the March for Life is the ecumenical nature of the event. The pope has an agenda and it's one the entire Catholic church has pursued since Vatican II. It involves bringing the "separated brethren" back to Rome. Many evangelical leaders have joined in with this ecumenical movement, sad to say. The true church has been persecuted for the last two thousand years and millions have died because they would not accept Catholicism. Nothing has changed. Catholicism is a religion based on the traditions of men, not just another denomination within Christianity. So, when Catholics and Christians come together, even if it’s for a good cause and to fight a common enemy, an ecumenical activity has occurred. Additionally, the lines get blurred and often the reports concerning an event do not distinguish between the two groups, but rather just lump all those working together under the banner of Christian.
People often quote John 17:11, "Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name these whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are," as a call for unity among Christians. (However, in this verse, Jesus is praying for His followers to be one, not for believers to unite with unbelievers. And, the absolute fact of the matter is that many calling themselves Christians today have not placed their faith in the Jesus of the Bible, but rather in a Jesus of their own imagination. True believers need to pray for false converts, but under no circumstances should they unite with them).
Now, to give some history concerning the March for Life. It was started by American pro-life activist Nellie Gray in 1974, following the Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, which decriminalized abortion the previous year. Gray was a native of Big Spring, Texas and a Roman Catholic convert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Gray_(activist). So, due to the fact that its founder was Catholic, and she worked closely with Catholic churches and bishops, attendance at the annual event has predominantly been Catholic. Not recognizing the Biblical directive concerning separation by true believers, evangelical leaders have been advocating for a greater presence of evangelicals at the event as evidenced by this quote: “I don’t want to see any fewer rosary beads at the March for Life, but I want to see more evangelicals,” said Dr. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Commission (ERLC), to a gathering of Evangelical leaders during the Evangelicals for Life event held in January of 2016. He continued, “Our absence is a shame. And so we don’t need any less ‘Ave Maria,’ but we need some more ‘Amazing Grace’ in the mix as well” (https://juicyecumenism.com/2016/01/13/35331/). And, at the evangelicals.life/march for life link one can read the following: “As part of the Evangelicals for Life conference (Jan. 18-20), join with evangelical leaders from across America—leaders like Russell Moore and Jim Daly—to put your pro-life witness in action by joining hundreds of thousands of others and peacefully marching on Washington D.C.” (http://www.evangelicals.life/march-for-life/) (And, I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised by Moore’s ecumenical push in this case considering he attended a conference on marriage and the family at the Vatican in November 2014, along with Rick Warren). (http://religionnews.com/2014/11/03/vatican-to-host-religious-leaders-tackle-marriage-family-issues/).
In a biographical article about Nellie Gray we see a statement concerning her motivation for holding these events: “Everybody is trying to say we are imposing our religion, but we are actually just following our religion and American patriotism,” she told the Post. “God almightily created man and woman in his own image, and we recognize that. The United States Constitution recognizes that the human being is endowed with a right to life, and of course the churches must be involved in this. We must carry out our patriotism and our love of God almighty through such events.” (http://heavy.com/news/2017/01/nellie-gary-march-for-life-founder-biography-anti-abortion-pro-life-quotes-2017-date/) (The fact that she wanted to demonstrate patriotism and a love of God is quite unusual. Where in God’s Word are we given directions concerning the concept of patriotism? Rather, we are referred to as pilgrims in this world (1 Pet. 2:11) and our inheritance is in heaven (1 Pet. 1:4). The concept of patriotic Christians speaks to Dominion Theology which we have discussed many times before.
The current president of March for Life is a woman named Jeanne Mancini who is also a Catholic (http://marchforlife.org/march-for-life-staff/). The following statements by Mancini are from an interview she conducted with Lifesite News (https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/interview-march-for-life-leader-reveals-silver-linings-in-snowpocalypseand) She says this concerning working for the March for Life organization: “The irony of it is, we are not actually an inherently religious organization. We are non-sectarian—though most who work here have a deep faith. We are very prayerful and pray together as a staff. We seek God’s guidance on what our next steps should be.” (Since the definition of non-sectarian is, “organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group,” this means the members of the staff to whom Mancini refers could practice any faith or none at all. She states they pray together, but we know that most every religion believes in prayer and true Christians should not pray with members of other religions).
The following statement by Mancini speaks to the fact that March for Life has mainly been a Catholic event from its inception as noted earlier: “We’ve definitely seen more evangelical groups get involved over the last few years. Having come from a background of working at Family Research Council, it was difficult for me to comprehend why—for the most part—my pro-life evangelical brothers and sisters weren’t participating in the March for Life.” (Well, perhaps these pro-life evangelicals to whom Mancini refers recognize they should not join with Catholics thereby creating an ecumenical event. And, we don’t have time to discuss it, but this is a huge red flag concerning the Family Research Council that it would present itself as a Christian organization, but would have Catholics on staff).
Another quote from this article by Mancini is: “In addition, many groups are joining with us who are not faith-based. One group, Secular Pro-Life, is truly an amazing organization; I’m always impressed with the different resources they have to offer. We encourage all groups to be involved in the March for Life as long as their approach to being pro-life is non-violent.” (Well, this statement makes the obvious point that one doesn’t have to be a Christian to be pro-life. There are millions of members of other religions, atheists, gays, so on and so forth, who would identify as pro-life. However, a very important question we need to ask is, in fighting against an evil, should we unite with those who don’t recognize the God of the Bible? With those who teach contrary to His Word? I think not).
Now, with that information as background, let’s discuss this year’s march which took place on January 19th. The following is from an article written by Jeanne Mancini concerning the theme for the march: “Each year, the March for Life theme is carefully chosen to reflect the message we deem most needed for the hearts and minds of our community and our country. Though we look forward to gathering the pro-life community in our nation’s capital on Jan. 19 it is our sincere hope that love will one day prevail, and that this 45th annual March for Life will be the last of its kind. Thus, the 2018 March for Life theme is “Love Saves Lives” — a reminder that love is, and always has been, woven into the fiber of the pro-life movement, and that it will ultimately be the power that makes abortion unthinkable (http://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/368946-love-is-and-always-will-be-the-basis-of-the-pro-life-movement). (And, while we do not doubt people’s love and sincerity in marching and whatever else they may do for this cause, we just recognize that whether people have eternal life or not is of ultimate importance. If those marching truly understood this they would focus on salvation rather than just on preventing abortion. You know, people need to hear about the ultimate act of love – of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins – the act that made it possible for lives to be saved for eternity).
Now, let’s discuss a few of the statements made at the march. I am including the link to the event at this point in the note we’ll put on facebook so the listeners can view any of the speeches (https://www.c-span.org/video/?439812-1/lawmakers-address-march-life-rally). Right before Jeanne Mancini announced the opening prayer she made this statement: Each year we are grateful for the collaborative witness of the Roman Catholic Orthodox bishops of the United States. She then introduced His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, who is an Eastern Orthodox bishop and led the Orthodox delegation at the March. Here is part of his prayer: “I come here to speak out the gospel, to speak for the one who died for the life of the world…together with my brothers from the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Roman Catholic traditions I ask you to join me in offering a prayer to the one who died not for the lives of the world, but for the life of it. Lord, Jesus Christ, we know that all things and all people of all times share a kinship, a oneness that even surpasses our understanding. They all have one life and one life only flowing through everything that breathes and exists. When You came into the world You didn’t just become human, You also took on this one life and clothed Yourself in it, making it Your seamless tunic…Lord, You show us that life has only one source and one victory, self-sacrificial love. Help us to be self-sacrificial love for all and we will conquer death.” (Well, sad to say, this man said he came to speak out the gospel, but then failed to do so. Jesus came to die for the sins of the world, not for the life of the world. And, then his statement, “one life only flowing through everything that breathes and exists,” and that Jesus took on this one life sounds like pantheism. Then, the phrase, “help us to be self-sacrificial love for all and we will conquer death” is quite odd because the only One who can and who has conquered death is Jesus Christ. And, concerning the Eastern Orthodox religion itself, it has several similar beliefs to those of Catholicism, such as denying justification by faith alone and practicing infant baptism. And, when true believers attend events with those of other faiths, we are giving credence to those faiths, something we should never do).
One of the next speakers is a nun named Bethany Madonna and, sister Tammy, I know you have prepared to speak about her.
Sisters of Life, which according to Wikipedia and their own website is a female Roman Catholic religious institute, following the Augustinian rule. It is both a contemplative and active religious community, dedicated to the promotion of pro-life causes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisters_of_Life
Augustine Rule Overview from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_St._Augustine
The Rule of St. Augustine, written about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. The Rule governs chastity, poverty, obedience, detachment from the world, the apportionment of labor, the inferiors, fraternal charity, prayer in common, fasting and abstinence proportionate to the strength of the individual, care of the sick, silence and reading during meals.
Please do read further to see this is not giving a true gospel of repentance from sin and trusting Jesus for our forgiveness through His blood, but rather the emphasis is on man made rules and traditions.
Bethany Madonna speaks during the March for Life about the institute she is part of. Please click to hear the speech from her https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cnS-CUoVvE
During her speech she began by saying that she was praying every day, which to begin with we know that God will not honor these prayers coming from people with another way of salvation and another Jesus as Second Corinthians 11: 4 shares with us in the precious Word of God.
The prayers God will honor, and answer are those of repentance unto faith in His real Son. The Jesus, the Only Jesus, Who alone paid for the sin debt and was buried and rose again. He is the Only One Who can forgive people of their sins and change wicked hearts. He alone is the Only One and Him plus no sacrament, good works, Eucharist participation and certainly not through any goodness of our own in anyway shape or form.
She talks about the Scripture how Jesus love casts out all fear and made all things new, she twists this verse on its head to put the focus on this stopping people from aborting their babies, yet in context this is meaning Jesus’ perfect love casts out all fear of judgment because He paid this for us on the Cross and this is what again changes the inward man. Knowing Jesus through repentance and faith casts out the fear of punishment from eternal hell and separation from God. The abortionist’s heart will be changed as the true clear gospel is given and believed from the heart of this murderer.
Standing against abortion for a true Christian is the proper heart to have, yet this in and of itself is not the power of God unto Salvation. Your next-door neighbor and the woman or man at your workplace that is unsaved can have this correct moral, but still be at enmity with God because they love this world and have unbelieving hearts towards Jesus Christ.
You know I have said to a few Christians before about this issue, that we know abortion is murder and wrong, homosexuality is sin and wrong, lying and stealing is wrong and what can be worse than unbelief towards Jesus Christ God’s Son Who died for the sins of the entire world to be saved from eternal death and hell? I mean many true believers are joining in with this fight against abortion thinking that this is the answer, they really do not give any true message of salvation and are encouraging these that do not abort their babies to think they are on their ways to heaven because they never murdered their child, yet these are as self-righteous as can be! The worse type of murder is that that doesn’t give the truth to these that are perishing in their sins, they give them no solution for the problem that lies within the heart!
The Christian would do far better justice by standing outside the abortion clinics with the gospel message, give tracts and proclaim that sin leads to death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord and that He can set the sinner free. Maybe a few of the doctors performing these atrocities may hear and repent, too! At least give them the true answer!
Many Christians are joining with other religions in these last days to fight a common or moral cause that they think God will be okay with as long as they don’t join in with what they believe, yet what happens at these events is that prayer takes place, everybody believes they are praying to their god. They all say amen together, there is no clear-cut distinction of the true gospel going out because that is not the emphasis at all! It is an unholy alliance and God will not honor this. He said any proclaiming to be a brother or sister and doesn’t abide by the true doctrine of Jesus, then we faithful must separate and expose them, mark and avoid them even because of the corrupt version of Jesus they spout out. We do not bid them God speed or let them into our house. We have our spiritual house as true brethren that we need to protect. The reason God give us these admonitions is for the sake of those in error to repent as well as the protecting of the flock.
I can also say that any who have given over to a false dominionist gospel that says this world will get better by changing the laws in the government and even believing that there will be a great revival in the world before Jesus comes, well these are highly deceived, and I doubt these truly understand the truth at this point. I do know God will have mercy on the repentant but even in this we still need to expose the errors because of the damage done through these false doctrines.
The Catholic religion does not give a true proclamation of the gospel and are not saved, the god of the Catholic religion is man, the Pope is the one they look to and men’s traditions. We have some information on the website talking about the Catholic system and how this is not the same as Christianity and we do have a discussion on the unscriptural errors of the mass they participate in, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJeDtZtdWa4&t=16s Errors of the Catholic Mass
I noticed through Bethany Madonna’s speech that she was lifting up these women as though they were great for not aborting, and pointing people to trust in each other, and not look to the Lord for eternal life. These types of ways are seemingly doing much good yet doing a great deal of harm because they use the correct terminology for people that do not understand about the Roman Catholic religious system. She talks about a jesus, prayer and fasting, even talks about casting out the demon of murder, but has no clue that one day if she remains in this unscriptural system that God will say He never knew her when she stands before Him telling Him what she thought was right.
Bethany goes on to say drawing to the close of her speech that Jesus trusts us, and Jesus needs us! I just would like to leave you with these verses to clarify the errors in these statements too besides all the other and encourage you not to have anything to do with the Catholic religious system and the ecumenism involved with joining together with the false church.
Psalms 118:8 - [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Micah 7:5 - Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
Jeremiah 17:5 - Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
Psalms 118:9 - [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Exodus 3:14 - states that God is the I AM THAT I AM, this means that He depends on no one, needs no man. He lacks nothing. If God needed us, then He would not be God.
Thank you so much for all of that information, sister Tammy.
Then, the next main person who spoke was Mike Pence. He was one of the main speakers last year. At this year’s event he called Trump the most pro-life president in American history, along with mentioning some of his accomplishments this past year, and said the following: “Know as you march for life your compassion, your persistence, your activism, and your prayers are saving lives and this pro-life generation should never doubt. We are with you. This president stands with you. And, He who said before I formed you in the womb I knew you is with you as well.” But, Pence made this statement to an especially diverse group of people. An article from National Review from Jan. of 2017 supports this idea by saying, “The March for Life has always been a highly inclusive event, with Feminists for Life and Atheists Against Abortion standing shoulder to shoulder with Catholic priests and nuns, Protestant ministers, and rabbis (http://www.nationalreview.com/article/444359/march-life-anti-abortion-rally-draws-huge-diverse-crowd). (So, here Pence is assuming a lot to say God is with unbelievers and false converts just because he thinks God is happy with the cause they are supporting. These people desperately need to hear the gospel, not be made to feel God is smiling down on them).
Pres. Trump is the next speaker I want to mention. He, of course, received much praise for being the first president to address the event which he did by video. Here are a couple of statements he made that are quite problematic: “We are protecting the sanctity of life and the family as the foundation of our society. This movement can only succeed with the heart and the soul and the prayer of the people…That is why we march, that is why we pray, that is why we declare that America's future will be filled with goodness, peace, joy, dignity and life for every child of God." (Well, he mentions prayer, but again he is speaking to a large group which includes Catholics, those from the various Orthodox groups, Jews, and so forth. So the result is that, in the minds of most of the people in attendance, he has validated all prayer, but we know God doesn’t hear the prayers of those who have another Jesus. Since Jesus is the way to the Father, we have to know the true Jesus of the Bible, not a Jesus created by the traditions of men. Then, he speaks of America’s future being filled with goodness, peace, etc. Well, here is a clear indication that the president hasn’t read the entire Bible no matter that he’s said he’s been a Presbyterian for decades, or somehow he missed the parts about perilous times and evil men waxing worse and worse in the end times. In fact, as we get closer and closer to the time of the Great Tribulation, anyone who is declaring goodness and peace for the people of any nation before Jesus returns is a false prophet, plain and simple. And, again he uses the phrase “child of God.” We have addressed this before because he uses this phrase quite often. If he means everyone has been created by God then he needs to say so because “child of God” has a specific meaning as we see in verses such as Gal. 3:26 which says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus”).
And, then someone else I wanted to mention who addressed the crowd is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Some may not know that he is a Catholic. (So, just as a side note let’s think about this for a minute concerning the top three positions in this nation’s government. We have the president who attended Fordham University, a Jesuit school in the Bronx, for two years, and whose wife, Melania, is Catholic; we have the vice-president who was raised Catholic and has referred to himself as an evangelical Catholic; and, we have the Speaker of the House who is Catholic. And, most people don’t even think this is a big deal because they don’t know the history or beliefs of the Catholic church; they don’t know about the Decree on Ecumenism from Vatican II and that the Catholic church has been hard at work attempting to bring the “separated brethren” back home as I already mentioned; and, they don’t know anything about the Jesuits. So, a good number of people are completely in the dark, sad to say).
So, back to Paul Ryan and a few of his statements: “Can we just thank God for giving us a pro-life president back in the White House? What a crowd. This is so exciting. It is so exciting to see so many young people here today. Your energy is so infectious…One thing that gets lost is how compassionate the pro-life movement is. To help women who have gone through the pain of abortion, to help single mothers, to give them resources through thousands of pregnancy centers: This is the face of the pro-life movement…People come from all over the country. You march with your churches, your friends, your neighbors. You march with joy and hope, not with anger or hate.” (And, just to be clear, we are not saying there is anything wrong with helping women in these situations. But, again, where is the focus? You know, if people want to truly be pro-life, they will give these women the gospel. We’re talking life eternal, not just the here and now. And, then, he says, “you march with your churches, your friends, your neighbors.” He says “churches,” but he is speaking to a crowd that involves all different religious groups. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; people are absolutely being conditioned to accept Catholicism as another denomination within Christianity). Here is another example of this conditioning and it also concerns Paul Ryan. In an interview with CBN News, Ryan is quoted as saying the following: “"I could not do my job as a husband, as a father, as the speaker of the House without my faith. It is indispensable. It is an integral part of my life. I start my day in prayer; I end my day in prayer," he explained. "I pray with my kids at night on the phone before they go to bed. I just did with my son Sam last night, so it's a big part of our family life and it's what sustains us." (In this entire article there is not one mention of Ryan being Catholic so CBN News is contributing to this conditioning process). (http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2018/january/beyond-the-shutdown-showdown-how-faith-fuels-paul-ryans-fight-pray-that-we-help-heal-this-country)
Well, that is all the speakers that I wanted to mention, but I do have some information from three articles that I wanted to share before we bring this discussion to a close. The first one is from the Family Research Council site and it says,
“For the thousands packed in the blocks between the Capitol and Washington Monument, it was a striking moment to see two of the most powerful men in the world carrying the torch for the unborn.” (So, again we see the focus on people as you discussed so well earlier, sister Tammy). The article continues: “And it was all the more significant because what grows the movement isn't politics. We aren't just winning because of good debates, ‘or a well-crafted bill in Congress. All of those things have their place, but that's not what's going to transform hearts and change minds. Life is winning because technology always advances, it never retreats. Life is winning... one ultrasound at a time.’" (http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA18A26&f=WU18A10) (And, these statements just make us cringe because when believers hear the phrase “transform hearts and change minds” we expect the next words to be Jesus Christ. But, when the article promotes technology, specifically ultrasounds, instead of the gospel, we just want to cry. And, what makes this all even more heartbreaking is, as I mentioned earlier, Family Research Council promotes itself as a Christian ministry. I said it at the beginning of this discussion and I will say it again. We can expend a great deal of effort to convince women not to get abortions, but if these women are not saved, they will spend an eternity in hell.).
I just want to mention two sentences from the second article which is entitled, “Christians Championing the March for Life.” “Christians, the predominant religion in the US, are easily the most identifiable demographic in the pro-life movement. From devout Catholics to deep in the Bible-belt Baptists, Christians are an overwhelming voice for the unborn, for good reason (https://rousernews.com/2018/01/20/christians-championing-the-march-for-life/). (So, here is just another example of Catholics being described as Christians, of the lines being blurred, and of people being deceived).
The third article relates the fact that Catholics who participated in the March for Life event would be able to receive a plenary indulgence for doing so. The instructions are as follows:
“In virtue of the authority granted by our Holy Father, Pope Francis… a plenary indulgence can be obtained under the usual conditions…by the Christian faithful who are truly penitential and compelled by charity, if they take part in the sacred celebrations, along with the great assembly of people, throughout the whole course of the annual event that is called ‘March for Life,’” announced a Dec. 20 letter from the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington.
In addition, the usual conditions for a plenary indulgence must be met: that the individual be in the state of grace by the completion of the acts, have complete detachment from sin, and pray for the pope’s intentions. The person must also sacramentally confess their sins and receive Communion, up to about twenty days before or after the indulgenced act. (https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/01/08/participating-march-life-theres-indulgence/)
Now, here is a little information from a Catholic website to help us understand indulgences: “In the Sacrament of Penance the guilt of sin is removed, and with it the eternal punishment due to mortal sin; but there still remains the temporal punishment required by Divine justice, and this requirement must be fulfilled either in the present life or in the world to come, i.e., in Purgatory. An indulgence offers the penitent sinner the means of discharging this debt during his life on earth. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm) (I just wanted to include this information to help the listener understand that Catholicism is a works-based religion and that is, of course, just one of many examples that could be given).
(So, in conclusion, we have seen that true believers joining together with those of other faiths and presenting a united front, knowingly or unknowingly, gives credence to these false beliefs; such joining together flies in the face of clear, Biblical commands to remain separate (1 Cor. 6:11-14 and Rev. 18:4, for example). Besides the ecumenical aspect, we have seen that emphasizing man’s efforts pushes the gospel of salvation to the side and offers no hope of being born again and spending eternity with Jesus. For these reasons a true believer will not join the March for Life activities, but will rather present the gospel to a lost and dying world).