Lutheran (LC-MS) Ping!
Posted on 06/01/2009 5:35:45 PM PDT by lightman
President Kieschnick Responds to Tiller Killing
ST. LOUIS, June 1, 2009 —In response to the shooting of George Tiller, Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, issues this statement:
"The national news today carries the story of Dr. George Tiller, the abortion doctor in Wichita, Kan., who was killed yesterday at his church—Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
"This tragic incident obviously will have an impact on all Lutherans and all Christians, especially those of us who believe the teaching of Scripture that abortion is not a moral option except as a tragically unavoidable by-product of medical procedures necessary to prevent the death of another human being.
"We join others who are expressing sadness and strong disagreement with this act of violence and express our sincere Christian sympathy to the wife and family of the man whose life was ended, especially at a time and place of Christian worship. We also continue our efforts as Lutheran Christians to speak the truth in love, not in violence, regarding the sanctity of God's precious gift of life at all ages and all stages, doing so with concern for the protection of the lives of all."
About The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
The St. Louis-based Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, founded in 1847, has 2.4 million baptized members in 6,170 congregations served by more than 9,000 pastors. The church, which ranks as one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, owns and operates the KFUO radio stations, two seminaries, 10 colleges and universities, and the largest Protestant parochial school system in America. The LCMS is in full doctrinal fellowship with 30 other confessional Lutheran church bodies on six continents, supports more than 800 missionaries in nearly 90 countries around the globe, and is a founding partner of Lutheran Services in America, an alliance of two Lutheran church bodies and their more than 300 social ministry organizations, with budgets totaling more than $9 billion and serving one in every 50 Americans. For more information, visit www.lcms.org.
Amen.
Thank you.
I quote: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity".
It is a shame that this violent deed took place.
I’ll leave it up to you all as to how the killing of this one man compares to his personal destroying of an estimated 65,000 innocent babies after taking The Hypocratic Oath to DO NO HARM.
But, IMHO Dr. Tiller is now in Hell, where he belongs.
A well-balanced and thoughtful response.
Thank you for speaking for me, too. This is a tragedy. All day long I’ve been thinking about the babies that were scheduled to die this am that may have been spared.
The LCMS excommunicated Tiller, so it’s clear where it thinks Tiller now is.
Leni (Missouri Synod)
I agree that, whenever a doctor performs an abortion, he or she violates the Hypocratic oath, since each abortion harms and kills a baby. Therefore, anyone who performs an abortion should lose his or her medical license.
I’ve been Lutheran all of my life, and I was surprised and disappointed that a member of any Lutheran church performed abortions.
ANOTHER fine LCMS response:
http://walts-worldrandp.blogspot.com/2009/06/letter-to-editor.html
Letter to the Editor
Topic: The Murder of Dr. George Tiller
May 31, 2009
There is an old saying: Two wrongs don’t make a right. This does not appear in the Bible but it certainly reflects a scriptural idea. This concept, that two wrongs don’t make a right, is certainly true in the case of the murder of Dr. George Tiller.
Dr. Tiller was an infamous abortionist, who was one of the very few in the country who would perform late-term abortions. The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod is strongly pro-life, and condemns the practice of abortion. Dr. Tiller, a former member of a Missouri Synod congregation, was excommunicated by that congregation for his abortion practice. (The congregation he was currently attending is part of another Lutheran body.) We stand by that action. Our sister congregation acted properly in disciplining Dr. Tiller. Such action is always intended to lead a person to see their sins and come to repentance. Excommunication is never intended to bring that person harm.
While we condemn Dr. Tiller’s actions as an abortionist, we just as strongly condemn the actions of the person who took his life. Murder, even of a murderer, is never acceptable. God teaches us in Romans 13 and other places, that the government is in place to enforce justice. We are never to take private vengeance. This is simply not given to private individuals. Murder in any circumstances is a grievous sin. It was our utmost desire that Dr. Tiller come to repentance, and perhaps in time he may have. We do not know. Only God sees all ends. Sadly, because of this heinous act of violence, Dr. Tiller no longer has that opportunity.
Rev. Jody R. Walter, pastor LCMS
Immanuel, Frederic
Rev. David Emmons, pastor LCMS
Zion, Turtle Lake/Immanuel, Clayton
Rev. Mark Schoen, pastor LCMS
Shepherd of the Valley, St. Croix Falls
The ELCA seemed to have saved all it's mercy and forgiveness for Tiller.
thanks...I wasn’t raised as kumbaya Christian
have no connection to a lot of the postings and flailing about with mea culpas I see here...
Tiller made his own reckoning...I have no sympathy for him...zero.
and no his life is not worth that of one baby he killed...not in my world view
no disrespect to the Mo Synod folks
whatever that other church was Tiller belonged to must be run by that red cat with the long tail is all I figure
Christianity has nothing to do with my being anti-abortion.
I’m tired of bended knee sorts thinking they own the issue
they don’t
any human knows killing babies is wrong...a 15 month old knows that as surely as they like sugar in their milk
It was a LCMS church that excommunicated him. He was currently ELCA. There is a world of difference.
This man Tiller’s death is an object lesson. Death, especially sudden death, is a great teacher. And the death of a monster like Tiller even more so. We prepare for eternity through repentance and “metanoia” in this life. It was too late for Tiller.
“Just as no one sells merchandise when the celebration ends, thus also in the tomb no one makes deals for the Kingdom of God.” +Basil the Great
Well said Pastor. I grew up knowing several Kieschnicks (some of which are his kin) in the central Texas area, and many of them don't agree with him either.
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