My wife and I went to see the motion picture Gosnell the other day at a local movie theater.

We went expecting to witness some of the documented horrors about a Philadelphia physician who was convicted a few of years ago of performing abortions on impoverished women living in the inner city .

I remember reading and hearing about this trial in the news when it happened, so I was prepared to reaffirm something I already knew was unconscionable—that is, that the slaughter of human fetuses on demand is murder.

So I guess, then, in some respects, my expectations were met.  A bad guy did some bad things and got caught and is paying the price.  But maybe you think it’s not that simple.  Perhaps my world seems to be a little bit too black and white?

Well, my world’s just like yours.

In a civilized, moral society—that is, in something we’re expected to embody and demonstrate, the premise that someone can possess the legitimate agency to kill at will can never be granted in the course of public debate or adjudication.  If it is, then a crucial tendency for any form of decency to prevail is forfeited, and no amount of “Christian” tolerance or understanding can takes its place.

But something else caught my attention during the movie.

And I suppose it was intentional on the part of the producers.  It didn’t just expose the horrors of the abortion industry.  It revealed a much greater abomination—one which exposed the dispassionate nature of what would otherwise seem to be a reliable pool of courageous, God-fearing people. Men in particular.

The plot revealed that no one appeared to be interested in what was happening.

Not until they were forced to, that is.  So I didn’t have to wonder why media reporters didn’t report, or governors didn’t govern righteously in support of defenseless, unborn [and already born] infant children.  I also shouldn’t have been so surprised that every seat in the movie theater we were in was empty except for ours and the three others which were occupied by females.

Nevertheless, I was enraged and deeply discouraged at the same time.

I’m confident that, in spite of what appears to be a wholesale endorsement of abhorrence from certain news media, celebrities and political interests, most people do indeed claim to fear the Lord and profess to live and act in His best interests.

But when pressed to defend their beliefs, it appears that certain violations of God’s civil and moral code remain off limits to criticism.

However, any decision Jesus Christ’s disciple makes not to stand up in the face of evil is an open denial of His authority to accomplish an effective line of resistance through the actions of that disciple.  His lack of confidence in Christ’s power to execute much needed change through His Body undermines His purpose of achieving what the Body is unable to do on its own.

I refuse to find myself standing before Him someday, pleading my case of indifference to His Holy Nature.  And if I have the audacity to denounce evil, then I should be able to find the backbone to follow up with action.

Organized vocal protests at the doors of abortion facilities and the support of pro-life movements are integral to winning the battle, but the voice of God’s people resonates the loudest from the voting booth.

The polls open at 7:00 am on Tuesday.

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”  —William Wilberforce