Emancipation Proclamation Taking Buffalo by Storm

Emancipation Proclamation Taking Buffalo by Storm

Pastor Rob Rotola of Word Of Life Church In Wichita Kansas Signs The Emancipation Proclamation Declaring All Life Sacred

The following article appeared on the front page of the local Christian newspaper in Buffalo, New York The article was conceived from an interview of Rev. Robert Behn by Rick Kern of The Word and appeared in their January 2002 issue.

WAKE UP AMERICA

New Emancipation Proclamation
Declares Unborn Children Fully Human and Free
Calls America to Formal Repentance

By: Rick Kern

It peers from the shadows with the vigilance of a lioness watching over her cubs, and has all the subtlety of a thousand nails screaming across a chalkboard. It has ignited the fierce indignation of an atrophied conscience that would much rather snuggle deeper into its stiff, callous slumber than again feel the stabbing sorrow for its indifference.

But snuggle as it will, the disturbing ring of truth reckons from the pages of a new Emancipation Proclamation echoing the silenced cries of 40 million stilled heartbeats. And they just may rouse the censored scruples of a morally withered America, stirring her sluggish church from the cozy pews where she lies nestled. Love it or hate it, agree or disagree with this latest “rescue,” you’ve got to respect its agility as happiness may once again be apathy in our rear-view mirror.

It began last July in Wichita, when Operation Save America (OSA) coordinated a national event to inaugurate the document (drafted by its leadership). Some 2,000 believers gathered in a demonstration of support and solidarity with fifty ministers, pen in hand, who affirmed the declaration that “the lives of all children (born and unborn) are sacred to God and worthy of our defense.” And that “…the unborn child shall now and forever more be set free to live in America. They shall be welcomed in life and protected by law.” Enormously compelling ideals that reveal much about the brittle moral stature of the American people simply because they need to be articulated at all.

The proclamation is said to have had a dramatic and sobering effect upon the citizens of Wichita and their elected officials. In fact, the city’s mayor is alleged to be a professing Christian who declined the opportunity to publicly sign it.

Wielding language deliberately designed to prevent people from continuing to use pro-life rhetoric while their actions (or inactions) reveal an involuntary pro-choice bias, it is not an easy document to sign. Those who do so, execute a moral and spiritual instrument that effectively binds them as a matter of conscience. It mandates that they actively rescind their permission granted by default, for abortion to flourish as part of their community, and do all they can as individuals to both give life to their convictions, and protect it for the unborn.

The proclamation is not intended to provoke a knee-jerk reaction to another costly pro-life fad, but rather squeeze the gray from a black and white issue that has been invaded and compromised by it. To sign on this dotted line demands some serious, thoughtful reflection that must eventuate in a sweeping personal commitment to stop the bloodshed sanctioned by a runaway judiciary, using every spiritual, moral and legal dynamic available.

Drawing inspiration from its precursor signed by Abraham Lincoln, it is hoped that this contemporary successor will draw the blessing of God much the same way many feel its ancestor did. Reverend Flip Benham, Director of OSA, commenting on the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation noted that, “For the first time in American history there was now open and public repentance of the national sin of slavery. It was a sin that plagued our nation through the years. It was a sin that would not go away and could not be politically resolved! It could only be repented of.”

Just as the 1863 document struck a blow against the suppression of truth in unrighteousness, officially proclaiming the reality that blacks are fully human and free, so does its progressive counterpart strike the same blow against the same suppression of truth, proclaiming the unborn as fully human and free. As such, this currently maligned group of Americans, (marginalized as sub-human since 1973), should be entitled to the same rights, privileges and protections under our laws and Constitution as every other citizen. Unfortunately it is safer to be an unborn eagle than an unborn baby in these United States. And with butchering them beneath the polite (and casually abused) banner of “freedom” evolving into a very lucrative, though disgraceful American enterprise, it is clear that in this land where “all men are created equal,” some are more equal than others.

The new Emancipation Proclamation is intended to be offered to numerous cities throughout the nation this year, and will make its formal debut in Western New York in the near future. Incredibly, it is scheduled for presentation to President George W. Bush for his signature, by a Congressional Representative from Kansas sometime in January 2003.

While the implications of the most powerful and influential man in the natural world publicly endorsing such a document lends itself to considerable speculation, the only foreseeable fallout appears to be political. The moral and spiritual ramifications are painfully clear for the personhood of the unborn is a biblical given, with plenty of science riding on its coat tails. It rises as a living indictment pointing 40 million fingers, lifting 40 million voices and weeping rivers upon rivers of tears flowing into oceans of innocent blood.

Accordingly, the benefit, impact and sheer moral momentum of the president’s humility by formally establishing the full humanity of the unborn, coupled with his acknowledgement of the national sin of abortion before God could not be overstated. Again echoing Benham’s allusions, this is a national sin and consequently a spiritual problem first and foremost. As such, it cannot be politically resolved until it is repented of.

The real question is whether the president possesses the love of truth, spiritual stature and moral courage to blow off the political risks and govern as a statesman, a servant of the American people. Especially his most vulnerable constituency.

To read the Emancipation Proclamation in a printable PDF format along with the Preamble & Charge click here:
Emancipation Proclamation w/ Preamble, & Charge

The Word Inc., grants permission for Last Call Ministries, Operation Save America and Operation Save America Buffalo to reprint the story: "New Emancipation Proclamation Declares Unborn Children Fully Human and Free, Calls America to Formal Repentance" from their January, 2002 issue, Volume 5 Number 1 provided it is reproduced in its entirety, contains a link to their website http://www.thewordnews.org and contains the following information: "The Word is a Western New York news publication that covers community and civic events from a Judeo-Christian perspective."