Paul Hill Supporter writes a Eulogy

 Paul Hill Supporter writes a Eulogy
By Bruce Murch

‘Below is a eulogy for Paul Hill written by his friend, Bruce Murch.
Flip’s response to Bruce follows.

Just a few minutes ago, my friend Paul Hill was strapped to a table, and injected with a lethal combination of poisons that ended his life on earth. It was a deliberate killing on the part of the State of Florida.

Paul Hill was a gentle man with a kind face. Not the kind of guy you actually expected to see on the sidewalk in front of the abortion clinic every day they killed babies, calling out to the women and offering help, and calling out to the abortionists to repent from their wickedness and turn to Christ for salvation.

I didn't know him very long. We met in Chicago in April of 1994. It was a big meeting of pro-life leaders that was gathered precisely to address how we would deal with the first killing of an abortionist by Michael Griffin; the killing of David Gunn in Pensacola, Paul Hill's home town.

Paul had circulated a statement called "Defensive Action". For several months he had been trying to get me to sign it. Basically it said, "whatever force is justifiable to use to save a born child is justifiable to use to save an unborn child".

I agreed with the statement. But I did not sign it. It did not seem "wise" to me. Why would I bring the scrutiny of the feds upon me and my family by signing such a document? We had a group called Project Rescue based in Springfield, Massachusetts at the time. We required everyone who was involved in rescues (blocking abortion clinic doorways) to sign a pledge of non-violence. In a sense I wanted to protect the ministry from the firestorm of criticism that was sure to come if I signed such a document.

But I agreed with it. I still do.

Less than four months after that meeting, Paul took a loaded 12 gauge shotgun, and killed the baby-killer John Britton, and his armed bodyguard, as they got out of his truck to walk the few steps to the building, to go in and butcher 32 unborn children. Those children did not die. John Britton did. He never killed another baby. Over 25 abortionists quit the grisly trade as a direct result of Paul's actions as well. Since that time, I have defended Paul Hill's actions publicly. As a result, the feds have almost continually monitored my phones, and have visited my home. Folks that financially supported our ministry abandoned us.

I remain committed to non-violent direct action to intervene for the babies. But I cannot condemn Paul Hill's actions either by Scripture or by civil law. If we believe that an unborn child is just as much a "person" in God's sight as a born person is, then what Paul Hill did was DEFENSE, not "murder", not "retribution", not "taking the law into his own hands", not "vengeance". Simple defense. Loving your unborn neighbor as you love yourself. Being willing to lay down your life for an "innocent person in danger of loss of life or limb" as our common law describes "Defense of Another".

Paul Hill fell asleep in Jesus a few minutes ago. I pray that the death of God's faithful servant will not be in vain. I pray that those who would choose the lives of the abortionists over the lives of the babies would pause and re-think what their stand really means, in practical terms. I pray that his sacrifice for the most innocent and helpless among us will not have been in vain.

I offer this eulogy because I am ashamed. I am ashamed that I was unwilling to sign his Defensive Action Statement nine years ago. Ashamed that though I have prayed for him and his family regularly since his imprisonment, I have not written to him or visited him. I have been "too busy".

Now he is gone. I did not get to say the things I wanted to say to Paul. I was not even able to get to Florida for the vigil at his execution. But I stand by what I have said for the last nine years:

Paul Hill did a righteous deed.

May God have mercy on US.

This is Flip’s response:

Dear Bruce,

I love you brother, and my respect for your desire to serve God wholeheartedly only grows with our every meeting. Your boys were a wonderful blessing to behold as they stood with you and all the saints in Montgomery, Alabama. Yes, you are leaving a powerful legacy for them to follow. The arrows are being trained up for battle.

My response to your eulogy for Paul Hill, though magnificently written, is that it is in theological error. I too attended that meeting in Chicago. My first lunch in Chicago was with Paul - he and I alone. I beseeched him for the sake of his family, for the sake of the pre-born children he desired to defend, and for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to cease and desist from spreading the heresy of "justifiable homicide" as it relates to abortionists. Paul assured me at that meeting that he was not "called" to do such a thing but that it was his responsibility to defend children by "all means" available and to articulate the "use of force" argument as it related to abortionists.

I reminded him that ideas have consequences and that wrong theology inevitably leads to wrong behavior. It did, just a few months later, when Paul took on for himself the role of judge, jury, and executioner, and premeditatedly murdered abortionist John Britton and his escort James Barrett. Paul became the very thing he despised - a murderer.

The next time I saw Paul was at his trial in Pensacola. He could not speak but our eyes met and I think he was genuinely glad to see me there. Were the motives of Paul Hill's heart right before God? I have no doubt they were. Did he display more love for God's pre-born children than we arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned (read Ezekiel 16:49) Christians in America? I have no doubt he did.

Was what Paul Hill did on that summer day in July 1994 right before God? No, it was not.

Yes, it is possible to be rightly motivated in your heart and yet do the wrong thing. Look at 2 Samuel Chapter 6. King David, a man after God's own heart, was properly motivated in his heart to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Since the Philistines had previously set the Ark on a cart to move it away from their cities, David thought he could do the very same thing, and did. He set the Ark of God on a cart, a big mistake, for when the oxen stumbled, Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark and was immediately struck down.

All Uzzah did was try to steady the ark and he was killed by God. One isn't to touch the Ark of the Covenant. Uzzah was properly motivated. The Ark of the Covenant would have fallen to the ground if he had not acted. So he reached out his hand and took hold of the Ark and God struck him down.

David's first response was anger. He and all of Israel were celebrating before the Ark of God with all of their might and all of their strength. David was celebrating more than anyone else in the entire kingdom, yet God struck down Uzzah. David's heart was right but his action was wrong. It resulted in the death of a faithful servant. The Ark of the Covenant was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests, not on a cart (Numbers 7:9).

You and I can understand David's anger. Paul Hill may have thought he was exuding more courage than anyone else in the pro-life movement, yet his action was severely wrong. His plight is execution. One can do the right thing (save the lives of pre-born children) in the wrong way (murdering abortionists). The ends never justify the means in God's economy. As a matter of fact, He is more concerned with the means we use than the ends we achieve. There is more than one way to get the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, but David looked back into the Law of God and found that the Ark must be carried on the shoulders of the priests. It was certainly not the most expedient way, but it was God's way.

Bruce, you are doing it God's way. You and your family are at the gates of every battle! When you hear the roar of the enemy you run to it. You have faithfully picked up the cross of Christ, despised the shame, and run the race marked out. Your example is a "living epistle" known and read by everyone. God is reconciling many to Himself through you. Stay steady on the course!