Guilty as Sin

November 13, 2004

Guilty as Sin

Dear Champion of the Lord and the Unborn,

The Lord richly bless you! After the guilty verdict was given concerning Scott Peterson, I was inspired to write and send out this press release. A national Christian wire service picked it up and sent it out nationwide to over two thousand media outlets.

It has already provoked some thought out there. The following is the press release and the subsequent dialogue with one who responded to the press statement.

IN KING JESUS' SERVICE,

Rusty Thomas

Elijah Ministries

Luke 1:17 “To make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

PRESS RELEASE

ATTENTION ASSIGNMENT EDITOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Guilty As Sin

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God (Romans 3:19).”

The verdict is in. Scott Peterson was found guilty today of the double murders of his wife, Laci, and his unborn son, Connor. The double homicide conviction should give America pause to consider the apparent Schizophrenic nature of law as practiced in America and our view of the unborn child in the womb.

Every day thousands of women march into abortion mills like our local Planned Parenthood and commit the same act Scott Peterson was found guilty of. How can justice demand his guilt and yet turn a blind eye when it comes to those who are guilty of the same act? We can't have it both ways. Either the baby is not a person protected by law or it is person protected by law. Either people should be punished for harming an unborn baby or they should be free to harm as many as they wish with impunity.

It is not only Pro-life Christians who see the double standard dilemma presented here in this case. Pro-abortion groups, like the Morris County NOW organization were up in arms and voiced strong opposition to the initial double murder charge. Their President, Mavra Stark, rightly stated, “If this is murder, well, then any time a late-term fetus is aborted, they could call it murder.” Indeed, but the same could be said of first and second trimester abortions as well.

Scott Peterson's guilt is America's guilt. It reveals the tragic flaw of America repeating the dark history of denying personhood to human beings made in the image of God. The past records in bloody detail what happens when this takes place. Laws that once protected human life were removed by judicial fiat or raw political or military force. As a result, the vulnerable and weak became a prey to injustice bent on their extinction or enslavement. This was true with Nazi Germany who denied the personhood of Jews in Hitler's death camps. It is also true when it comes to American slavery that denied our black brothers and sisters were fully human.

This verdict also points out the glaring discrepancy when it comes to the nature of law. It exposes the lack of a singular standard as the basis of law. It reveals the inconsistency, the hypocrisy, and the schizophrenia that has made a mockery to the concepts of law, justice, and civil government. Law in America has become a Rubik's Cube that we twist and turn to further our political agendas. It is no longer a fixed standard that secures justice for all.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND INTERVIEWS CONTACT:

Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas (254) 836-1037-Home, (254) 715-314-Cell

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Dear Rev. Thomas,

A few thoughts come to mind upon reading your statement about the conviction of Scott Peterson. I share you satisfaction that he has been found guilty, but a few of your other observations trouble me.

If you and your colleagues sincerely want to reduce the number of abortions in the United States, where nationwide criminalization is simply not in the offing, one effective step would be to throw your support behind efforts to make contraceptives and family-planning counseling more available, to cut down on the number of unwanted pregnancies. It puzzles me why so few anti-abortion groups invest their resources in that realm, where there would be real promise for reducing abortions.

Secondly, you describe your ministry as "pro-life," but I see nothing on your Web site to indicate any deep concern and compassion for the lives of human beings outside the embyro, particularly the categories of troubled and disadvantaged people that Christ so movingly evoked in his Sermon on the Mount. For that matter, since He spoke of the blessedness of peacemakers, have you spoken out against the war in Iraq, which has needlessly taken the lives of more than 1,100 American servicemen and servicewomen, and countless thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children, all in a conflict launched on the basis of politically manipulated lies and distortions? Or do your "pro-life" concerns not extend beyond the womb?

God bless you

Douglas Covington

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Dear Doug,

The Lord richly bless you! Apparently our press release provoked some thought or you would not have taken the time to contact me. I'm grateful you did.

First off, I could never endorse a practice, such as, birth control and family planning that has been proven to open the floodgates of sexual immorality and the subsequent disease, death, and despair that has afflicted our nation. Since the advent of legalizing birth control, fornication, adultery, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, and molestation of our young has shot off the charts. The philosophical underpinnings of birth control denies the authority of God to regulate the sexual practices of His creatures. The message behind birth control is "The wages of sin is not death." This is a lie and many people's lives have been destroyed because of it.

Biblically, sex was not man's idea, it is God's creation and His gift to man. Because of our sinful nature, we have distorted, abused, and perverted that precious gift. God is not a prude when it comes to sexuality. Otherwise, He wouldn't have blessed man with the ecstasy and romance associated with the physical act. In God's wisdom, however, He placed boundaries and parameters. Not to oppress and steal away the pleasure associated with sex, but to protect us from the severe consequences that come from violating His laws that are to govern man's behavior.

God established in His Word that sexual intimacy is to be enjoyed and be protected in the safe confines of marriage. God's philosophy is no intimacy apart from commitment and responsibility, otherwise our relationships degenerate. Marriage as being defined by one man and one woman in a lifetime commitment to God's sacred covenant. The reason for this comes down to the fact that sex is not just recreational. It has procreational aspects as well. Birth control and family planning denies this reality and tries desperately to escape this self-evident truth.

When man violates this truth, there will be major problems. The "free sex" philosophy of the sixties ushered in the culture of death of the seventies, abortion. From there, we have seen the rise of every perverted form of sexuality that has devastated so many lives. Besides, sexual sins, not only bring temporal consequences, but eternal ones as well. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 states, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexuals), Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards (drug users), nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

All of us Doug fit the categories of those who will be banned from heaven because of our sexual immorality and other sins. The good news is, we can be washed, sanctified, and justified through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that if you have not made peace with God and are assured of His great salvation in your life that you would seek Him and be found of Him. Jesus said, "If you know the truth, it will set you free!" He is the truth with a capital T.

As to your other concern, I'm the husband of one wife and the father of ten children. We have been married for nineteen years. In half of those years, about eight, we have taken into our homes single moms and their children. Right now we have a fifteen year old girl from Connecticut living in our home. She was fatherless and life was devouring her. We are seeking to provide for her what irresponsible men have neglected.

As far as the war in Iraq, we have spoken loudly about it. In fact, we walked across the nation for six months crying out against the root that has caused the fruit of war in America. Our message was this, "America you have sowed domestic terrorism in the womb and we are reaping foreign terrorism in our streets. Bloodshed touches bloodshed, it breaks out. We have sowed to the wind and we are reaping the whirlwind.

Our nation cannot escape the doctrine of blood guiltiness. Abortion is a sin against God and a crime against humanity. We cannot murder innocent, defenseless children and then think we will not be held accountable. Doug, there is a direct connection between abortion and the war on terror, but only those who have eyes can see it.

The quickest way to end the war in Iraq is to end the war against the unborn. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting“(Galatians 6:7,8).

Thanks for contacting me. We all see the problems and the evil that abound in the world. We must correctly diagnose the disease, in order to prescribe the right cure. Doug, you seem to view life from a humanistic perspective, it is this perspective that perpetuates the trouble associated with this life. That is why we must repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, so God can touch our hearts and renew our minds. It is only then we can be part of the solution to what ails man and not continue the misery. I pray this helps explain my positions and ministry.

IN KING JESUS' SERVICE,

Rusty