Still No Word About That Other Million!

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations." --- Jeremiah 1:4, 5

Tomorrow, April 25th, is being noted as Malaria Day. United Methodist agencies are stressing the date along with offers of resources to better educate us on the need to combat malaria in Africa.

My bishop in the W. PA Annual Conference, Thomas Bickerton, has been very aggressive in promoting the need to support what is commonly known as "Nothing But Nets." Finances are raised to purchase netting to protect individuals from being bitten by mosquitoes which spread the disease. Our conference reported that he was in New York yesterday meeting with some big name people etc. and promoting the cause of combating malaria in Africa.

The bishop, as well as UMC agencies, stress the fact that there are 1 million or more victims who die of malaria each year in Africa. There has been a positive response to the appeal for support. In fact, my wife and I have sent in support for this cause.

But there continues to be the nagging question -- with all the traveling, contacts made, and conversations on the subject of malaria deaths by Bishop Bickerton -- why has he along with all the other bishops never mentioned the fact that there are also over 1 million unborn children mutilated and murdered in their mothers' wombs each year in the "land of the free and the home of the brave?"

Yea, yea, I know! I've been making a big issue of this thing of slaughtering the unborn for a long time -- how is it that we as a nation and as a church have allowed ourselves to be deceived into thinking that God isn't paying the least bit of attention to this abomination, or worse, that He simply doesn't care and will never confront our republic about this?

Back to the UMC bishops -- want to see how many unborn have been brutally mutilated and murdered under their respective watches? Go to A Quick Look At The United States' Massacre Tally! -- scroll down a ways to see the different bishops and the numbers. As of 8:43 AM on April 24, 2008 there were 4,786,524 unborn children exterminated in the United States' version of holocaust since Tom Bickerton became bishop of the W. PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church!

Now to what extent has he expressed concern about this abomination in comparison to what he has said about people dying from malaria?

Does anyone dare to entertain a thought that there is more than a tad of inconsistency at the episcopal level of the United Methodist Church?

In addition to that, here's another little gem to think about -- with all the lamenting about loss of members in the United Methodist Church, how many more do you think we might have had if those nearly 49 million unborn children would not have been destroyed since the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision of 1973? Want to sleep on that one tonight, if you can?

In the meantime we still wait to hear a word from Bishop Bickerton and the rest about that other significant "million" that they have miserably failed to mention!

'Thus says the LORD: "Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place......Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, for shedding innocent blood, and practicing oppression and violence.'" --- Jeremiah 22:3, 17

Why a High Profile Emphasis on Some Things, But Silence on the Most Critical Ones?

Political and many church leaders share common ground when it comes to their measure of what is considered important as opposed to where their mouths become absolutely speechless regarding that which is of far greater importance!

President Bush just recently addressed the issue of conflict in Sudan with a call for economic sanctions against that nation. The reason? Seems for some time there has been a lot of bloodshed involving large numbers of innocent people -- the president even used the term "genocide" and applied it to what the government is doing to certain people. The president was very sober in his remarks on this matter -- no smiles on this one! Cetainly a person with some degree of moral sensitivity ought to be conserned about the ongoing occurance of such atrocities.

Likewise, in the W. PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church there is a heavy emphasis on the "Nothing But Nets" campaign. We are told of large numbers of persons who die in Africa from Malaria, so all are encouraged to support this effort by giving money to buy the nets which will protect the people from the disease carrying mosquitoes. Bishop Bickerton of the W. PA Conference has been pushing this quite vigorously. The annual conference session which is slated to start on June 7 and go through June 10 is going to be saturated with reminders of the campaign everywhere one will look, according to advance publicity. Perhaps the only place one will not see some "Nothing But Nets" hype will be when he or she goes to the bathroom! But even there maybe someone has strategically placed a poster or slogan.
It is a situation that ought to arouse a degree of concern and response. As indicated in an earlier post, my wife and I will be supporting the effort financially.

BUT in the above examples to which many names, politically and religiously could be added, why the silence on the greatest massacre to have taken place in United States history? When was the last time you saw an indignant president state unequivocally that we've got to stop the massacre of unborn children, the total of which is approaching 48 million?

When was the last time you heard Bishop Thomas Bickerton express indignation over the fact that thousands of unborn children are mutilated and murdered every week of the year and that this heinous practice has got to stop immediately?

And when was the last time you heard other political and church leaders express similar sentiments?

No, what you often hear from such leaders on the most critical moral crisis this republic has ever faced in its entire history is something such as this: the issue of destroying unborn children is a very complex issue and there are no easy answers -- we have to try to arrive at some "common ground" on the issue and work together toward a solution which will not restrict any human "rights" in the process!"

Ooops! A correction -- you will not hear the above named individuals nor others in positions similar to theirs using the term "destruction of unborn children" -- terminating a fetus, maybe -- or the more preferred expression -- "terminating an unwanted pregnancy." The advantage is that it's very impersonal in using such terms and one is deceived into thinking that no "person" becomes a victim in the termination procedure!

It's amazing how simple the solutions are when it comes to dealing with problems as God points them out to us -- His solutions are always simple -- it usually means, "Repent of your sins and abominations and quit doing them!"

But as a nation, we are demonstrating more and more that we are possession of a spirit which plunged a people of the past into disaster which they were totally unprepared to face!

Our leaders are determined to "major on the minors" and want us to do likewise!

Nothing But Nets and Saving Children!

"You see, malaria is a big deal. It's one of the root causes of poverty. It kills a million people a year, 75 percent of whom are children. When you think about it in those terms, it's a daunting reality. Yet, there is a simple way for everyone who reads this to participate in beating this disease -- spend $10, send a bed net and save a life. That's it! That's all it takes! Buy a net -- save a life. End of story. Better yet, end of disease........Wow! Imagine it -- a world without malaria. Millions of people given the same chance as you and I to live a long, healthy, and sustainable life." --- Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton of the Western PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in January 19, 2007 issue of InterLink, the conference newspaper.

Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton is deeply involved and totally committed to the "Nothing But Nets" campaign. He is the head man of the Western PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. This piece of real estate takes in about the western 1/3 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The conference has been saturated with information and challenge to get involved by purchasing insecticide-treated bed nets to curtail the spread of malaria in Africa.

Statistics cited by Bishop B. are that about 1 million people die a year from malaria and of that number, about 750,000 are children. Hence, the appeal to go to the rescue and start reducing the number of fatalities.

This is not intended to take away from the effort nor diminish its importance. My wife and I will be giving support to this effort. Those reading this can obtain more information and how to give support by going to U.S. Netting or www.nothingbutnets.net. [NOTE: If you go to the Nothing But Nets web site, the stats there will tell you that 1 million children a year are victims of malaria which is a quarter of a million more than quoted by Bishop B. above.]

However, it is necessary to point out a glaring inconsistency here which is quite commonplace among UMC bishops, particularly in recent decades as they have stressed the need to be in ministry to children.

Bishop Bickerton is pushing the NBN campaign and states that about 3/4 of a million children in Africa die each year from malaria. Now then, how often have you heard this bishop deplore (either in vocal statements or in his InterLink column) the fact that well over 1 million unborn children are deliberately mutilated and murdered each year in "the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

The bishop is also at the heart of the "Believe Again" strategic plan for ministry in the W. PA Annual Conference which was enthusiastically adopted last June at the annual meeting. One of the plush "perks" he will personally get in time will be a full time assistant to the tune of a few tens of thousands of dollars per year!

A part of the strategy in this "plan" is an emphasis on church congregations addressing issues of injustice and seeking to come to the assistance of those who are the victims of injustice.

I have yet to receive a reply from the bishop or any of his superintendents (there are 10 of these people) when I asked them in a personal letter addressed to each if they as leaders were going to address the issue of injustice that results in the intentional and brutal murders of over 1 million unborn children each year in this republic.

There has been this strange and very unsettling silence on the part of UMC leadership over the years when it comes to the United States' version of "holocaust." Perhaps this takes place because of the "official" statement in the denomination's Book of Discipline relative to the subject of abortion. The United Methodist Church is on record as declaring a "reluctance" to approve of abortion, but then after mentioning the reluctance thing, goes right ahead and gives a green light to the heinous practice anyway, saying that an unacceptable pregnancy may bring about hardship, stress or whatever!

In personal communication with bishops over the years, one told me that she stands by the position of the church (as cited above), so whatever the church decides at a General Conference (every 4 years) that is what she will support. Presumably if the UMC decided to jump off the highest point of the Grand Canyon into the river below, she would jump too without objection. Another bishop did go so far as to state in a response that abortion is a serious issue, but I was making too much of the issue, etc!

Unfortunately there are too many United Methodists who hold bishops in higher regard than Roman Catholics hold the Pope! When they say "Jump!" the standard response is "How high, and for how long?" And when they speak there are those who hold that every word spoken is "gospel truth," but documented evidence can prove otherwise in a number of cases! There are still a few of us that believe there is a much higher Authority than any designated church leader, UMC bishops included, and sometimes this will mean we definitly will be marching to the beat of a different Drummer!

How about rephrasing Bishop Bickerton's statement above with use of another word in this manner --

"Wow! Imagine it -- a world without abortion. Millions of people given the same chance as you and I to live a long, healthy, and sustainable life."

Do you think the bishop would be willing to make such a statement and lead the way to making that a reality with enthusiastic support from his fellow bishops?

We all know the answer to that one, do we not?