Shortly after I posted my article yesterday, the news came over the TV regarding the verdict in the Scott Roeder trial out in Kansas City.
Scott Roeder was the admitted killer of abortion doctor, George Tiller. Roeder admitted killing Tiller and he did it in fulll view of the congregation at Tiller's church while the Dr. was serving as an usher. Roeder stood up, stuck a gun to Tiller's forehead and killed him on the spot.
Here is an excerpt from the news release:
Roeder took the stand Thursday as the only witness called by the defense after Wilbert refused to allow former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline testify about why he filed charges against Tiller in 2006. The charges were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
Roeder testified Thursday that he killed Tiller, one of a handful of doctors in the country who performed late-term abortions, on May 31.
Roeder told jurors that he bought a .22-caliber handgun on May 18, went target shooting with it on May 30, and used it to shoot Tiller in the forehead while Tiller was serving as an usher in his church.
Roeder testified that over the years, he’d considered other ways to stop Tiller from performing abortions, including cutting Tiller’s hands off with a sword, ramming Tiller’s car with his own, and taking a sniper shot at Tiller outside his clinic. But he said he ended up choosing to kill Tiller in his church because “it was the only window of opportunity that I saw where he could be stopped.”
No one can argue that George Tiller was a despicable person who killed thousands of innocent unborn children. Many of those he killed were full-term babies that he destroyed using the barbaric "partial birth" methods. While the world is better off without an evil person like him, no reasonable Christian can endorse his murder. There is no way to justify what George Tiller did. But there is also no way to condone what Scott Roeder did to Dr. Tiller - although he tried to justify his actions by his testimony in court.
Paul told the Roman believers to counter Roman barbarism with loving-kindness. Christians do not respond in kind. Romans crucified them, beheaded them, fed them to lions, put them up against gladiators, and after all the innocent blood was shed the Empire fell and the Faith flourished. We are to love our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use us. I have got to guess that Scott Roeder had not been praying for George Tiller. If he had he surely would have chosen a different course of action.
Roeder chose to overcome evil with evil and everyone lost. Nothing good came of his hatred. Nothing ever does. This is the antithesis of Romans 12:21. This illustrates why Paul advises us as he does.
If we are going to overcome evil with good we must have a clear understand of what is good and what is evil. Everytime that line gets blurred trouble results. Each of us has a "Scott Roeder" piece in us that can easily lead us astray. That is the challenge behind this challenge. "Overcoming evil with good" assumes that you are walking in spiritual fellowship with the Spirit of God so you have a clear knowledge of His will. That is what this entire 12th Chapter of Romans is about.
Read the chapter. Make sure you understand the "good and perfect will of God" and then believe in its power to transform your world just as it transforms you!
Too bad Scott Roeder didn't.
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