Innocent Blood Demands Accountability

By David Hobbs

An editorial in The Ambassador Christian Newspaper, Dec. 2013

Is it a hard concept to grasp that God demands accountability for the blood of 55 million innocents slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs? 

In Deuteronomy 21, God gave instructions on what to do if a person was found murdered in the countryside. They were to measure the distance from the body to each of the surrounding towns to see which town was closest to the victim. Then the elders from that town had to come and make atonement for the shed blood. Though they knew nothing about it, they still had to take responsibility for it so God could cleanse the land from the shedding of the innocent blood. (“Bloodshed pollutes the land”—Num. 35:33)

If the shedding of the blood from one life demanded such accountability, how can we think to escape accountability for the blood of 55 million innocent babies shed in this country since 1973? In the Deuteronomy case, the elders were instructed to wash their hands over the atoning sacrifice while saying “Our hands did not shed this blood, neither did our eyes see it done” (Deut. 21:7). How can our leaders plead such ignorance today? For the past 40 years we all know what’s been done. Our civic leaders certainly bear their share of the responsibility, but how much more our spiritual leaders (the pastors) who know how sacred and precious human life is in the sight of God. And only our pastors have the priestly standing before God to plead for the corporate forgiveness and cleansing our nation needs. Will they step forward in this critical hour and attempt to stem the tsunami of judgment sweeping toward us for such horrendous evil done on our watch, or will they stand back and hope the church can somehow escape the judgment (via the rapture?)?

2 Chron 7:14 requires just such accountability before God—“humble yourselves and pray… turn from your wicked ways….” One of our wickedest ways is our steadfast refusal to admit we have any complicity in the killing. One survey found that 70% of the women going into an abortion clinic for an abortion claimed to be Christian. Yet rarely will pastors preach against abortion, though many are quick to say they are “personally against it,” as though that settled the question. If a woman was being assaulted on the street outside your home and you did nothing to stop it, even went to a back room so you wouldn’t hear her screams, and then later told the police that you “were personally against assault, rape and murder”…. How would that fly?

It’s time for the church to “man up” and come clean before God while there is still time. And our pastors need to lead us in this. I am no theologian, but I can’t imagine a holy God rapturing a church with the blood of 55 million babies on its hands. Is there anyone out there who can claim like the elders in Deut. 21, “I am innocent in the shedding of this blood. I did all in my power to stop it: I preached tirelessly against it, led my congregation in fervent prayer and picketing, went to jail trying to shut the clinics down; I bear no responsibility for this atrocity?” If so, let him/her come forward and pray for the rest of us. If not, pastors, please step forward and lead us in repentance.