Letters From Grandpa #344

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA

• 344

Dearest Grandchild,

Isaiah was told: “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins” (Is. 58:1). Today’s letter, by contrast, will deal with the “sin of silence”. The following thoughts are condensed from a message delivered by Dr. Laurence White on Sept. 6, 2000 at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. Please consider that these “thoughts” might be something worth “thinking” about!

Nov. 9, 1938 is known as “Crystal Night” in Germany. It was on that night that a trial balloon was launched by Hitler in preparation for the Holocaust. 7,500 Jewish shops were destroyed, 400 synagogues were burned, 91 Jews were killed, and 20,000 were sent to concentration camps where most of them also died. The only people punished for these atrocities were those Germans who raped Jewish women. This was in violation of the Nuremberg Laws which forbade sexual intercourse between Aryans and Jews. Just as Hitler had hoped, society was “silent” and so were the churches. There was no national outcry or ground swell of opposition. The pastors quietly savored the security of their lucrative positions and the public scarcely raised an eyebrow. This was the green light Hitler was waiting for to proceed with his “final solution”.

There were, of course, a few lonely voices that the Gestapo soon silenced. Perhaps the most famous was the courageous pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He openly opposed Hitler and refused to flee. He was predictably arrested, and ultimately executed by special orders from Heinrich Himmler. Another heroic pastor was Martin Niemueller. He had been a U-boat captain in World War 1 and was a national hero. His church was in a fashionable suburb of Berlin. His parishioners were among the German elite. When a fellow pastor found him in prison he cried out “My brother, why are you here?” Niemueller responded: “My brother, given what is happening in our country, why aren’t you here?”

• In the winter of 1943 a group of university students in Munich banded together in a desperate attempt to recruit opposition to Hitler. Their leader was 25 year old Hans Shoul. They called themselves “The White Rose”. Sadly, in only a few short weeks they were all beheaded. Before dying, however, they published six leaflets. Here is a quote from leaflet
• 4: “Everywhere, in all times of greatest trial, men have appeared, prophets and saints, who cherished their freedom; who preached the One God, and who with His help brought the people to a reversal of their downward course. I ask you now as a Christian, wrestling for the preservation of your greatest treasure: Why do you hesitate? Why are you inclined toward intrigue, calculation, and procrastination? Are you hoping that someone else will raise His arm in your defense? God has given you the will to fight. We must attack the evil now where it is strongest”.

Unfortunately, his passionate plea was met by “silence”.

Another lonely voice of opposition came from Albrect Houshover. He was a quiet, diplomatic person who wrote poetry. After a failed attempt on Hitler’s life in 1944 he finally joined the opposition. He too was soon caught and cast into prison. As the allied forces advanced in 1945, a special list was

prepared of those to be executed. Houshover was on that list. On his last day he was escorted by the S.S. with a small group of seven or eight to a park in the center of Berlin. They were promised freedom, but when the signal was given each prisoner was executed with a shot in the back of the head. Houshover’s brother later found his body in the mud and snow. In his hand was a blood stained piece of paper with these poignant words:

I AM GUILTY

The burden of my guilt before the law weighs light upon my shoulder. To plot and conspire was my duty to the people. I would have been a criminal if I had not! I am guilty, although not in the way that you may think. I should have done my duty sooner! I was wrong! I should have called the evil more clearly by it’s name! I hesitated to condemn for far too long! I now accuse myself! Within my own heart I have betrayed my conscience for far too long! I have deceived myself and my fellow man. I knew the course of evil from its start. My warning was not loud enough or clear enough. Today, as I die, I know what I am guilty of!

But now let us consider the pathetic state of modern America. Since Jan. 22, 1973 over 60 million innocent babies have been systematically slaughtered by abortionists. The main stream media is complicit in not covering this holocaust. Forgive me for being cynical, but I am suspicious of the present drum beat of criticism against those who abuse animals. I fear this is a deliberate diversion. If the same amount of coverage exposed the cruelty of abortion, the public would oppose abortion just as it opposes cruelty to animals. For the record, Hitler loved dogs! As a soldier in World War I he even rescued a homeless dog. During World War II his beloved dog Blondi was treated like a member of the family. His love for dogs, however, does not absolve him from murdering millions of people.

One popular method of abortion is called “dilation and evacuation – D & E”. It is used in the second trimester (24 + weeks). Using this method the abortionist takes forceps and tears the baby apart limb by limb. Then the head is crushed before “evacuation”. If abortionists did this to a dog they would probably be sent to prison! In 2007, NFL star Michael Vick was sentenced for up to 23 months in prison for running a dog fighting organization. As gruesome as it was, the dogs at least had a fighting chance. Sadly, the unborn baby does not have a chance! So, like our German brethren in a previous generation, the masses in America remain silent. Some churches in Poland even played their organs as loud as possible to drown out the screams of condemned Jews passing by in cattle cars. So we also look the other way and refuse to rock the boat. Apparently we have grown so accustomed to dumpsters full of dead babies that in 2014 the state of Oregon decided to burn these babies to produce electricity. Have we lost all decency? Perhaps, like the infamous Crystal Night in Germany, these abortions are only a trial balloon! Perhaps abortion is only the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps our disregard for unborn babies is a prelude to even greater atrocities! Before doing business with Satan, please remember that from the beginning he has always been a liar and a murderer (Jn. 8:44).

Please also prayerfully consider that there are times in life when silence is a sin!

I love you,

Grandpa Boyces