Suffer the Little Children

by Mark Belz

191 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't actually know the full title of this book when I ordered it, so I did not know it was primarily aimed at Christians – but despite the fact that I'm an atheist, I found this book inspiring. The rescue movement is pretty much over, but the abortion issue, and the need for activism, is still here. Reading about other pro-lifers and what they sacrificed was very encouraging, the first couple chapters were kind of like a pro-life "pep talk" – then it got into the theology behind rescuing, which was interesting if not entirely relevant to me, and then there were stories that were really fascinating about slavery and the Holocaust, and civil disobedience during them. The one question the book never seems to ask, which is kind of important, was whether or not rescuing actually accomplished much – it talked about how it was morally right to rescue, without putting pressure on individual people to do it, but it didn't really address whether or not any women were actually compelled to have their babies afterwards or if they merely rescheduled. Did it do more harm or more good? It certainly turned a lot of people against the pro-life movement. I've heard conflicting things, but it seems to me that rescuing didn't really accomplish all that much

One thing I could not relate to was the implication that God would punish those who are not pro-life or who are but don't do anything about the issue – a long time ago, a pro-life leader told me that 90% of the pro-life movement would quit if they felt that God would spare them from punishment if they stopped their pro-life activities. I was pretty shocked – I couldn't relate to that at all. I couldn't even imagine how someone could just be pro-life because they're afraid that God would punish them – I hope that's not true.

I also couldn't help but wondering, about how rescuing was compared to fighting slavery and protecting Jews in the Holocaust, and yet, Christians all stopped rescuing after serious penalties were est. through the Freedom of Access to Clinics Law, which made it a felony to trespass on abortion clinic property – meaning major jail time instead of just a slap on the wrist for the first offense. Somehow I doubt these Christians would've actually rescued Jews in Germany when facing a sentence of being in a concentration camp, which is many times worse than a simple American prison. So it kind of made me wonder. Of course, I'm not willing to get arrested in front of the clinic either, though if I knew for sure would save lives, there is a chance I might reconsider.