Operation Rescue in New Zealand
By Editorial Staff
Published March 1989
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (FR) – Abortion clinic rescues have been taking place in New Zealand for more than a year – all because one dedicated Christian has decided to give his life for the cause of the unborn. Ross Bolton, 50, a former auto electrician, has made national headlines due to his peaceful demonstrations.
Bolton has styled his protest after the American-based Operation Rescue, directed by Randall Terry, a minister and graduate of Elim Bible Institute in Lima, New York. Like Operation Rescue activists, Bolton and his followers block clinic entrances in order to stop women from obtaining abortions. For his efforts, Bolton has been sent to prison four times, serving over 40 weeks in jail since he started rescues in August of 1987.
One of Bolton’s tactics which differs from Operation Rescue is the use of men over 60 years of age in the clinic rescues. “Older men have little to lose by going to jail for trespassing,” says Bolton. Advertising flyers declare: “Senior Citizens for Junior Citizens … It is a man’s job to defend his nation. It is a special honor for men full of years to offer the remainder (of their lives) to those just beginning.”
Bolton says he has received “incredible resistance” from religious leaders in New Zealand and even lukewarm response from Catholic priests who have been active in many American rescue efforts. During a New Zealand-wide day of rescue, called a “closing down celebration,” only 20 pro-lifers gathered at protest sites in Auckland and Wellington. Bolton said he contacted 100 Catholic priests by letter and only one priest attended the protest at Epsom Day Hospital in Auckland.
The New Zealand press has labeled Bolton a “martyr ready to face jail again.” News stories have circulated throughout New Zealand and press treatment has been respectful. During an interview with Charisma magazine from his jail cell, Bolton said he was puzzled by the lack of support from pro-life pastors in his nation: “When I come to town to visit them, they leave. They refuse to even let me speak with them.” A young man from Wellington, Jeff Waklien, has joined Bolton’s rescue movement but has yet to serve time in jail for his clinic-closing activities. Bolton, his wife, and young son live by donations sent from Christians who read press reports and follow Bolton’s activities in Humanity, a pro-life newspaper which circulates throughout New Zealand.
Mrs. Bolton agrees with her husband’s campaign, but is also hurt by the reluctance of many pastors to participate in clinic rescues. But despite the fact that some people have labeled him a fanatic, a newspaper in Auckland, Dominion Times, described Bolton as “an unlikely protestor, if only because of his very quiet manner.” At least one pro-life leader interviewed said he admired Bolton, and said he not only planned to join his efforts but would also urge others to do the same.
Bolton expects the rescue movement in New Zealand to grow because of strong pro-life organizations which “are beginning to grab hold of what we are doing.” Pro-lifers are following the progress of Operation Rescue in the U.S. and express a growing disgust at the increasing number of abortions being performed in their nation every year. Nearly 9,000 abortions are recorded in the nation of some 3 million inhabitants, up 9 percent over the last year’s figure.
- by Bob Nolte
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The Silent Scream (DVD) Eight Languages
“When the lives of the unborn are snuffed out, they often feel pain, pain that is long and agonizing.” – President Ronald Reagan to National Religious Broadcasters Convention, January 1981
Ronald Reagan became convinced of this as a result of watching The Silent Scream – a movie he considered so powerful and convicting that he screened it at the White House. More recently, it was by catching just a glimpse of what this film reveals that Planned Parenthood director and abortion advocate Abby Johnson turned and became a strong advocate for the pre-born.
The modern technology of real-time ultrasound now reveals the actual responses of a 12-week old fetus to being aborted. As the unborn child attempts to escape the abortionist’s suction curette, her motions can be seen to become desperately agitated and her heart rate doubles. Her mouth opens – as if to scream – but no sound can come out. Her scream doesn’t have to remain silent, however … not if you will become her voice. This newly re-mastered version features eight language tracks and two bonus videos.
“…a high technology “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” arousing public opinion just as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 antislavery novel ignited the abolitionist movement.” – Sen. Gordon Humphrey, Time Magazine
Languages: English, Spanish, French, South Korean, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese
Running Time: 28 minutes
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The Four Keys to the Millennium (Book)
Foundations in Biblical Eschatology
By Jay Rogers, Larry Waugh, Rodney Stortz, Joseph Meiring. High quality paperback, 167 pages.
All Christians believe that their great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will one day return. Although we cannot know the exact time of His return, what exactly did Jesus mean when he spoke of the signs of His coming (Mat. 24)? How are we to interpret the prophecies in Isaiah regarding the time when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:19)? Should we expect a time of great tribulation and apostasy or revival and reformation before the Lord returns? Is the devil bound now, and are the saints reigning with Christ? Did you know that there are four hermeneutical approaches to the book of Daniel and Revelation?
These and many more questions are dealt with by four authors as they present the four views on the millennium. Each view is then critiqued by the other three authors.
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Dr. Francis Schaeffer - A Christian Manifesto (DVD)
That Swiss Hermit Strikes Again!
Dr. Schaeffer, who was one of the most influential Christian thinkers in the twentieth century, shows that secular humanism has displaced the Judeo-Christian consensus that once defined our nation’s moral boundaries. Law, education, and medicine have all been reshaped for the worse as a consequence. America’s dominant worldview changed, Schaeffer charges, when Christians weren’t looking.
Schaeffer lists two reasons for evangelical indifference: a false concept of spirituality and fear. He calls on believers to stand against the tyranny and moral chaos that come when humanism reigns-and warns that believers may, at some point, be forced to make the hard choice between obeying God or Caesar. A Christian Manifesto is a thought-provoking and bracing Christian analysis of American culture and the obligation Christians have to engage the culture with the claims of Christ.
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Go Stand Speak (DVD)
With “preaching to the lost” being such a basic foundation of Christianity, why do many in the church seem to be apathetic on this issue of preaching in highways and byways of towns and cities?
Is it biblical to stand in the public places of the world and proclaim the gospel, regardless if people want to hear it or not?
Does the Bible really call church pastors, leaders and evangelists to proclaim the gospel in the public square as part of obedience to the Great Commission, or is public preaching something that is outdated and not applicable for our day and age?
These any many other questions are answered in this documentary.
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Reversing Roe: The Norma McCorvey Story (DVD)
In 1969, a pregnant 21 year old Norma McCorvey felt abortion was her only answer. He case was used to challenge the Texas abortion law and she eventually became the Jane Roe of the 1973 US Supreme Court decision, Roe v Wade. She never had an abortion, but instead became an icon in the national abortion debate. For 22 years, Norma McCorvey’s life was a battlefield. She worked inside abortion clinics. She promoted legalized abortion. But she was tormented by what she saw and felt. In the summer of 1995, her life changed forever.
Through the friendship of a pro-life leader and a special invitation from a 7-year old child, Jane Roe finally died so Norma Leah McCorvey could live. This is her story.
Running Time: 28 minutes
Watch a clip from Reversing Roe.
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