Victory over Child Pornography

October 11, 1998

VICTORIES IN ATLANTA, AS THE GOSPEL SMASHES GATES OF HELL

Two months ago, the enemy of God's children, in a furious effort to silence the Gospel of Christ, drew a line in Marietta, Georgia. A Cobb County judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) preventing Christians from passing out Gospel tracts on a public sidewalk in front of the Marietta High School. On Monday morning, October 19, Christians from Birmingham, Dallas, and surrounding areas joined our brothers and sisters in Marietta to meet this Gospel challenge head on. Theology moved from the church house and became biography on the streets as God did exceedingly abundantly above all we asked or imagined. Here is the incredible report from Michael and Michelle Wolven, local leaders in Atlanta:

Early Monday morning we brought the Gospel of Christ and the horror of abortion to the gates of hell at the Marietta High School. Hundreds of Gospel and abstinence tracts were handed out to students and parents. We knew that we could not allow Cobb County to silence the Gospel of Christ with a permanent injunction. It would set a precedent for other schools to do the same. It was an awesome time as one father was led to the Lord by Pastor Terry Gensemer. The school spokesperson, Jan Bloget, stated in the newspaper the next morning that, "The school does not plan to seek a new injunction." Praise the Lord!

The next gate was Barnes & Noble. Jesus so lifted this gate that we are still receiving calls and interview requests days after the event. We went into the store with brochures and on the street we had a huge 10'x20' banner depicting the awful child pornography being sold. When the police came to ask us to leave, Pastor Gensemer asked for the officers of the Child Protection division to be brought on the scene. He had bought David Hamilton's book Age of Innocence at the store and wanted to report this crime, the selling of child pornography, to the proper authorities.

When Detective McGee of the Child Protection Agency saw the book, he was aghast. So were several officers who saw the pictures. One stated that the department had arrested people for having less graphic pictures than those in the book. Detective McGee went into the store and demanded that the books be taken off the shelves until a judge could make a ruling. The police have submitted the case to solicitor Barry Morgan who is currently in touch with he solicitor in Alabama who has filed 32 child pornography indictments against Barnes & Noble. The Barnes & Noble trial in Alabama begins November 16, 1998.

This has opened the flood gates for us to do interviews and speak for our Lord and His children on TV and radio stations all over. We have had people calling the newspapers to get in touch with us so they could join our group. The Atlanta Journal went so far as to print Operation Rescue National's website and address where the pictures could be found. The highest-rated local radio talk shows in Atlanta have held hour-long shows talking about nothing but these horrible books. God is using the secular media to inflame Atlanta with righteous indignation. 

On Tuesday, a local talk show host called "the Kimmer" stated that he sent his helper out to purchase The Age of Innocence so he could make fun of these "Christian fanatics who were on another book-burning spree." Once he saw the book, however, he had a radical change of heart. He spent hour after hour talking about how outraged he was that Barnes & Noble could sell such trash. On Wednesday, talk show host David Stone continued the talk saying that if Barnes & Noble can take stands against carrying Hustler and other magazines, it can make some judgments on the books it carries. Stone wants these books off the shelves, now!.

Jeff Hullinger, who also does sports broadcasts for Channel 5, contacted Flip Benham for comments. This interview was aired practically every hour during the day and the truth was made known in all of Atlanta. Many women began calling into the radio stations to tell of how child molestation begins and, with one voice, they pronounced that it begins with child pornography. This must have rattled the enemy of our children to his bones. The gates in Atlanta have been lifted up and the King of Glory is marching in, just because a little band of Christians chose to live out their faith and take the Gospel to the gates of hell. The entire city of Atlanta has been turned upside down ! 

Barnes & Noble's pathetic response to this Gospel challenge was issued by Senior Vice President Mary Ellen Keating: "Our position is that our customers decide what they will buy and read. This is about freedom of choice." Sound familiar? 

The last gate we stormed was an abortion mill in a prestigious office complex. Michelle and Michael had been praying for months that the truth would be known and that the veil the mill operated under would be lifted. Flip marched the group through the complex complete with large signs and a police escort. Many tenants came out to listen to Flip proclaiming where the abortionist was practicing and what his name was. The Marietta Daily Journal published the exact location of the clinic including the building number and directions. Now that the truth is known, the Lord will bring the walls crashing down.

God accomplished in one morning more than we could hope to accomplish in a lifetime of political maneuvering. Perhaps this is exactly what he desires in us so that we may realize who really is deserving of the glory. We pray that you will see our good works and give praise to the one who truly did them. TO GOD BE THE GLORY! 

How do these three gates of hell relate to one another? Let me connect the dots. Operation Rescue takes up the cause of preborn children in the Name of Jesus Christ. We defend children in the womb, who are being literally torn apart limb from limb, by bringing the Gospel of Christ to the gates. We defend children against those who would exploit their little bodies for a profit by bringing the Gospel of Christ to the gates. We defend the children who are fed the lie of contraception and abortion in the government schools by bringing the Gospel to the gates. This is truly theology becoming biography.