“It is my firm conviction that the pro-life movement has been a convenient, effective tool in the hands of the Roman Catholic Church leadership in their drive to desensitize the average Christian to Rome’s heresy, idolatry, and blasphemy.”
– Pastor Ralph Ovadal
Last week’s post, devoted to a discussion of the movie Unplanned, was intended as a warning to Christians. Far from being the Christian film many have touted it to be, Unplanned would be better described as an effective recruitment tool for the Roman Church-State.
Although the movie was financed, at least in part, by Evangelical money, and presented to Evangelicals as a Christian movie, the screen play and the directing were done by two Roman Catholics. But more concerning is the central figure in the movie, Abby Johnson, who, having been raised Baptist, converted to Roman Catholicism after she was asked to leave her Episcopal Church upon leaving Planned Parenthood and becoming pro-life.
In that post on Unplananed, this reviewer quoted at some length from a book titled More Than These by Pastor Ralph Ovadal. When I cited the book, I was under the assumption that I had reviewed it some time ago. But to my surprise, after checking to confirm whether this was so, I found out that no such review had been posted on this blog. What is worse, a search of the internet revealed that, apparently, no review of the remarkable book has been written by anyone else either.
This post is intended as a partial remedy to this sorry state of affairs.
Review
More Than These: A History of How the Pro-Life Movement Has Advanced the Cause of the Roman Catholic Church by Pastor Ralph Ovadal (Monroe, Wisconsin: Heart of the Matter Publications, 2004, 270 pages with endnotes).
In the opinion of this reviewer, More Than These is far and away the best book yet written on abortion and the only one that he can recommend to Christians without hesitation.
As the title suggests, More Than These is not focused on building a case from the Scriptures that abortion is wrong. Targeted as it is at pro-life Evangelicals, Ovadal’s book reasonably assumes his readers already understand the Biblical arguments against abortion.
Rather, the focus of More Than These is on another problem plaguing the pro-life movement, a problem that hardly even has a name, yet one that cannot be ignored: The sin of ecumenical cooperation by Evangelicals with Roman Catholics in the name of fighting abortion.
Ovadal begins by recounting his own experience as an early front-line soldier in the pro-life movement in the 1970’s. But as he quickly notes,
Yet I also grieve when I see the spiritual deception, confusion, and compromise – even spiritual fornication – which has been ushered in through the pro-life movement…It is my firm conviction that the pro-life movement has been a convenient, effective tool in the hands of the Roman Catholic Church leadership in their drive to desensitize the average Christian to Rome’s heresy, idolatry, and blasphemy. I believe that the pro-life movement has been greatly used by the Vatican to convince many Christians that the Roman Catholic Church is a Christian church, albeit one with some unique “distinctives.” Further, I hold that Christians working in tandem with Catholics in pro-life ministry have done much to convince lost sinners that the Roman church is Christian. In addition, I believe that same ungodly partnership has effected numerous conversions of pro-life Protestants to the Roman Catholic religion. Lastly, as a result of working shoulder to shoulder with Catholics, ostensibly under the banner of Jesus Christ, to save babies, many Christians have even taken to teaching Roman Catholic doctrine (9-10).
Unlike many conservative Protestant leaders of our day, influenced as they are by post-WWII Neo-Evangelicalism, Ovadal is not ignorant of the ecumenical devices of the Roman Church-State. He contends, and backs up his contention with proof, that the ecumenism of the pro-life trenches is not some accident, but rather part of a deliberate strategy on the part of Rome to bring Evangelicals under Rome’s sway. He writes,
My intent is to expose the extent to which Rome has systematically used the pro-life movement to advance her agenda and reputation, disciple professing Christians with Roman Catholic doctrine, and bring converts into the Roman fold. It is a story of calculated strategy, exploited compassion, misplaced loyalty, dollar-driven ministries, and theological naiveté. It is a tragedy which will not only cause more babies, not fewer, to die in the long run but will also bring God’s chastisement upon many Christians if they do not repent of their ecumenical ways. The ecumenical, pro-life movement is a historical, tragic reality from which Christians must learn a profound lesson. Those who do not learn that lesson will suffer the consequences.
It is not enough to stand against evil in the name of the Lord. We must take that stand only in strict accordance to the immutable precepts laid down in the Word of God (10-11).
There is, perhaps, no greater lesson for 21st century ecumenical Evangelicals to learn than this: If you don’t fight the Lord’s battles in the Lord’s way, you’re going to lose. And, one is tempted to add, not only are you going to lose, you’re going to deserve to lose.
Not only is More Than These an airtight refutation of the ecumenical pro-life movement, but Ovadal’s broad principle of fidelity to the Gospel first, social action second desperately needs to be heard from America’s pulpits if we’re ever to have any hope of seeing a new Reformation in this country. As Ovadal himself remarks in his introductory “Author’s Note” section, “I believe that what is shared in these pages is applicable far beyond the pro-life issue”(8).
It is for this reason that, in the opinion of this reviewer, More Than These is a must read for every Christian.
Although the book no longer appears to be available in print format, you can download a complete, free PDF of More Than These
here.
Chapters include: Author’s Note; A Question Long in Need of an Answer; Christians and Catholics Together…When?; No Coincidence; The Catholic Pro-Life Players; Saddling Up the Beast; Follow the Leaders; Deadly Leaven Made in Rome; Home to Rome Via the Pro-Life Movement; Many Reasons, No Excuses; No More Either Or; Afterword; Endnotes.
Lux Lucet 
“If you don’t fight the Lord’s battles in the Lord’s way, you’re going to lose. And, one is tempted to add, not only are you going to lose, you’re going to deserve to lose.”
Too often we think we can fight the Lord’s battles in our own strength and with our own wisdom. But as you rightly say, we deserve to lose such battles, for the Lord is not with us in them. We seem to think that by shooting up a quick prayer God will be on our side and all will be well.
One would think that after 40+ years since Roe vs Wade that that professing Protestants would realise that what they have done is actually going backwards on this issue. But repentance seems to have been replaced with stubbornness and no one takes it to heart. Meanwhile the Lord is not glorified and babies are being murdered in multitudes.
May the Lord yet forgive us and cause us to use His Word alone to fight for Him.
Well said.