By Troy Newman, President, Operation Rescue
“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God…For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” -Hebrews 10:26-27, 30-31
The death of George Gardner didn’t surprise anybody; he had been suffering from an acute affliction of cancerous tumors for over a year. What did come as a surprise to some was my forthright observation that Gardner is in hell, suffering for the sins he committed in this life. By comparing Gardner’s life and doctrine to Scripture, it is clear – by his own behavior and statements – that we must reach the conclusion that he is not in heaven. However, the outcry over this comment is something that must be addressed because, for Christians at least, this goes to the heart the ability to make righteous discernments, warn sinners of the judgment to come and provide comfort to those who live by faith. Let us briefly examine Gardner’s life, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the responsibility of Christians to make conclusions based upon objective evidence.
George Gardner was ordained in the United Methodist denomination. Had Gardner adhered to the historic doctrine of the Christian faith we might safely assume that his soul is securely locked in Christ’s arms. Yet early in Gardner’s ministry, he deviated from the tenets he vowed to uphold and teach. He clearly and openly sinned against God by performing heretical same-sex marriages. He supported and endorsed the sexual deviancy of homosexuals and lesbians. He overtly promoted abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy, thus rebelling against the Author of Life. Gardner was later defrocked by the Methodists for an adulterous affair that led to his own marriage ending in divorce.
Until his death, he remained on staff at the Unity Church, an apostate group that does not even describe itself as “Christian.” Gardner clearly deviated from, and in fact rejected, the orthodox principals of the Christian faith. Finally and what may be the worst example of his blasphemous deeds was his administration of the holy sacrament of baptism on murdered infants within the walls of a notorious abortion mill. Gardner was the de facto priest of abortion, giving his blessing to late-term abortionist George Tiller and the mothers who killed their pre-born children. More resembling a priest of Baal than a Christian pastor, Gardner worked for decades to insure that the shedding of innocent blood continued in Wichita, forming the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and acting as an “escort” to women to prevent them from hearing about information that would help them to save their babies from abortion. Gardner’s life was the antithesis of Jesus’ teachings.
Gardner had apostatized, or left the Christian faith. This is evidenced by his own public words, quoted in the Wichita Eagle (Jan. 31, 2004), where he stated, “If I were to define myself today, I’d say I am a Zen Buddhist Hindu with Christian overtones.” Clearly, Gardner himself no longer considered himself a Christian. He made similar renunciations of the faith to me personally.
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