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November 25, 2012 |
| Abortion | ||
Abortion has been around for a very long time. There is evidence that abortions were carried out 4700 years ago (2700 BC1). In this country it was made legal in 1967 in the Roe v Wade decision. But even before then it was legal, under various conditions, in 20 of the states.
From the start of the Christian church in the first century the church has opposed abortion but in recent times some of the branches of the church have softened their stance on abortion or become complete supporters.2
Despite having settled the legality of the issue abortion remains a divisive issue. Even in the just completed election abortion was a factor.
In this lesson we will look at what God says about abortion.
Even in the world many people cringe at the thought of abortion and in particular late term abortion and partial birth abortion. At that point in its development the unborn baby looks very much like a new born baby and it's easy to empathize with it. But there are also people in the world who have very different and very extreme ideas.
"Abortion as treatment for unwanted pregnancy, the second sexually transmitted disease." - Dr. William Cates, for Planned Parenthood
"But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby." - President Obama, speaking about his daughters
Ideas like this are opposed to the biblical view which we see below
"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward" - Psalm 127:3
The Bible doesn't speak about abortion directly. This is likely because it was not a common practice and that was likely because it was not convenient or safe. Therefore we have to look for other verses to get the Biblical perspective on life in the womb.
One verse that shows the Biblical perspective comes from the laws laid down by God at Mount Sinai just after the 10 Commandments had been given.
22 "If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely [miscarriage] but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. - Exodus 21
From this we see that the Bible treats pregnant women and their unborn children as a special case in the law requiring additional protection. And it calls for the harshest penalty when appropriate.
Next we will look at two similar verses that speak about life in the womb
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. - Psalm 139
From both of these we see that the Biblical view is not one where life begins at birth or at some point during pregnancy.
The world focuses the abortion decision on the question "When does life begin". But the question they really want the answer to is "When can we kill it". And this is the question that really goes to the heart of the matter, for the church as well. This unspoken question recognizes that there is an "it" and it has life, otherwise why would there be a need to kill it. Without intervention the "it" will almost certainly become a human baby.
This is the real question for Christians as well but some don't understand it as such. The Bible believing church sees abortion as murder, a violation of the 6th Commandment. But some of the members of the church have become focused on the worldly idea that if it isn't life then the act isn't murder.
Some try to confuse the issue by talking about that growing life as if it is only potential life. This is just another attempt to put man in charge of deciding when it is or is not alive. You can say that a child is a potential adult, but that doesn't make it less alive. Similarly you can say that an unborn child is a potential child but that doesn't make it less alive.
Others try to confuse the issue by noting the differences. A group of cells does not look like a baby. But then a new born baby does not look like an old man either.
Deep inside we all know the truth – it is alive and growing, and it is human. Therefore any action to stop that life is murder.
We also need to understand how God sees murder. He sees it as the intent of your heart, not as your actions or the results of your actions. The actions and their results flow from the intent of the heart. Here are some verses that support that view
15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him – 1 John 3
21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘[I spit on you],' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
When Christians get away from the legal discussion of "When does life begin" a lot of the other questions become much easier to answer.
1. What if a woman's body miscarries, is that murder? The answer is no because there is no murderous intent.
2. What if a woman takes a morning-after pill, is that murder? Yes, the intent is to murder. Whether life had begun or not is not important.
3. What if a woman's life is endangered by the pregnancy? If a woman truly believes that continuing the pregnancy will result in her death, what would have been murder becomes self-defense, a justifiable murder. This is a difficult one for man to judge because man cannot know what is in the heart. Only God knows – but God does know.
With medical technology and neo-natal care as advanced as it is today, there are very few cases where a mother's life is truly in danger.
4. What if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest? This would be a horrible situation to be in and fortunately it is quite rare. Abortion would still be murder. While the mother certainly had no choice in becoming pregnant, the unborn child is also not a fault.
But there are even some that argue that the unborn child should be seen as an aggressor or attacker, because of the mental anguish the mother suffers by carrying a child that would serve as a constant reminder of a vicious attack. Therefore, if the child is an aggressor, then abortion as self-defense is applicable. But the obvious truth is that the mother's anguish is the result of the attack and the attacker is at fault. Even if no baby had resulted, she would suffer the anguish.
The Christian perspective on this situation is that love should overcome evil. That would be a difficult thing to do in a circumstance like this. But that is what the Christian mother should strive for. For some that may not be attainable. Fortunately another option has always been available and that is adoption.
5. Doesn't a woman have a right to do what she wants with her body? This question actually has nothing to do with abortion, though some have tried to make it that way. But because this argument has become so attached to the abortion topic, I'll deal with it. The answer is no. From the Christian perspective this is the height of selfishness and arrogance. It is completely out of alignment with the Christian view that we are all servants of each other. It also misses the point that our bodies are to be a temple for God.
But even from a legal perspective the answer is no. This is proven by all the other things a woman (or man) can't legally do with their bodies, such as commit suicide, commit prostitution, break and enter a locked building, and the list goes on.
6. Why are Christians Pro-Life and yet support the death penalty? Pro-life is the marketing name used by the anti-abortion movement. No one in that movement applies the term pro-life to a larger context than abortion. A broader description of Christians would be that they are anti-murder.
Satan was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44) and those who want to murder are following his lead. So it can hardly be a surprise that we have seen the regulations on abortion become looser and the attitudes of society become lax. As a result there are now more than 1,000,000 abortions per year in the US alone3. What started as abortion in certain special cases has become abortion on demand. What started as a solution to a difficult problem has become a backup birth-control method.
As society becomes numb to it we slip further into decay and value life less and less. Babies that were intended to be aborted are sometimes born alive and left alone to die. And now we hear talk of the possibility of abortions being done after birth.
These are the little steps that are a classic sign that Satan is leading a society to destruction.
The Biblical perspective on life is very clear and we have seen that it includes unborn life. Yet many Christians, and even church denominations, do not understand or follow it.
Often women with unplanned pregnancies considering abortion feel like it's the only solution to get their lives back. But maybe God doesn't want them to go back to their old lives. They need to know that God still loves them and still has a plan for them. He knew they would find themselves in this situation before they were even born.
And often women feel that they just won't be able to handle a baby. They need to know that there are many resources to support them, with God at the top of the list. There are also family, friends, church, and many organizations.
That isn't to say that it will be easy. There will be difficult changes but it can be done.
The following links lead to more complete discussions of these topics than can be done in this lesson. These well written articles present the Pro-Life argument, though not from a particularly Christian perspective.
Is abortion justified in cases of rape or incest?
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-sum/q-life005.html#2
Is the unborn human less than human?
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-sum/q-life000.html
Is abortion justified when the child is unwanted?
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-sum/q-life033.html
Doesn't a woman have the right to control her own body?
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-sum/q-life009.html
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion