Abortion

[goldenchild17]

It's not done. This is a rough draft form of it. I just wanted to get some thoughts, opinions, anything that I could do to make it better. Thanks.
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Psalms 127:3-5 [color=blue]“Children too are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one's youth. Blessed are they whose quivers are full. They will never be shamed contending with foes at the gate.”[/color]


The issue of abortion is one that has plagued our world for many years now. The Roman Catholic Church has always stood completely against this heinous practice. Many people, even those who condemn abortion, believe that the Bible is silent on this issue. I would like to approach this and examine whether or not abortion is addressed in Scripture.

Some promoters of abortion believe that conception is not the beginning of the life of a human being. What is conception? The Bible views it as the start of something. Conception and birth are paired together multiple times.

Examples: Genesis 4:1 [color=blue] “The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she [b]conceived and bore[/b] Cain, saying, ‘I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.’" [/color]

Genesis 29:32 [color=blue] “Leah [b]conceived and bore[/b] a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, "It means, 'The LORD saw my misery; now my husband will love me.'" [/color]

Genesis 38:3-4 [color=blue] “She [b]conceived and bore[/b] a son, whom she named Er. Again she conceived and bore a son, whom she named Onan.” [/color]

Those are just three passages that speak about this action of conceiving and bearing. There are many more passages just like it, but what do they signify? The first thing we see is that conceiving is considered the first action, the beginning of the process of making a human being. This is reinforced by Hosea 9:11 which says [color=blue] “The glory of Ephraim flies away like a bird: [b]no birth, no carrying in the womb, no conception[/b]. Were they to bear children, I would slay the darlings of their womb.” [/color]

No birth, no carrying in the womb, no conception. This is kind of a backwards way of looking at it, but we see that conception is the first thing that occurs in the biological creation of people.

The second thing we notice in the passages that speak about conceiving and bearing is that it is spoken about as one action. Both conceiving and bearing a child seem to be as one. So, it seems to me that the people who make a distinction between killing a baby inside the womb and killing the baby outside of the womb are mistaken. They believe that conception is not really of the same process as birth. To them, it is okay to kill a human being inside the mother because the baby is not yet a human being. Yet in the Scriptures we see that Eve “conceived” Cain, Leah and the other woman “conceived” sons. They didn’t conceive the potential of a son. No they conceived the real thing, the real flesh, blood and soul of their sons. It is interesting that in Scripture, the same Hebrew words are used to describe both the children still in the womb and humans that are born into the world. One example is the word “geber”. This word means “man, strong man, warrior”(see lexicon), yet in Job 3:3 this same word is used to describe a “man-child” who was just conceived. Another word is “yeled” which means “child, son, boy, offspring, youth”(see lexicon). However, in Genesis 21:22-25(we’ll discuss this passage in a bit) this word is used to describe a child inside the womb. Finally, “brephos” is a Greek word that refers to a “an unborn child, embryo, a foetus, a new-born child, an infant, a babe”(see lexicon). This word is very explicit. It shows us that in the Greek an unborn child, an embryo, a fetus are the exact same as a new-born child, an infant, a baby! This shows us that the people believed the unborn child and the born child are the same. They used the same exact words to describe both types of children. There was no distinction among them. Why do we now try to separate the two?

So we see that conception is viewed in Scripture as the beginning of life. Conception and birth are considered as one action. Cain was born. Cain was also conceived. You and I were born, you and I were also conceived, not a bundle of cells that would one day turn into a human. This is what we will explore now.

Genesis 1:27 says that God created man in His image, [color=blue] “God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.” [/color]

Genesis 3 relates the story of how Adam and Eve sinned. This sin has been passed down from person to person throughout all of time, Romans 5:12 [color=blue] “Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned.” [/color]

We are all made in the image and likeness of God, and we have all inherited Adam’s sin. But when does this occur? At birth? Sometime later? Or could it be that it happens at conception? I propose the latter option. We know that Seth, Adam’s son, was begotten in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 5:1-3 [color=blue] “This is the record of the descendants of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God; he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and named them ‘man.’ Adam was one hundred and thirty years old when he [b]begot[/b] a son in his likeness, after his image; and he named him Seth.” [/color]

God only directly created one person out of nothing. That was Adam. He took a rib from Adam and made Eve. Yet He forms each and every one of us at conception. It is at conception that we have received our dna, or the genetic make-up which determines who we are(not who we will become). Nothing new is created in us from nothing after conception. Conception is the beginning of our growth. It is logical to assume that this is when we received the image and likeness of God as well. Otherwise, when would we receive it?

Regarding our sinful nature Scripture tells us that we receive it at conception, and that we are sinners while still inside the womb.

Psalms 51:7 [color=blue] “True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.” [/color]

Psalms 58:4 [color=blue] “The wicked have been corrupt since birth; liars from the womb, they have gone astray.” [/color]

If we have received the image and likeness of God from our parents, when did this occur? Logically it began when we began, that is to say, when we were conceived. James 2:26 says [color=blue] “For just as a body without a spirit is dead . . . ” [/color]
We know that the fetus is alive and growing. This much is obvious regardless of whether or not you believe that it is a human being. But, yet, James here tells us that the body cannot live if it does not have a soul. What does this tell us? It means that if the fetus is alive, then he/she must also have a soul! God makes man in His image and likeness. He gives us our spiritual nature right from the very beginning. How much more human can we get? Both our moral nature and our sinful nature are there present along with our physical nature. This constitutes our whole being. The fetus growing inside the womb of the mother is a growing human person!

Although God created only one man(Adam) out of absolutely nothing, He is nevertheless deeply involved in the making of each and every one of us. When a woman conceives a child it is God’s will.

Genesis 21:1-2 [color=blue] “The LORD took note of Sarah as he had said he would; he did for her as he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated.” [/color]

Genesis 29:31 [color=blue] “When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he made her fruitful, while Rachel remained barren. [/color]

Genesis 30:22-24 [color=blue] “Then God remembered Rachel; he heard her prayer and made her fruitful. She conceived and bore a son, and she said, ‘God has removed my disgrace.’ So she named him Joseph, meaning, [b]‘May the LORD add another son to this one for me!’[/b]” [/color]

Job 31:15 [color=blue] “Did not he who made me in the womb make him? Did not the same One fashion us before our birth?” [/color]

Psalms 139:13-16 [color=blue] “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.” [/color]

Jeremiah 1:4-5 [color=blue] “The word of the LORD came to me thus: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” [/color]

These are a few of several passages which speak of how God is personally involved in the conception of children. The part in the Genesis 30 passage which is bolded is important. Rachel acknowledges that it is the Lord that has given her a child. We must also realize that when a pregnancy occurs, it is because God wills it. Why would we go against God’s will and destroy the child He has given?

Galatians 1:15 [color=blue] “But when (God), who from my mother's womb had set me apart and called me through his grace . . .” [/color]
This passage in Galatians, as well as the passages cited above from Psalms and Jeremiah, shows us how important God views the unborn child to be. Our time in the womb is a crucial step in our development. God has set us apart, from the womb, and it is then that God has given us our mission in life. While in the womb, we are not simply a collection of cells. No! We are God’s children set apart for the mission to which He has called us.

Look at the passages in Psalms and Jeremiah again. See how the authors spoke of themselves in the womb with personal pronouns: “Did not he who made [b]me[/b] in the womb . . .” “You formed [b]my[/b] inmost being; you knit [b]me[/b] in [b]my[/b] mother's womb . . .”. They saw themselves in the womb as themselves! They did not see themselves as inanimate cells. They realized that it was really them inside the womb, the same person that they are as adults.

In Scripture, conception and child-birth are considered a great blessing and honor. It is not a curse, or a problem that needs to be fixed. Children are a blessing from God.

Genesis 1:22 [color=blue] “and God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.’" [/color]

Genesis 49:25-26 [color=blue] “The God of your father, who helps you, God Almighty, who blesses you, With the blessings of the heavens above, the blessings of the abyss that crouches below, [b]The blessings of breasts and womb[/b], the blessings of fresh grain and blossoms, The blessings of the everlasting mountains, the delights of the eternal hills.” [/color]

Deuteronomy 7:14 [color=blue]“You will be blessed above all peoples; no man or woman among you shall be childless nor shall your livestock be barren.”[/color]

Psalms 127:3-5 [color=blue] “Children too are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one's youth. Blessed are they whose quivers are full. They will never be shamed contending with foes at the gate.” [/color]

God [b]blesses[/b] man with children. Yet, we destroy these blessings, millions of them. What does God think about the way we treat His gifts to us? How can we be such ungrateful people? Conversely, see how Scripture views the death of the unborn as a horrible curse.

Hosea 9:9, 11-12, 14 [color=blue] “They have sunk to the depths of corruption, as in the days of Gibeah; He shall remember their iniquity and punish their sins . . . The glory of Ephraim flies away like a bird: no birth, no carrying in the womb, no conception. Were they to bear children, I would slay the darlings of their womb. Even though they bring up their children, I will make them childless, till not one is left. Woe to them when I turn away from them! . . . Give them, O LORD! give them what? Give them an unfruitful womb, and dry breasts!” [/color]

Infertility was considered a curse. How much more cursed are the people who purposely kill the children that God has given to them.

Edited March 1, 2005 by goldenchild17

[goldenchild17]

Okay I added more to it. Let me know what I should do with it before putting it on my website. Thanks.
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Psalms 127:3-5 [color=blue] “Children too are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one's youth. Blessed are they whose quivers are full. They will never be shamed contending with foes at the gate.” [/color]


The issue of abortion is one that has plagued our world for many years now. The Roman Catholic Church has always stood completely against this heinous practice. Many people, even those who condemn abortion, believe that the Bible is silent on this issue. I would like to approach this and examine whether or not abortion is addressed in Scripture.

Some promoters of abortion believe that conception is not the beginning of the life of a human being. What is conception? The Bible views it as the start of something. Conception and birth are paired together multiple times.

Examples: Genesis 4:1 [color=blue] “The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she [b]conceived and bore[/b] Cain, saying, ‘I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.’" [/color]

Genesis 29:32 [color=blue] “Leah [b]conceived and bore[/b] a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, "It means, 'The LORD saw my misery; now my husband will love me.'" [/color]

Genesis 38:3-4 [color=blue] “She [b]conceived and bore[/b] a son, whom she named Er. Again she conceived and bore a son, whom she named Onan.” [/color]

Those are just three passages that speak about this action of conceiving and bearing. There are many more passages just like it, but what do they signify? The first thing we see is that conceiving is considered the first action, the beginning of the process of making a human being. This is reinforced by Hosea 9:11 which says [color=blue] “The glory of Ephraim flies away like a bird: [b]no birth, no carrying in the womb, no conception[/b]. Were they to bear children, I would slay the darlings of their womb.” [/color]

No birth, no carrying in the womb, no conception. This is kind of a backwards way of looking at it, but we see that conception is the first thing that occurs in the biological creation of people.

The second thing we notice in the passages that speak about conceiving and bearing is that it is spoken about as one action. Both conceiving and bearing a child seem to be as one. So, it seems to me that the people who make a distinction between killing a baby inside the womb and killing the baby outside of the womb are mistaken. They believe that conception is not really of the same process as birth. To them, it is okay to kill a human being inside the mother because the baby is not yet a human being. Yet in the Scriptures we see that Eve “conceived” Cain, Leah and the other woman “conceived” sons. They didn’t conceive the potential of a son. No they conceived the real thing, the real flesh, blood and soul of their sons. It is interesting that in Scripture, the same Hebrew words are used to describe both the children still in the womb and humans that are born into the world. One example is the word “geber”. This word means “man, strong man, “warrior”, yet in Job 3:3 this same word is used to describe a “man-child” who was just conceived. Another word is “yeled” which means “child, son, boy, offspring, youth”. However, in Genesis 21:22-25(we’ll discuss this passage in a bit) this word is used to describe a child inside the womb. Finally, “brephos” is a Greek word that refers to a “an unborn child, embryo, a foetus, a new-born child, an infant, a babe”. This word is very explicit. It shows us that in the Greek an unborn child, an embryo, a fetus are the exact same as a new-born child, an infant, a baby! This shows us that the people believed the unborn child and the born child are the same. They used the same exact words to describe both types of children. There was no distinction among them. Why do we now try to separate the two?

So we see that conception is viewed in Scripture as the beginning of life. Conception and birth are considered as one action. Cain was born. Cain was also conceived. You and I were born, you and I were also conceived, not a bundle of cells that would one day turn into a human. This is what we will explore now.

Genesis 1:27 says that God created man in His image, [color=blue] “God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.” [/color]

Genesis 3 relates the story of how Adam and Eve sinned. This sin has been passed down from person to person throughout all of time, Romans 5:12 [color=blue] “Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned.” [/color]

We are all made in the image and likeness of God, and we have all inherited Adam’s sin. But when does this occur? At birth? Sometime later? Or could it be that it happens at conception? I propose the latter option. We know that Seth, Adam’s son, was begotten in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 5:1-3 [color=blue] “This is the record of the descendants of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God; he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and named them ‘man.’ Adam was one hundred and thirty years old when he [b]begot[/b] a son in his likeness, after his image; and he named him Seth.” [/color]

God only directly created one person out of nothing. That was Adam. He took a rib from Adam and made Eve. Yet He forms each and every one of us at conception. It is at conception that we have received our dna, or the genetic make-up which determines who we are(not who we will become). Nothing new is created in us from nothing after conception. Conception is the beginning of our growth. It is logical to assume that this is when we received the image and likeness of God as well. Otherwise, when would we receive it?

Regarding our sinful nature Scripture tells us that we receive it at conception, and that we are sinners while still inside the womb.

Psalms 51:7 [color=blue] “True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.” [/color]

Psalms 58:4 [color=blue] “The wicked have been corrupt since birth; liars from the womb, they have gone astray.” [/color]

If we have received the image and likeness of God from our parents, when did this occur? Logically it began when we began, that is to say, when we were conceived. After all, Scripture tells us that the soul of a man is what keeps him alive. Without the soul, the flesh cannot live.

At the creation of man, God breathed life into the physical body, Genesis 2:7 [color=blue] “the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.” [/color]

This breath of life is the soul. Without it the physical body cannot live and grow, James 2:26 [color=blue] “For just as a body without a spirit is dead . . . ” [/color] and Job 34:14-15 [color=blue] “If he were to take back his spirit to himself, withdraw to himself his breath, All flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust.” [/color]

We know that the fetus is alive and growing and that it has a separate DNA chain than it’s mother. This much is obvious regardless of whether or not you believe that it is a human being. But, yet, James and Job here tells us that the body cannot live if it does not have a soul. What does this tell us? It means that if the fetus is alive, then he/she must also have a soul! God makes man in His image and likeness. He gives us our spiritual nature right from the very beginning. How much more human can we get? Both our moral nature and our sinful nature are there present along with our physical nature. This constitutes our whole being. The fetus growing inside the womb of the mother is a growing human person!

Although God created only one man(Adam) out of absolutely nothing, He is nevertheless deeply involved in the making of each and every one of us. When a woman conceives a child it is God’s will.

Genesis 21:1-2 [color=blue] “The LORD took note of Sarah as he had said he would; he did for her as he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated.” [/color]

Genesis 29:31 [color=blue] “When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he made her fruitful, while Rachel remained barren. [/color]

Genesis 30:22-24 [color=blue] “Then God remembered Rachel; he heard her prayer and made her fruitful. She conceived and bore a son, and she said, ‘God has removed my disgrace.’ So she named him Joseph, meaning, [b]‘May the LORD add another son to this one for me!’[/b]” [/color]

Job 31:15 [color=blue] “Did not he who made me in the womb make him? Did not the same One fashion us before our birth?” [/color]

Psalms 139:13-16 [color=blue] “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.” [/color]
Jeremiah 1:4-5 [color=blue] “The word of the LORD came to me thus: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” [/color]

These are a few of several passages which speak of how God is personally involved in the conception of children. The part in the Genesis 30 passage which is bolded is important. Rachel acknowledges that it is the Lord that has given her a child. We must also realize that when a pregnancy occurs, it is because God wills it. Why would we go against God’s will and destroy the child He has given?

Galatians 1:15 [color=blue] “But when (God), who from my mother's womb had set me apart and called me through his grace . . .” [/color]
This passage in Galatians, as well as the passages cited above from Psalms and Jeremiah, shows us how important God views the unborn child to be. Our time in the womb is a crucial step in our development. God has set us apart, from the womb, and it is then that God has given us our mission in life. While in the womb, we are not simply a collection of cells. No! We are God’s children set apart for the mission to which He has called us.

Look at the passages in Psalms and Jeremiah again. See how the authors spoke of themselves in the womb with personal pronouns: “Did not he who made [b]me[/b] in the womb . . .” “You formed [b]my[/b] inmost being; you knit [b]me[/b] in [b]my[/b] mother's womb . . .”. They saw themselves in the womb as themselves! They did not see themselves as inanimate cells. They realized that it was really them inside the womb, the same person that they are as adults.

In Scripture, conception and child-birth are considered a great blessing and honor. It is not a curse, or a problem that needs to be fixed. Children are a blessing from God.

Genesis 1:22 [color=blue] “and God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.’" [/color]

Genesis 49:25-26 [color=blue] “The God of your father, who helps you, God Almighty, who blesses you, With the blessings of the heavens above, the blessings of the abyss that crouches below, [b]The blessings of breasts and womb[/b], the blessings of fresh grain and blossoms, The blessings of the everlasting mountains, the delights of the eternal hills.” [/color]

Deuteronomy 7:14 [color=blue] “You will be blessed above all peoples; no man or woman among you shall be childless nor shall your livestock be barren.” [/color]

Psalms 127:3-5 [color=blue] “Children too are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one's youth. Blessed are they whose quivers are full. They will never be shamed contending with foes at the gate.” [/color]

God [b]blesses[/b] man with children. Yet, we destroy these blessings, millions of them. What does God think about the way we treat His gifts to us? How can we be such ungrateful people? Conversely, see how Scripture views the death of the unborn as a horrible curse.

Hosea 9:9, 11-12, 14 [color=blue] “They have sunk to the depths of corruption, as in the days of Gibeah; He shall remember their iniquity and punish their sins . . . The glory of Ephraim flies away like a bird: no birth, no carrying in the womb, no conception. Were they to bear children, I would slay the darlings of their womb. Even though they bring up their children, I will make them childless, till not one is left. Woe to them when I turn away from them! . . . Give them, O LORD! give them what? Give them an unfruitful womb, and dry breasts!” [/color]

Infertility was considered a curse. How much more cursed are the people who purposely kill the children that God has given to them?

In closing I would like to take a look at Exodus 21:22-25 and then at some tough situations that many people believe would justify an abortion.

Exodus 21:22-25 [color=blue] “When men have a fight and hurt a pregnant woman, [b]so that she suffers a miscarriage[/b], but [b]no further[/b] injury, the guilty one shall be fined as much as the woman's husband demands of him, and he shall pay in the presence of the judges. But if injury ensues, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” [/color]

This translation does indeed seem to show a problem for the pro-life stance. The bolded parts are what I’d like to focus on. The passage seems to say that if the woman suffers a miscarriage (baby dies) but nothing more happens then the penalty would not be as serious. But if the mother dies then “life for life, eye for eye . . .”. However, this seems to be a bad translation of the passage. In the bolded part above it says that the woman suffers a miscarriage. The Hebrew word for “miscarriage” was “shakol”. This word, “shakol” is used only two chapters later in Exodus 23:26 [color=blue] “no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; and I will give you a full span of life.” [/color] (sidenote: see the context of this verse. It is part of a blessing for worshipping God alone. Child conception is not a curse). The word “shakol”, Hebrew for “miscarriage” is used only two chapters later. Yet it is not used in Exodus 21:22. Instead, the word used here is “Yatsa’”. “Yatsa’ ” means “to go out, come out, exit, go forth”. With the word “shakol” used in the Hebrew language at the time to mean “miscarriage” it is highly unlikely that this passage is referring to the baby’s death. If it were, then the much more explicit “shakol” would’ve been used. Since the word “Yatsa’ ” is used in this passage, and since “Yatsa’ ” simply means “to go out . . .” it is quite possible that the passage is really speaking about a premature birth. If this is so, then the passage would make much more sense. If the baby does not die, then there is no need to enforce the law that requires “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life” because there is no death.

The second part to address is the word “further”. The passage says “but no [b]further[/b] injury”. On the other hand, when you look up this passage in the original Hebrew language, it contains no word for further. See, there are three words in the Hebrew used for “further”. These words are “yowther”, “yacaph”, and “puwq”. Not one of them is used in Exodus 21:22-25. Making these observations it seems as if the passage would read more accurately as [color=blue] “When men have a fight and hurt a pregnant woman, [b]so that she gives birth prematurely[/b], but [b]no[/b] injury, the guilty one shall be fined as much as the woman's husband demands of him, and he shall pay in the presence of the judges. But if injury ensues, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” [/color]


This makes much more sense. If someone hurts a woman and she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury(to the mother or the child), then there is only a fine. But if injury occurs(to the mother or the child) then the law is carried out that the oppressor must give “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life”. In this understanding we see that the passage is in no way speaking of the infant’s life as less important than that of the mother’s, and how fitting this is in context with the rest of Scripture.

What about cases in which the child has a physical or mental handicap of some sort? Wouldn’t it be a merciful act to abort them, so they do not have to suffer the pain and humiliation of going through life? And besides it would be too hard on the economy to support them, so aborting them is the right decision… or is it?

Exodus 4:11 [color=blue] “The LORD said to him, "Who gives one man speech and makes another deaf and dumb? Or who gives sight to one and makes another blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” [/color]

As we saw earlier in this study, God is actively involved in our biological development. God makes those who are deaf and blind and dumb. Are they any less human because of this? Do they not still made in the image and likeness of God at conception? Are they not conceived with a sinful nature? Of course they are, and since this is so, they have a moral nature which gives them their personhood just like you and me.

The Mosaic covenant directed that the handicapped be protected, and not slandered.

Leviticus 19:14 [color=blue] “You shall not curse the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.” [/color]

Deuteronomy 27:18 [color=blue] “‘Cursed be he who misleads a blind man on his way!' And all the people shall answer, 'Amen!'” [/color]

And those who do not do so are cursed, Ezekiel 34:2,4 [color=blue] “Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel . . . You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost, but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.” [/color]

Take our Lord Jesus Christ as a great example of how we should treat the handicapped. He took great pains to heal these people. In fact a great part of the gospels contains such stories of his miraculous healings.

Matthew 11:4-5 [color=blue] “Jesus said to them in reply, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them’.” [/color]

Various examples of Jesus healing the handicapped are found in John 5:1-9, Mark 2:1-12, John 9:1-7. These are just three of the many accounts of Jesus healing a handicapped person. Why does He do this? Matthew 14:14 [color=blue] “When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.” [/color] It is because He is moved to do so. His heart was moved with pity for them. How exactly opposite this is to today’s culture in which such children are brutally destroyed because people do not want to take care of them. Christ came with these people in mind. He was anointed to help these children of His.

Luke 4:16-21 [color=blue] “He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.’ Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, ‘Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.’” [/color]

I could continue in giving example after example, but the point is made that Christ came to take care of the handicapped. He did not see these children as a burden, but as a blessing. We must see this too. Instead of destroying them in the most horrific ways when we think they are too much trouble, we must care for them, just as Christ did, and still does.

How about the poor? Don’t families who are too poor to raise children have a right to abort a child who would just be another hungry mouth to feed? No. Even this is no exception.

Again, there are ample amounts of Scripture to answer this. Matthew 25:31-46 gives us the strongest language in describing our relationship with the poor. This passage speaks of how we are to be judged based on how we treat the poor: do we feed them or give them drink? If we treat them well we will be saved, if not we are damned. For [color=blue] “what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.” [/color] (Matt. 25:45). What will happen to people who advocate killing babies of poor families? Could we not instead encourage the poor family to have their child, and then provide them with enough food and water to survive? Could we not do this and have God look favorable upon us at the judgment? This seems to be a far better option.

There are many other aspects that we could look at that would further strengthen the Biblical support that abortion is wrong. Maybe one day I will go into this further. I hope that one will read this with an open mind towards life and know that the commandment, [color=blue] "You shall not kill.” [/color] (Exodus 20:13) refers to all living human beings, whether outside the womb, or inside. The infants inside their mother’s are people with a soul and with a moral and sinful nature just like you and me. Amen.

Edited March 2, 2005 by goldenchild17

[franciscanheart]

better than mine. though im not sure thats saying much


i like. i didnt read for error, ill do that later.

[phatcatholic]

looks great. you may wish to add the fact that if we are sinful from the womb, then what is in the womb is human b/c a mass of cels cant be "sinful". also, as for the dignity of the handicapped and the poor, these verses would further make your case (and maybe even better then the verses you chose to use):

[b]Mat 25:40[/b] And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

[b]1 Cor 12:21-26[/b]
[b]21 [/b]The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
[b]22 [/b]On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable,
[b]23 [/b]and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
[b]24 [/b]which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part,
[b]25 [/b]that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
[b]26 [/b]If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

[goldenchild17]

good points and yeah I love that Corinthians verse. I never read it in this context. I kinda lamed out towards the end. It was late. I'll fix it up. Thanks much.

[goldenchild17]

double post.

Edited March 4, 2005 by goldenchild17

[goldenchild17]

I put together some quotes from the Early Church. Are they sufficient and accurate? Or are there some good ones that I am missing?

The Didache: A.D. 70

"The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child" (Didache 2:1–2).


“The Way of Death is filled with people who are
... murderers of children and abortionists of
God's creatures.” (Didache 5:1-2)

The Letter of Barnabas: A.D 74


"The way of light, then, is as follows. If anyone desires to travel to the appointed place, he must be zealous in his works. The knowledge, therefore, which is given to us for the purpose of walking in this way, is the following. . . . Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born" (Letter of Barnabas 19).


The Apocalypse of Peter: A.D. 137


"And near that place I saw another strait place . . . and there sat women. . . . And over against them many children who were born to them out of due time sat crying. And there came forth from them rays of fire and smote the women in the eyes. And these were the accursed who conceived and caused abortion" (The Apocalypse of Peter 25).


Athenagoras: A.D. 177


"What man of sound mind, therefore, will affirm, while such is our character, that we are murderers?
. . . [W]hen we say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the abortion, on what principle should we commit murder? For it does not belong to the same person to regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being, and therefore an object of God’s care, and when it has passed into life, to kill it; and not to expose an infant, because those who expose them are chargeable with child-murder, and on the other hand, when it has been reared to destroy it" (A Plea for the Christians 35).


Tertullian: A.D. 197


"In our case, a murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from the other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in its seed" (Apology 9:8).


“Thus, you read the word of God, spoken to Jeremias: ‘Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee.’ If God forms us in the womb, He also breathes on us as He did in the beginning: ‘And God formed man and breathed into him the breath of life.’ Nor could God have known man in the womb unless he were a whole man. ‘And before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee.’ Was it, then, a dead body at that stage? Surely it was not, for ‘God is the God of the living and not the dead.’” (De Anima 26.5)

“It is not permissible for us to destroy the seed by means of illicit manslaughter once it has been conceived in the womb, so long as blood remains in the person” (Apologia cap 25 line 24)

Basil: (A.D. 329-379)

“To Anfilochius, Bishop of Iconia:
She who has intentionally destroyed [the fetus] is subject to the penalty corresponding to a homicide. For us, there is no scrutinizing between the formed and unformed [fetus]; here truly justice is made not only for the unborn but also with reference to the person who is attentive only to himself/herself since so many women generally die for this very reason.”(First Letter 2)

“…those who give the abortifacients and those who take the poisons are guilty of homicide.” (First Letter 8)

Jerome: (A.D. 347-420)
“You may see many women widows before wedded, who try to conceal their miserable fall by a lying garb. Unless they are betrayed by swelling wombs or by the crying of their infants, they walk abroad with tripping feet and heads in the air. Some go so far as to take potions, that they may insure barrenness, and thus murder human beings almost before their conception. Some, when they find themselves with child through their sin, use drugs to procure abortion, and when (as often happens) they die with their offspring, they enter the lower world laden with the guilt not only of adultery against Christ but also of suicide and child murder.”

John Chrysostom: (A.D. 347-407)
“Why sow where the ground makes it its care to destroy the fruit? where there are many efforts at abortion? where there is murder before the birth? for even the harlot thou dost not let continue a mere harlot, but makest her a murderer also. You see how drunkenness leads to whoredom, whoredom to adultery, adultery to murder; or rather something even worse than murder. For I have no name to give it, since it does not take off the thing born, but prevents its being born. Why then dost thou abuse the gift of God, and fight with His laws, and follow after what is a curse as if a blessing, and make the chamber of procreation a chamber for murder, and arm the woman that was given for childbearing unto slaughter? For with a view to drawing more money by being agreeable and an object of longing to her lovers, even this she is not backward to do, so heaping upon thy head a great pile of fire. For even if the daring deed be hers, yet the causing of it is thine. Hence too come idolatries, since many, with a view to become acceptable, devise incantations, and libations, and love potions, and countless other plans. Yet still after such great unseemliness, after slaughters, after idolatries, the thing [fornication] seems to belong to things indifferent, aye, and to many that have wives, too.”(Homily 24)

Theodorus Priscianus: (A.D. 4th -5th century)

“It is never licit to give something that will cause an abortion. As Hippocrates points out, it is not fitting that the innocent office of a doctor be stained by complicity in such a serious offense. But if they attempt to avoid the birth on account of either a defect in their womb or the difficulties associated with their age, they greatly risk their lives to earn their health just as one risks killing the tree by applying something to the branches or boats which are tossed about by a storm must throw away their cargo.”

[phatcatholic]

what you have is fine. if u want, you could probably find more testimony from the following articles:

--[url="http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/earlychurchfathers/fatherscover.html"]Early Church Fathers: Excerpts Pertaining to Abortion[/url]
--[url="http://www.catholic.com/library/Abortion.asp"]Abortion[/url]
--[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/PROLIFE/ABORTN.TXT"]Church Fathers and Abortion[/url]
--[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/PROLENC/ENCYC043.HTM"]Historical Opposition of the Catholic Church to Abortion[/url]
--[url="http://www.armyofgod.com/ChurchFathers.html"]Church Fathers on Abortion[/url]
--[url="http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/mis/mis_02christiantradition1.html"]A Theologians' Brief on the Place of the Human Embryo Within Tradition[/url]
--[url="http://www.chattablogs.com/hagioipateres/archives/009707.html"]The Church Fathers and Ancient Councils on Abortion[/url]
--[url="http://www.solt3.org/pipermail/catholicnews/2004-April/000266.html"]St. Thomas Aquinas and Abortion[/url]
--[url="http://members.aol.com/abtrbng/canonl.htm"]Canon Law and Abortion[/url]
--[url="http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisteriumencyc.htm"]Papal Encyclicals on Abortion[/url]

[franciscanheart]

i didnt really look through this but if youve already got this then just ignore....

The Didache ca 60-70AD

"Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion." 2:2

"The Way of Death is filled with people who are
... murderers of children and abortionists of
God's creatures." 5:1-2

The Epistle or Barnabas ca 125 A.D.

"Thou shalt love thy neighbor more than thy own
life. Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion."
19:5
***
The Apocalypse of Peter ca 135 A.D.

"I saw a gorge in which the discharge and
excrement of the tortured ran down and became
like a lake. There sat women, and the discharge
came up to their throats; and opposite them sat
many children, who were born prematurely,
weeping. And from them went forth rays of fire
and smote the women on the eyes. These were
those who produced children outside of marriage
and who procured abortions." -26

"Those who slew the unborn children will be
tortured forever, for God wills it to so." -2:264
***
Clement of Alexandria ca 150-180 A.D.

"Our whole life can go on in observation of the
laws of nature, if we gain dominion over our
desires from the beginning and if we do not kill,
by various means of a perverse art, the human
offspring, born according to the designs of divine
providence; for these women who, if order to
hide their immorality, use abortive drugs which
expel the child completely dead, abort at the same
time their own human feelings." -Paedagogus 2
***
St. Athenagoras ca 177 A.D.

"We say that women who induce abortions are
murderers, and will have to give account of it to
God. For the same person, would not regard the
child in the womb as a living being and therefore
an object of God's care and then kill it.... But we
are altogether consistent in our conduct. We obey
reason and do not override it." -Legatio 35
***

Flavius Josephus, "Against Apion" 2:202: "The law [Jewish law] orders us
to bring up all our children,and forbids women to cause abortion of that
which is begotten; and if any woman seems to have done so,she will be a
murderer of her own child,by destroying a living creature." (Probably late
first century AD).

Sibylline Oracles 2.281-82: " ...as many as aborted what they carried in
the womb, as many as cast forth their offspring unlawfully [will be
punished after the resurrection]."

Tertullian, Apologeticum 9:8: For us, since murder has been forbidden, it
is also not permitted to dissolve what is conceived in the womb while the
blood is being formed into a human being. It is an anticipation of murder
to keep one from being born; nor does it make a difference whether one
takes the life of one already born, or disturbs one in the process of being
born: even the one who is going to be a human being is one." Text from
Sources Chrétiennes No.108,p.184.(Written about 197 A.D.)
Nlititicilis Felix ca 180-225 A.D.

"There are women who swallow drugs to stifle in
their own womb the beginnings of a man to be -
committing infanticide before they even give
birth to the infant." -Octavius
***
St. Hippolytus ca 170-236 A.D.


St.Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 52, to Cornelius: "He [the schismatic
Novatian] struck the womb of his wife with his heel and hurried an
abortion, thereby causing parricide." (Written about 251 AD)

"Reputed believes began to resort to drugs for
producing Sterility and to gird themselves round,
so as to expel what was conceived on account of
their not wanting to have a child either by a slave
or by any paltry fellow, for the sake of their
family and excessive wealth. Behold, into how
great impiety that lawless one has proceeded, by
inculcating adultery and murder at the same
time." -Refutation of all Heresies 9:7
***
Council of Eivira ca 305 A.D.

"If a woman becomes pregnant by committing
adultery, While her husband is absent, and after
the act she destroys the child, it is proper to keep
her from communion until death, because she has
doubled her crime." -Canon 63


St.Basil the Great, Epistle 138: "He who destroys the fetus deliberately
is guilty of murder." PG 36:672. (Written about 375
AD)

St.Jerome, Epistle 22.13: [speaking of virgins] "Others drink for
sterility and commit murder on the human not yet sown. Some when they sense
that they have conceived by sin, consider the poisons for abortion, and
frequently die themselves along with it, and go to hell guilty of three
crimes: murdering themselves, committing adultery against Christ, and murder
against their unborn child." PL 22.401. (Written about 380 AD).

The Canons of the Council of Ancyra (which canons were accepted and received by the ecumenical synods)
Canon XXI.
Concerning women who commit fornication, and destroy that which they have conceived, or who are employed in making drugs for abortion, a former decree excluded them until the hour of death, and to this some have assented. Nevertheless, being desirous to use somewhat greater lenity, we have ordained that they fulfil ten years [of penance], according to the prescribed degrees.

The Constitution of the Holy Apostles
Book VII.
Concerning the Christian life, and the Eucharist and Initiation into Christ
Sec. I
III. Thou shall not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is begotten; for "everything that is shaped, and has received a soul from God, if it be slain, shall be avenged, as being unjustly destroyed."