Is Abortion Wrong – Part Two

In Part One, the question “Is Abortion Wrong?” was briefly answered reasoning only from empirical, philosophical and legal evidences. Intentionally, religious tradition, Scripture and theological reasoning were left out. Reason alone is enough to lead reasonable people to the conclusion that abortion is wrong. Leaving God out, and muting the Judeo-Christian case against abortion on demand, still, the case for the immorality of abortion can easily be made by reasonable people using only the basis of natural law and good conscience.

With a notable sector of our populace being fully irreligious, it was important to first establish abortion’s immorality on their terms. That being done, there is a far greater sector of our populace that is very much concerned with matters of faith and this second article aims to provide what the first article did not. Those with no regard for matters of faith need not read on for Part One alone is sufficient for secular reasoning. However, those who do place great weight on Scripture and faith tradition need to give sober consideration to what follows. That some religiously-inclined people are conflicted about these matters is more a reflection on the fact that some religious leaders (blind guides) are falsely representing the Scriptural, traditional and theological evidence. As you will see in what follows, this confusion or ambiguity is certainly not found in the evidence itself.

More specifically, groups like the South Dakota Pastors for IMmoral Choices continue to say things like the Bible makes no mention of abortion. Their sponsoring organization the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and the Clergy for Choice Network (both NARAL and Planned Parenthood offshoots) distribute literature quoting ten or so liberal denominations which have adopted an anti-life position. These are all denominational groups seeing massive membership declines datable to the point in time in which they shifted off the foundation of recognizing Biblical authority. Severed from that mooring, these groups have gone the way of those who affirm whatever feels right at any particular time. Conspicuously absent from the literature of these organizations is any reference to Scripture or the forerunners of the Judeo-Christian faith tradition.

These Planned Parenthood affiliate groups are, in part, to blame for the fact that many good people really have no idea that the Biblical and theological evidences are indeed so clear. It doesn’t help that those who claim to be “educated,” such as Dr. Marc Lamont Hill of Temple University are out there saying absolutely ridiculous things such as “Jesus would be okay with abortion,” in fact, that “Jesus would take an even more radical position on abortion than Barack Obama.” That idiocy and ignorance came forth on Fox News O’Reilly Factor last week (8/13/08).

When people hear that stuff having never searched it out themselves, they figure Dr. Hill must know more.

Would Jesus, a Jew, be okay with abortion?

First century Jews (of which Jesus was one) were unequivocally pro-life. First century Jewish historian Josephus wrote, “The law orders all the offspring to be brought up, and forbids women either to cause abortion or to make away with the fetus.” Women who did so were considered to have committed infanticide because she destroyed a soul. A notable early Jewish document, 1 Enoch (first or second century B.C.), says that an evil angel taught humans how to "smash the embryo in the womb." Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (25 BC to AD 41) rejected the notion that the fetus is merely part of the mother's body.

In the Sibyline Oracles, there is a listing of “the wicked” including a references to those who “produce abortions and unlawfully cast away their offspring away.” Also condemned there are sorcerers who dispense abortifacients. The Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides written between 50BC and AD 50 says “a woman should not destroy the unborn babe in her belly, nor after its birth throw it before the dogs or vultures.”

One of talking points of the Pastors For IMmoral Choices is that Jewish rabbi’s taught the theory of “delayed ensoulment” which basically states a fetus doesn’t get a soul until quickening (16 weeks or so). It’s true that without the benefit of modern sciences, there were and remarkably still are Jewish theologians and philosophers with various theories on ensoulment. But only in the case of a pregnancy threatening the life of the mother did Orthodox rabbis tolerate abortion. Abortion was forbidden if there was no reason for it. Some Jewish rabbis taught rape and incest were reason enough. In other words, even the most liberal Jewish thinking on abortion fully supports reasonable prohibitions on abortion such as what we have in Initiated Measure 11 which has exceptions for rape and incest.

Ironically, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice website offers a four-page paper by a couple of pro-choice Humanist (non-Orthodox) rabbis. After a couple pages of stretching historical Orthodox Jewish tradition beyond recognition they come back in line with tradition with this concluding remark.

Abortion as birth control is unacceptable. Abortion as means of avoiding the responsibility of bearing children is antithethical to Jewish values.

Perhaps these two rabbis will be endorsing Initiated Measure 11 which prohibits abortion from being used as birth control in South Dakota (95% of abortions in our state).

Was abortion acceptable to Early Christian Church?

What we see in the extra-Biblical literature of the early Christian church are documents such as the Letter of Barnabus (70 AD) – “You shall love your neighbor more than your own life. You shall not slay the child by abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born.”

Or, from the earliest Christian document not found in the Bible, the Didache, “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.”

An early document called the Apocalypse of Peter describes a vision of Hell: "I saw women who produced children out of wedlock and who procured abortions."

In the period of the early Christian Church known as the Patristic Period we find Church Fathers like Clement of Alexandria writing "But women who resort to some sort of deadly abortion kill not only the embryos but, along with it, all human kindness." (150-215 A.D.; Paedagogus, 2.10. 96.1.)

While defending against murder charges in 177 AD Athenagoras wrote: "What reason would we have to commit murder when 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 fetus in the womb as a living thing and therefore an object of God's care [and then kill it]." (A Plea for the Christians, 35.6)

In 197 AD, while defending Christianity against charges of child sacrifice, Tertullian wrote: "In our case, 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 other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder 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 the birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in the seed." (Apology, 9.6)

Basil the Great, in 374 AD wrote; "Moreover, those, too, who give drugs causing abortion are [deliberate murderers] themselves, as well as those receiving the poison which kills the fetus." (Letter, 188.2)

As this last quote illustrates, the Catholic Church has maintained these core convictions up to the present day. Pope John Paul II stated in Evangelium Vitae, Section 58: "No word has the power to change the reality of things: procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence."

It’s only recently, and only in the liberal streams of the Protestant Church (which have departed from faith and church tradition) that we see growing religious tolerance for abortion. But, here, I call the members of these faith groups back to the affirmations of their forerunners.

– Martin Luther (1483-1546) "Even if all the world were to combine forces, they could not bring about the conception of a single child in any woman's womb nor cause it to be born; that is wholly the work of God." (Luther's Works, VII, 21)

– John Calvin (1509-64). "The fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being and it is a most monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man's house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light" (Commentarius in Exodum, 21,22)

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German pastor and theologian hung by the Nazis in 1945): "Destruction of the embryo in the mother's womb is a violation of the right to life which God has bestowed on this nascent life…And that is nothing but murder.” (Ethics, pp.175-176.)

From the standpoint of Judeo-Christian foundations, there is no ambiguity about whether or not abortion is wrong.

What does the Bible say about abortion?

What we find when we come to the Bible are several categories of Scripture passages that directly apply to abortion. Anti-life clergy mislead people by telling them word “abortion” isn’t even in the Bible. (Neither is the word “Trinity” though the Trinity is one of the Bible’s foundational doctrines.) The argument from silence is a dangerous argument. It really says nothing about whether the Biblical authors approved of, or tolerated abortion, except perhaps that a discussion of the issue never became necessary. In other words, there was no deviation from the norm inherited from Judaism. The early Christians simply were not tempted to kill their children before or after birth. However, as you will see, the Bible is far from silent on the subject of abortion.

I recommend everyone read Randy Alcorn’s article Abortion in the Bible and Church History. Alcorn states;

There is a small but influential circle of prochoice advocates who claim to base their beliefs on the Bible. They maintain that "nowhere does the Bible prohibit abortion. Yet the Bible clearly prohibits the killing of innocent people (Exodus 20:13). All that is necessary to prove a biblical prohibition of abortion is to demonstrate that the Bible considers the unborn to be human beings.

That’s easy.

During the 2006 campaign a local Sioux Falls pastor was quoted in the paper as saying -  "We can't read God's mind on this. As a pastor I'd support people voting their conscience with a prayerful heart." The comment is understandable coming from a pastor whose denomination long ago rejected the authority of the Bible. Without that, I guess the mind of God IS lost to us.  However, we have the Bible and it has much to say about abortion.  The following is a short list passages directly applicable to abortion and the personhood of the unborn. There are many more not in this listing, such as “thou shall not kill,” but I’m sticking here with those that even more directly apply to the question, Is Abortion Wrong?

The Personhood of the Unborn - Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5, Job 10:8-12, Romans 9:11; numerous other passages could be sighted where the the words unborn baby, toddler, teenager are used inter-changably indicating the unborn were every bit a child as one that can be held in it's mothers arms.

Individual and Corporate Bloodguilt for the shedding of innocent blood - Genesis 9:5-6; Psalm 9:12; 94:16-17, 20-21; Proverbs 6:16-17; Ezekiel 33:6. The bloodguilt doctrine is THE major teaching the church needs to revisit in light of abortion being the shedding of innocent blood. Thousands of copies of my "Their Blood Cries Out" message have been freely distributed throughout the state. That teaching is available via podcast on this website.

Child sacrifice and Molech- Child sacrifice is when a parent sacrifices a child in hopes a better life… Leviticus 20:1-5; Deuteronomy 12:31; Ezekiel 16:20-21, 36-38; 20:31. Molech is the ancient demonic spirit that feeds off the shed innocent blood of children.  In the ancient world, Molech worshippers practiced child sacrifice, today Molech is fed through abortion.

Hindering children in any way - Matthew 19:14

Life for life penalty if pregnant a woman is struck and unborn child dies - Exodus 21:22-25

Judgment because expectant mothers were ripped open - Amos 1:13-14

An abortion reference in Prophecy? - Luke 23:28-31

Even if we didn’t have all of the above, the overwhelming evidence from Scripture, Church tradition and theological reasoning that says abortion is wrong, God’s Word says we are still without excuse because he has written the law on our hearts.

…the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them. This will take place of the day when God will judge men’s secrets, through Jesus Christ…” Romans 2:15-16

SUMMARY - Sins of Commission and Sins of Ommission

South Dakotan’s who have regard for faith are awakening to the fact that our state has been divinely chosen and given a window of opportunity to right what God says is clearly wrong. Since there is no wiggle room with regard to the fact that abortion is a great moral evil, it follows that it is immoral to do nothing to stop it when we have the ability and opportunity to stop it. It is a sin of commission to kill an unborn child, or campaign for same, and it's a sin of omission to not do what you can to do prevent it.

My hope is that across our state people of faith will take the various points presented here to their church leaders and encourage them to aggressively support the passage of Initiated Measure 11. Encourage them to contact me for more information about the coalition of hundreds of churches in South Dakota uniting right now on behalf of women and children, born and unborn. Permission is granted to reprint this article for use in church small group studies or Sunday School classes or to pass around to church members and leaders for their consideration.

Know that some church leaders in our state will disregard what is here making other pious sounding claims that amount to little more than a shift off the theological and Biblical foundations that abortion, which kills a human being, is a sin against the Author of Life and against our fellow man. If you are comfortable with them shifting off that Scriptural foundation, I can’t help you. However, I will ask those who are decidedly choosing to stay anchored Biblically on the issue of whether or not abortion is wrong to not just be hearers of the Word but doers. Volunteer. Give money to VoteYes. The culpability regarding the bloodguilt issue rests on those who could have done something but did nothing.

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Michael Gorman, Abortion & the Early Church, Intervarsity Press, 1982, "Why Is the New Testament is Silent on Abortion," Christianity Today, January 11, 1993, and Germain Grisez, Abortion: the Myths, the Realities, and the Arguments, Corpus Books, 1970