This is a big, big issue in America, today. I don’t know how great an issue it is elsewhere, but I do know it has separated brethren here in the United States. In fact, it has led to what I call the Presidential Cult of Trump! I don’t wish to make this argument political, because it is not. It is a religious issue, and more than this, it is a Biblical one. However, my point, in mentioning that it has become a cult issue in modern America, is that Evangelical Christianity has so embraced the anti-abortion issue that they simply cannot or will not see the evil President Trump is spreading in America, so long as he appoints conservative Supreme Court Justices to the highest court in our land. Thus, modern Evangelical Christianity in America has made this their political issue, believing that law is better than and more effective than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is wrong! This is dangerous! This is the kind of thing that leads to persecution by the state, with the approval of a religious entity.
Many Christians have either read or were told of the history of religious persecution, and we all condemn such things. We would claim that, if we were alive in our father’s day, we would not have taken part in such crimes against Christ (cp. Matthew 23:29-31). Yet, we seem so blind to what we do in his name today, refusing to consider the word of God, as our guide to knowledge about human life. Rather, we listen to the words of men. We think we know the truth already, and, therefore, we condemn others, because they commit “crimes” against our knowledge, i.e. against what we consider truth. Nevertheless, the truth, which we embrace, cannot withstand the test of Scripture. So, I must ask is abortion murder?
To be sure, this issue is not merely a modern controversy. It has been with us very early in the history of Christianity.[1] For example, the Didache, a second century AD Christian work, says:
You must not murder; nor give in to adultery; nor molest children; nor practice immorality; nor theft; nor a practitioner of black magic; nor a practitioner of witchcraft; nor a terminator of unborn children; nor any sort of infanticide; nor one who unlawfully seeks to take ownership of your neighbor’s possessions, [Didache 2:2 – emphasis mine]
The problem, as I understand the early apologetic works, is that they are all based upon the opinions of men. They are not based upon the Scriptures. Some do, indeed, seek to use the Scriptures to establish a greater foundation. For example, Tertullian, a late second (early third) century church father, argues:
“Now we allow that life begins with conception, because we contend that the soul also begins from conception; life taking its commencement at the same moment and place that the soul does” [The Soul 27]
It has also been argued by some that James 2:26 “the body without the spirit is dead” shows us that, since the fetus is living within the womb of the woman, it must have a spirit or is a person even before it is born. Nevertheless, this argument, as well as that of Tertullian above are pure conjecture. These are the doctrines of men. Of course, this alone doesn’t put those teachings in error, but the point is, they are not founded upon Scripture. Rather, they seek to cause Scripture to support their preconceived argument.
I am one who believes he must trust Scripture over the claims of men, regardless of their degrees of knowledge, whether scientific or religious. The word of God trumps the words of men, period. So, I point to the Scriptures to establish my understanding:
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life… (Exodus 21:22-23 KJV)
Many have sought to show “if mischief follow” points to the life of the child, i.e. if the child is hurt or killed, then it is life for life etc. Yet, this doesn’t seem logical. The woman’s life was in real danger, if she was hurt in such a struggle. Women often died during abortions, as noted by 2nd century church fathers. Even today, if a woman aborts a child without utilizing legitimate medical personnel, she places herself in a very dangerous position. The Scripture, Exodus 21:22, considers the woman’s health, not that of the fetus. All of the early rabbis interpreted Exodus 21:22 to be a miscarriage. The life of the child was lost, period. Therefore, the woman’s life was what was considered in the phrase: if any mischief follow. The only consideration of the unborn, therefore, would be the amount of the fine.
Another Scripture to consider is Leviticus 20:20-21. Here a man and a woman commit adultery, and, when they were found out, the judgment was that they would die childless (Leviticus 20:20-21). In other words, whether or not the woman was pregnant wasn’t a consideration! Although the woman may have been obviously pregnant when the adultery was found out, both the man and the woman were still stoned. Why would the Lord demand the death of a pregnant woman, if the unborn child was a person like those who had sinned? There is something more to being a living soul than mere life within the womb, which arguably is nothing more than the life of the woman extended to the fetus. Just as an amputation of an arm isn’t murder, neither is a miscarriage the death of a person nor could abortion be contextually called murder.
Finally, from the Septuagint (the Greek Old Covenant Scriptures) the Psalmist says: “I was cast upon you from (G1537; ek – out from) the womb; from out of the belly of my mother, you are my God.” (Psalms 22:10 LXX). The Greek word for from is ek (G1537) and means from, out of, by, away from, according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon. In other words, “You are my God once I was born!” A similar thought is found in Galatians 1:15, where Paul speaks about his call by God from the very moment of his birth. It seems clear, therefore, that our relationship with God begins at birth, according to the clear reading of these Scriptures. Therefore, I am compelled to believe this must be true, as it pertains to life in the womb. Abortion cannot legitimately be called murder, because a babe is not a person, until it is born and draws his or her first breath.
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[1] See The Letter of Barnabas 19; Athenagoras A Plea for Christians 35; Tertullian Apology 9:8; Soul 26 – all works are of the second and third centuries AD, and there are later works, as well, that would condemn abortion.
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