Life: A Biblical Perspective

To: logos; rhema; Saundra Duffy

Abortion

The Catholic Church has always condemned abortion as a grave evil. Christian writers from the first-century author of the Didache to Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae ("The Gospel of Life") have maintained that the Bible forbids abortion, just as it forbids murder. This tract will provide some examples of this consistent witness from the writings of the Fathers of the Church.

As the early Christian writer Tertullian pointed out, the law of Moses ordered strict penalties for causing an abortion. We read, "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely [Hebrew: "so that her child comes out"], but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot" (Ex. 21:22–24).

This applies the lex talionis or "law of retribution" to abortion. The lex talionis establishes the just punishment for an injury (eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life, compared to the much greater retributions that had been common before, such as life for eye, life for tooth, lives of the offender’s family for one life).

The lex talionis would already have been applied to a woman who was injured in a fight. The distinguishing point in this passage is that a pregnant woman is hurt "so that her child comes out"; the child is the focus of the lex talionis in this passage. Aborted babies must have justice, too.

This is because they, like older children, have souls, even though marred by original sin. David tells us, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Ps. 51:5, NIV). Since sinfulness is a spiritual rather than a physical condition, David must have had a spiritual nature from the time of conception.

The same is shown in James 2:26, which tells us that "the body without the spirit is dead": The soul is the life-principle of the human body. Since from the time of conception the child’s body is alive (as shown by the fact it is growing), the child’s body must already have its spirit.

Thus, in 1995 Pope John Paul II declared that the Church’s teaching on abortion "is unchanged and unchangeable. Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his successors . . . I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written word of God, is transmitted by the Church’s tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal magisterium. No circumstance, no purpose, no law whatsoever can ever make licit an act which is intrinsically illicit, since it is contrary to the law of God which is written in every human heart, knowable by reason itself, and proclaimed by the Church" (Evangelium Vitae 62).

The early Church Fathers agreed. Fortunately, abortion, like all sins, is forgivable; and forgiveness is as close as the nearest confessional.

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" (Didache 2:1–2 [A.D. 70]).

The Letter of Barnabas

"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 [A.D. 74]).

The Apocalypse of Peter

"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 [A.D. 137]).

Athenagoras

"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 [A.D. 177]).

Tertullian

"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 [A.D. 197]).

"Among surgeons’ tools there is a certain instrument, which is formed with a nicely-adjusted flexible frame for opening the uterus first of all and keeping it open; it is further furnished with an annular blade, by means of which the limbs [of the child] within the womb are dissected with anxious but unfaltering care; its last appendage being a blunted or covered hook, wherewith the entire fetus is extracted by a violent delivery.

"There is also [another instrument in the shape of] a copper needle or spike, by which the actual death is managed in this furtive robbery of life: They give it, from its infanticide function, the name of embruosphaktes, [meaning] "the slayer of the infant," which of course was alive. . . .

"[The doctors who performed abortions] all knew well enough that a living being had been conceived, and [they] pitied this most luckless infant state, which had first to be put to death, to escape being tortured alive" (The Soul 25 [A.D. 210]).

"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" (ibid., 27).

"The law of Moses, indeed, punishes with due penalties the man who shall cause abortion [Ex. 21:22–24]" (ibid., 37).

Minucius Felix

"There are some [pagan] women who, by drinking medical preparations, extinguish the source of the future man in their very bowels and thus commit a parricide before they bring forth. And these things assuredly come down from the teaching of your [false] gods. . . . To us [Christians] it is not lawful either to see or hear of homicide" (Octavius 30 [A.D. 226]).

Hippolytus

"Women who were reputed to be believers began to take drugs to render themselves sterile, and to bind themselves tightly so as to expel what was being conceived, since they would not, on account of relatives and excess wealth, want to have a child by a slave or by any insignificant person. See, then, into what great impiety that lawless one has proceeded, by teaching adultery and murder at the same time!" (Refutation of All Heresies [A.D. 228]).

Lactantius

"When God forbids us to kill, he not only prohibits us from open violence, which is not even allowed by the public laws, but he warns us against the commission of those things which are esteemed lawful among men. . . . Therefore, let no one imagine that even this is allowed, to strangle newly-born children, which is the greatest impiety; for God breathes into their souls for life, and not for death. But men, that there may be no crime with which they may not pollute their hands, deprive [unborn] souls as yet innocent and simple of the light which they themselves have not given.

"Can anyone, indeed, expect that they would abstain from the blood of others who do not abstain even from their own? But these are, without any controversy, wicked and unjust" (Divine Institutes 6:20 [A.D. 307]).

Council of Ancyra

"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 fulfill ten years [of penance], according to the prescribed degrees" (canon 21 [A.D. 314]).

Basil the Great

"Let her that procures abortion undergo ten years’ penance, whether the embryo were perfectly formed, or not" (First Canonical Letter, canon 2 [A.D. 374]).

"He that kills another with a sword, or hurls an axe at his own wife and kills her, is guilty of willful murder; not he who throws a stone at a dog, and unintentionally kills a man, or who corrects one with a rod, or scourge, in order to reform him, or who kills a man in his own defense, when he only designed to hurt him. But the man, or woman, is a murderer that gives a philtrum, if the man that takes it dies upon it; so are they who take medicines to procure abortion; and so are they who kill on the highway, and rapparees" (ibid., canon 8).

John Chrysostom

"Wherefore I beseech you, flee fornication. . . . 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 you do not let continue a mere harlot, but make her a murderess also. You see how drunkenness leads to prostitution, prostitution to adultery, adultery to murder; or rather to a 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 do 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" (Homilies on Romans 24 [A.D. 391]).

Jerome

"I cannot bring myself to speak of the many virgins who daily fall and are lost to the bosom of the Church, their mother. . . . 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" (Letters 22:13 [A.D. 396]).

The Apostolic Constitutions

"Thou shalt not use magic. Thou shalt not use witchcraft; for he says, ‘You shall not suffer a witch to live’ [Ex. 22:18]. Thou shall not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is begotten. . . . [I]f it be slain, [it] shall be avenged, as being unjustly destroyed" (Apostolic Constitutions 7:3 [A.D. 400]).

21 posted on 07/23/2002 9:52:30 AM PDT by Salvation

To: Salvation; rhema; patent; Artist; lockeliberty

Presbyterians Pro-Life

Presbyterians and Abortion:
Historical Christian Perspectives

Christian Attitudes on Abortion:
The Testimony of Early and Recent History

Abortion seems to be a modern problem. Not surprisingly, however, it is a practice which is thousands of years old. And Christians of all ages have had to develop an appropriate response to their culture's practice of abortion.

Biblical and Jewish Foundations

Although abortion was practiced by ancient Israel's neighbors, there is absolutely no evidence that the ancient Hebrews ever practiced it. Several fundamental Hebrew beliefs contributed to this avoidance of abortion. Chief among these were the beliefs that God alone is Lord of the womb and that God forms and communes with the developing life in the womb (see especially Psalm 139). In other words, the womb is an inviolable place. The Hebrews also shunned abortion because God revealed himself as Creator and owner of each life and intolerant of innocent bloodshed. The Old Testament taught an ethic of justice defined as mercy toward the defenseless, and gave them a desire and duty to populate the earth.

This implicit anti-abortion perspective of the Old Testament became explicit in early Judaism. The biblical themes already mentioned led to specific condemnations of induced abortion. Philo, the philosopher, and Josephus, the historian and apologist, equated abortion with murder and infanticide. Popular Jewish writings condemned abortion, as well as exposure of newborns, as forms of immorality and social injustice.

The New Testament does not discuss abortion, or exposure, even though both were practiced at the time. First-century Christians took over Jewish opinion of abortion and exposure, and at first had no need to write about something which everyone took for granted. This is evidenced by the fact that the earliest Christian documents to mention (and condemn) abortion are revisions of Jewish documents.

The Early Church

Beginning about A.D. 100 we find a striking and unanimous voice from the early church on abortion. More than twenty Christian documents from the second to the fifth centuries A.D. discuss abortion, and every one--without exception--condemns the practice. These Christians did not hesitate to call abortion "infanticide," or "murder," or "something even worse than murder." Examples of this condemnation include:

"Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion." (Didache and Epistle of Barnabas, both early 2nd century), a prohibition directed at all Christians in these two guides to Christian life and worship.

"The fetus in the womb is . . . an object of God's care," and, "We say that women who induce abortions are murders, and will have to give account of it to God." (Athenagoras, late 2nd century)

"In our case, murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb." (Tertullian, late 2nd century)

"There are women who . . . [are] committing infanticide before they give birth to the infant" (Minucious Felix, early 3rd century)

"Those . . . who give drugs causing abortion are [deliberate murderers] themselves, as well as those receiving the poison which kills the fetus" (Basil, 4th century)

We find themes coming up again and again in these and other texts on abortion.

First, Christians viewed the unborn as the creation of God to be protected, not killed. Christians emphasized that each unborn was a distinct life.

The second theme arose from the first: abortion is murder. As the examples above illustrate, early Christianity condemned abortion as an act of violence which was nothing less than murder.

This theme led to a third, that those who obtain, and those who perform, abortions are guilty before God and will suffer the consequences of their sin.

Christian opposition to abortion first developed in Jewish-Christian communities where human sexuality was highly valued but immorality and innocent bloodshed abhorred. Respect for the womb was deepened because of the incarnation and the gospel stories of Jesus' birth; concern for mercy and justice toward the defenseless was heightened because of Jesus' ministry of compassion; and abhorrence of bloodshed was enlarged by Jesus' teachings.

Early Christian opposition to abortion arose from a belief in mercy and justice which permeated early Christian teaching. Christians were characterized by their inclusion of the "least" of their brothers and sisters as members of the human community. Abortion was a sin against the most vulnerable of innocents created in God's image.

To care for the unborn was but one manifestation of Christian concern for the poor and weak, mandated by the Scriptures and the incarnation. To follow Jesus, therefore, was to forsake bloodshed. This goal was most succinctly expressed by Athenagoras who claimed that Christians have given up performing or watching any act of violence: "We are altogether consistent in our conduct."

Some Recent Developments

Before the 1960s, few Christians supported abortion. It is virtually impossible to find any Christian theologian of note who endorsed abortion except where the life of the mother was in immediate danger. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote,

Destruction of the embryo in the mother's womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed upon this nascent life. To raise the question whether we are here concerned already with a human being or not is merely to confuse the issue. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. And that is nothing but murder.

Karl Barth, writing a the time of Hitler's holocaust, said,

The unborn child is from the very first a child. It is still developing and has no independent life. But it is a man and not a thing, nor a mere part of the mother's body . . . He who destroys germinating life kills a man . . . The fact that a definite NO must be the presupposition of further discussion cannot be contested, least of all today.

Helmut Thielecke, Otto Piper, Paul Ramsey and George Williams have all written to the same effect: abortion is the taking of a human life. Harold O. J. Brown writes, "There is no Protestant of remotely similar distinction who endorses abortion."

In the last decade some mainline denominations have modified the stands they took in support of abortion during the sixties and seventies.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1992 retreated from calling abortion "an act of stewardship before God," to recognizing that "The strong Christian presumption is that since all life is precious to God, we are to preserve and protect it. Abortion ought to be an option of last resort. The large number of abortions in this society is a grave concern to the church." Nevertheless, our General Assembly asks us to approve whatever decision a woman makes in a problem pregnancy.

Crisis pregnancy centers exist in numbers greater than abortion providers today as witness of Christians who have put their faith to work. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) suggested in 1986 that each presbytery designate at least one church to serve as a "resource center for alternatives to abortion."

Material for this pamphlet draws from the book Abortion and the Early Church, by Michael Gorman, (IV Press, 1982).

Home	About PPL	Contact PPL	Topical Index	PPL Publications
Pregnant? We’ll Help	Adoption Resources	PPL NEWS Articles	Order Resources	Prayer Calendar

I do not vouch for the links at the end of the article.

22 posted on 07/23/2002 10:14:34 AM PDT by logos

Several fundamental Hebrew beliefs contributed to this avoidance of abortion. Chief among these were the beliefs that God alone is Lord of the womb and that God forms and communes with the developing life in the womb (see especially Psalm 139). In other words, the womb is an inviolable place. The Hebrews also shunned abortion because God revealed himself as Creator and owner of each life and intolerant of innocent bloodshed.

Peter Leithart's Attacking the Tabernacle is an excellent exposition of that Psalm 139 passage.

23 posted on 07/23/2002 10:38:05 AM PDT by rhema

To: ArrogantBustard; Salvation

Thanks guys..I am thinking of becoming more active in the prolife movement up here in the fall

24 posted on 07/23/2002 11:03:55 AM PDT by RnMomof7

To: logos; RnMomof7

25 posted on 07/23/2002 12:47:07 PM PDT by Jerry_M

Thanks guys..I am thinking of becoming more active in the prolife movement up here in the fall

Wonderful. Educate the sheeple!

26 posted on 07/23/2002 6:51:11 PM PDT by Salvation

I don't know what I would actually say to an individual mother with these excuses, but this is what I'm thinking when I hear them:

"I've got to finish my education and 'this' would be too difficult."

What type of education have you had so far, where you where you think it is ok to kill an innocent human being, your own child, in order (you assume) to finish that education? What kind of "education" is that? What kind of "education" will you have when you "finish" it? I don't know, but part of that education will be the everlasting sorrow of a dead baby whose blood is on your hands. You will never forget it, as long as you live.

"The SOB who did this to me is no good and I don't want any more to do with him nor do I want any reminders of him in my life"

So you think that ripping your baby to shreds will make you forget your fornications with the father? Do you think someone should have the right to murder you because you might remind them of something they once did?

"I'm married, my husband and I have been going through some tough times, and this is not his baby."

So you think that comitting murder will cover your sin of adultery?

"I was doing drugs and was drinking a lot during the time I had relations and I'm sure that has affected the 'fetus.' "

So if you even think that someone MIGHT possibly be sick or MIGHT have a handicap, you think they should be slaughtered like a pig? How would you feel if someone wanted to treat YOU that way?

Cordially

27 posted on 07/25/2002 12:48:45 PM PDT by Diamond

In other words, we must not only speak as Christians - we must live as Christians.

Now you've gone too far! ;^)

28 posted on 07/25/2002 1:10:47 PM PDT by ksen

Hello Diamond,

I was having major software problems with my computer (Windows 98 was all jazzed up), just got it back a few minutes ago from the computer geeks, so I apoloigize for this hastilly written note. I've still got to reinstall Word and all the other stuff.

The vast majority of women/girls who come in seeking abortion are very tender misguided young people. Many of them are tearful over their situation and so the couselors must be in tune with them and structure their approach around each individual case. Although Our Redeemer was always harsh with His adversaries, the Pharisees, you'll remember how compassionate, yet cautioning, He was with the adulturous woman at the well.

Our objective is not only to 'save' that baby, but to 'save' the woman as well. Solid communication skills, empathy, compassion, gentleness, true charity etc are indispensible qualities for those working on the frontlines.

BTW, the couseling work itself is definitely more suited for women and all our couselors are female. They can interact much better with the female clients. However, men play a critical supportive role in the work, i.e., fundraising, promotion, drivers, administration etc.

29 posted on 07/25/2002 4:03:12 PM PDT by Sock

Although Our Redeemer was always harsh with His adversaries, the Pharisees, you'll remember how compassionate, yet cautioning, He was with the adulturous woman at the well.

Yes, Sock, of course you are absolutely right. I'm just ranting. I cannot argue with you. I know that a lot of these mothers are completely deceived and terribly afraid, and I know in my heart that the truth should be spoken in love. I know that you guys do a terrific and heroic job on the front lines. I have met some of the children you have saved from the abortionists' knives. I think I would probably be a terrible counselor because I just find it so appalling that this sick society 'legalizes' such gruesome and devastating barbarism.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your work, and the work of all those like you.

Cordiallty,

30 posted on 07/25/2002 6:27:33 PM PDT by Diamond

To: Diamond; Sock

Long time no see, friend. I, too, came up with some quick answers to the "dilemmas" reported by Sock, but because of my background in a somewhat related field I suspected that they would have to be modified according to the individual case. My suspicion (Sock may verify or not) is that the younger the prospective mother, the more likely her "reason" for abortion was given to her by someone else; i.e., her mother, her boyfriend, a so-called school counselor, etc., and is therefore one she might not be all that adamant about from a personal basis.

Anyway, after a long absence, I'm back on the forum, and it's good to see you're still around.

31 posted on 07/26/2002 6:16:55 AM PDT by logos

It's great to see you back, logos!

...the younger the prospective mother, the more likely her "reason" for abortion was given to her by someone else; i.e., her mother, her boyfriend, a so-called school counselor, etc.

I suspect that is case, also. The abortion-killing industry's stock-in-trade is fear, and they will always have a ready-made supply of rationalizations.

To me abortion reveals just how fallen and debased unregenerate human nature is at its core. What gruesome brutality and suffering is so easily and reflexively inflicted on others when fear is combined with ignorance, basic human selfishness, and the easy availablity of raw, unbridled power over other human beings!

Sometimes I wonder how much veneer there is really left of any type of a Christian civilization that is being eaten away by such a virulent, lord-of-the-flies ethos:^(

Cordially,

32 posted on 07/26/2002 7:44:21 AM PDT by Diamond

To: logos; Diamond

My suspicion (Sock may verify or not) is that the younger the prospective mother, the more likely her "reason" for abortion was given to her by someone else; i.e., her mother, her boyfriend, a so-called school counselor, etc., and is therefore one she might not be all that adamant about from a personal basis.

You are absolutely correct, Logos.

Of course, the reason that is given is not usually the true reason for wanting an abortion. Oftentimes, for these young people, it’s the FEAR of their parents, boyfriend, relatives, husband and others who see this unborn child as a burden for themselves and not “just” to the expectant mother. Young girls (over 18) who elect to “keep” will sometimes choose to live in a neutral setting during their pregnancy, with the understanding that the baby will be given up for adoption when he/she is born. The mother then returns to her former environment and nobody (except for her) knows the truth. These are some of the most dramatic cases that I’ve ever witnessed. The mother and adoptive parents will sometimes meet together several months after the birth, and you can only imagine the emotion that fills our office during that reunion.

BTW: I should mention to you that I am not a counselor. We have a total of 20 counselors (some full - some part time). But, there are several hundred men and women who volunteer regularly or sometimes just once or twice a year during our major fundraising drives. Added to that, are thousands of benefactors who can't devote their time but they contribute regularly to the work.

My experience is in fundraising, administration, answering phones and making appointments at one of the offices. Gentleness is the key in dealing with these young women and I do my best. Still, I believe the women do much better than me. :-)

33 posted on 07/26/2002 11:39:17 AM PDT by Sock

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794