Rev. David Holwick Baptist Youth Fellowship
November 16, 1997 (Bible study) Ledgewood, New Jersey
THE BIBLE AND ABORTION
I. The Old Testament and abortion.
A. Punishment for death of unborn child. Exodus 21:22-25
1) Option #1: Serious injury concerns child.
a) Lesser injury to premature child involves a fine.
b) Death involves capital punishment.
c) Therefore a punishment for (unintended) abortion.
2) Option #2: Serious injury involves mother only.
a) Only death of mother leads to capital punishment.
b) Death of child leads to a fine, therefore not on same
level as murder.
c) Other laws in Old Testament may hint at different values
for different lives, ie., men vs. women, slave vs. free.
B. Individual consciousness before birth.
1) Jeremiah was called to be a prophet before birth. (In fact,
before conception.) Jeremiah 1:5
C. Fetuses are ultimately creations of God, not humans.
1) He knits us in our mother's womb. Job 31:15; Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:1
2) To die in the mother's womb is a real death (not just a loss
of mother's tissue.) Jeremiah 20:17 (cf. Job 3:11-16)
II. New Testament and abortion.
A. John the Baptist had a consciousness in the womb that is
independent of his mother. Luke 1:41,45
B. Holy Spirit came on Mary at conception, not at birth. Matt 1:20
C. Why is New Testament silent on actual practice of abortion?
1) Abortion was widespread among Romans and Greeks.
a) Infanticide was even more common.
2) Some argue the New Testament is silent because the writers
considered it a matter of individual choice.
3) More likely, it is silent because Jews were united against
abortion and it had not become an issue in the church.
a) The N.T. tends to speak on issues that are "hot," and
does not cover every ethical issue.
b) When abortion did become an issue, the early Church was
firmly opposed to it.
1> Abortion is condemned in the Didache, Gospel of Peter,
and other early writings (second century A.D.).
2> Christians took in children who were abandoned.
III. The Humanistic basis of abortion.
A. The primary motive for the acceptance of abortion is our society's
preference of autonomy (freedom) over responsibility.
B. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was a
Malthusian socialist who regarded poor people as "human weeds"
to be sterilized whenever possible. She felt that "the most
merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant
members is to kill it." She was closely connected with the
"race purification" scientists of the Nazi party, being
convinced the "inferior races" were a "menace to civilization."
C. "Right to choose" or "right to life"?
1) The "right to choose" only makes sense if fetuses are merely
the mother's tissue. If fetuses are in any sense human then
the right to life must take precedence over the right to choose.
2) "Roe vs. Wade" takes an in-between stance, giving preference
to mother's choice during first 3 months, but preference
to the fetus in the last 3 months.
IV. Christians and Extra-Legal movements. (Operation Rescue)
A. The Bible teaches that human government is not the highest
authority -- God is.
1) The Hebrew midwives disobeyed Pharaoh's command and spared the
Jewish babies. Exodus 1:16-17
2) Government has God's authority, but only so long as it
encourages what is good and punishes evil. Romans 13
3) Government has a tendency toward usurping God's authority
and persecuting His people. Rev. 13
B. Extra-legal movements have a long tradition among American Christians.
1) Abolition of slavery. 1860's
a) Abolitionists openly defied laws, saying freedom was a
higher law.
b) Abolitionists were also despised by general population.
2) Civil Rights movement. 1960's
a) Protests were non-violent but also non-legal, such as
sit-ins and illegal rallies.
b) Leaders such as Martin Luther King appealed to a higher
moral code or consciousness among white Americans.
C. Extra-legal methods raise disturbing questions.
1) Should Christians force their views on others?
2) If abortion is morally wrong, is bombing an abortion clinic
morally correct?
V. Christians and compassion.
A. Abortion is a singularly divisive issue.
B. Christians must stand up for the rights of the weak. Psalm 82:3,4
1) If we do not, God will hold us accountable. Proverbs 24:11-12
C. Even if morally wrong, Christians must love those who disagree
and offer forgiveness.
D. Opposition to abortion is only one aspect of the struggle;
believers must also provide alternatives that enhance life.
(Originally January 19, 1993)
