| All rights reserved. |
KevinGlenn.net
issues: abortion -1
issues: abortion -1
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Issues
Abortion part 1
Abortion is arguably the most divisive issue in our nation. The last two Supreme Court
nominees’ were questioned vigorously on their position regarding this issue above any
other.
Each side is guilty of extremism. Pro-lifers threaten and intimidate young women in
crisis pregnancy situations, while pro-choice proponents lobby for measures that make
getting an abortion for teenagers easier than getting an aspirin from the school nurse.
Is there a way to avoid the extremes and think clearly about this issue?
What do you think about the issue?
Abortion and Scripture
The scriptures do not record teaching from Jesus about abortion; nor does the Bible as
a whole tackle the issue directly.
How do you respond to this?
How would you apply a Biblical principal to an issue not directly addressed in the Bible?
Relevant Biblical Passages to consider
Old Testament
"If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely 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, burn for burn, wound for
wound, bruise for bruise. Exodus 21:22-25
“Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's
breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my
God.” Psalm 22:9-10
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise
you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know
that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed
body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came
to be.” Psalm 139:13-16
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I
appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5
New Testament
“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his
kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a
virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of
God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who
was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:
31-37
Extra-Biblical Sources
Didache 2:2- “Do not kill a fetus by abortion or kill a newborn infant.”
Epistle of Barnabas 19:5-“You shall not abort a child, nor again, commit infanticide.”
Jesus’ Teachings
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone
who murders will be subject to judgment.' Matthew 5:21-26,
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do
not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the
other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your
cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the
one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Matthew 5:38-42
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell
you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons
of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward
will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your
brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be
perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
• Jesus references here a general mandate regarding violence against others (21-
26),
• a window into the cycle that produces such violence (38-42),
• and an initiative that brings humanity back to an obedience that preserves and
cherishes human life (43-48).
How do these passages reflect God’s heart for the sacredness of human life?
The question posed by believers and non-believers alike is this: Is the developing child
a human being?
Is he or she a part of the “one another” Jesus calls us to stop hurting and killing? Or
should the moral status of the conceived-yet-not-born child be understood differently?
Next time we’ll examine the issue of Fetal Personhood.
• How are spontaneous abortions and elective abortions morally different?
• Is the developing Human Being actually a Human Person?
• What’s the difference?
• Does it matter?
Abortion part 1
Abortion is arguably the most divisive issue in our nation. The last two Supreme Court
nominees’ were questioned vigorously on their position regarding this issue above any
other.
Each side is guilty of extremism. Pro-lifers threaten and intimidate young women in
crisis pregnancy situations, while pro-choice proponents lobby for measures that make
getting an abortion for teenagers easier than getting an aspirin from the school nurse.
Is there a way to avoid the extremes and think clearly about this issue?
What do you think about the issue?
Abortion and Scripture
The scriptures do not record teaching from Jesus about abortion; nor does the Bible as
a whole tackle the issue directly.
How do you respond to this?
How would you apply a Biblical principal to an issue not directly addressed in the Bible?
Relevant Biblical Passages to consider
Old Testament
"If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely 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, burn for burn, wound for
wound, bruise for bruise. Exodus 21:22-25
“Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's
breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my
God.” Psalm 22:9-10
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise
you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know
that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed
body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came
to be.” Psalm 139:13-16
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I
appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5
New Testament
“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his
kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a
virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of
God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who
was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:
31-37
Extra-Biblical Sources
Didache 2:2- “Do not kill a fetus by abortion or kill a newborn infant.”
Epistle of Barnabas 19:5-“You shall not abort a child, nor again, commit infanticide.”
Jesus’ Teachings
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone
who murders will be subject to judgment.' Matthew 5:21-26,
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do
not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the
other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your
cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the
one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Matthew 5:38-42
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell
you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons
of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward
will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your
brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be
perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
• Jesus references here a general mandate regarding violence against others (21-
26),
• a window into the cycle that produces such violence (38-42),
• and an initiative that brings humanity back to an obedience that preserves and
cherishes human life (43-48).
How do these passages reflect God’s heart for the sacredness of human life?
The question posed by believers and non-believers alike is this: Is the developing child
a human being?
Is he or she a part of the “one another” Jesus calls us to stop hurting and killing? Or
should the moral status of the conceived-yet-not-born child be understood differently?
Next time we’ll examine the issue of Fetal Personhood.
• How are spontaneous abortions and elective abortions morally different?
• Is the developing Human Being actually a Human Person?
• What’s the difference?
• Does it matter?