As we begin a new semester, we're going to move from an examination of the foundation of moral thinking to an application of moral thinking. We're going to do this by spending time on various ethical issues that are not just critical issues, but issues that are discussed frequently in our culture.
We're going to begin by spending several weeks on the topic of abortion.
SIGNIFICANCE
Now abortion isn't just a hot-button topic, a lot hangs in the balance: human life. Of course, whether you believe that abortion is killing or not, we can all agree that millions of people don't exist today because of abortion. And obviously, if you do believe that abortion equates to murder, then this topic is of great significance.
To put some of this in perspective and emphasize the fact that a lot rests on how what you think of this issue, I want to share a few statistics.
A report came out recently with some astonishing numbers relating to the issue. You can view details of the report here. Here's some of the numbers that the research revealed.
- There have been 1 billion abortions worldwide in the last 100 years.
- There are roughly 12.5 million abortions every year
- Every six months of abortions is equal to the total death toll of the holocaust (about 6 million).
- Labeled the "greatest genocide in history."
- The numbers do not include abortions caused by abortifacient forms of contraceptives.
These are staggering numbers when you slow down to think about it. To make it more personal, consider this. For the purpose of illustration, let's suppose for a moment that 10 billion people have been born in the last 100 years (considering the current world population and birth rates, this isn't a bad guess). Now, if 1 billion babies have been aborted in that same time period, that would mean that somewhere around 1 out of every 10ish people who are born don't actually make it because of abortion. Since Dinner and Dialogue took place amongst a group of about 20, we were able to suppose for the sake of argument that there were perhaps 2 people missing from our group because of abortion. Obviously such a claim can't be proven, but the point remains: more abortions occur than what we'd normally think.
AN ATTITUDE OF LOVE
Before we derive our opinion on this topic from Scripture, it's important that we make note of something very important.
Because abortion is a very sensitive issue, and one that many deal with and have dealt with personally, we must be extremely loving in how we talk about it and interact with people who've dealt with it. Why? Because God extends love and forgiveness towards people who have gone through this. Our attitude should be the same.
THE BIBLICAL ARGUMENT
But we still need to know what to believe on the issue. In this first part of our abortion discussions, we're going to address what the Bible says our stance should be. In future weeks, we'll take other approaches to enhance our understanding of this topic.
Let's begin by looking at a few verses that discuss the value of life. Why is life important?
God formed us! Psalm 139:13-16 - "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." This seems to imply a preciousness to life - especially unborn life.
God knew us! Jeremiah 1:5 - "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."
God made us in His image! Genesis 1:27 - "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." We are created in the image of God. That alone assigns incredible value.
God wants us to have life! John 10:10 - "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." This verse contrasts Satan's efforts to destroy and God's value for life.
Now, none of these verses say "abortion is bad" but they show the sanctity of life and even seem to imply a problem with abortion. But let's look at two verses that address the topic more directly.
Jeremiah 20:17 - "For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever." Some believe that abortion is fine because an unborn child is not alive. However, this verse talks about being killed in the womb. But you obviously cannot "kill" something that's not alive. Therefore, this verse insinuates that unborn babies are in fact alive.
Exodus 21:22-25 - "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."
Some translations of this passage are used to eliminate the notion that this is a pro-life verse. Above is the NIV version that seems to be translated to incorporate the original meaning of the text. If you do an in-depth study of this passage, you see that this verse is best understood as written below.
Exodus 21:22-25 (enhanced to emphasize original meaning) - "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury (to the woman or the baby), the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury (to the woman or the baby), 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."
John Piper has a great article that breaks down the original Hebrew words and meanings in this passage. You can find it here. But what this passage indicates is that if a baby dies in the womb, God saw it as a LIFE that was lost. Thus, abortion, which ends a life in the womb, would biblically qualify as murder.
CONCLUSION
What can we conclude?
- Abortion is a significant issue with millions of people dead because of it.
- We need to treat this topic with an extra dose of love.
- God values life.
- Abortion is murder.
