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Abortion – The Consistent Christian Position

For decades the question regarding the morality of abortion has been argued. The tide has almost consistently moved towards approving of abortion. To reach this point activists have utilized massive amounts of misinformation (lies I mean).

It was seen as an act of desperation, a last resort, and something approached with sadness and sobriety.

Now it is celebrated. As more and more rights are given to mothers to take the life of their unborn child, the crowds cheer! One public figure recently celebrated her favorite abortion clinic. Tragically she had used enough to have found a favorite.

The conversation has moved on from taking a life in the womb to debating how long after birth can a life be taken? Viability is no longer a matter of weeks in the womb, but has been extended to outside the womb. Some feel the abortion argument has been so firmly won that they now want to promote infanticide.

And why not? It was perfectly acceptable in previous societies. Why not ours? A study published in 1973 determined that 80% of past societies at least tolerated infanticide, even if they did not celebrate it.

Unless you closely follow this debate it may seem unimaginable to you, but I guarantee there is a growing chorus in favor of taking a child’s life even after they have been born.

What society once condemned, it now celebrates. We could draw up a long list of how a godless society frequently swings from one position to another, and then a few years later moves back again.

But Bible believing Christians have held the same position from the beginning. Abortion is wrong. If a medical effort to save a mother has the indirect effect of losing the child, then that has always been mourned, but understood. In such cases a life is not taken, but one is saved and the other lost.

Christians have always believed

  • Abortion is wrong.
  • Mothers should be helped.
  • Babies should be saved.
  • Children should be raised with love and compassion.

I want to share two quotes from 1st century believers who explain clearly that abortion is murder:

And when 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?

Athenagoras. (1885). A Plea for the Christians. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), B. P. Pratten (Trans.), Fathers of the Second Century: Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and Clement of Alexandria (Entire) (Vol. 2, p. 147). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

And secondly,

Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born.

Roberts, A., Donaldson, J., & Coxe, A. C. (Eds.). (1885). The Epistle of Barnabas. In The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 148). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.

May God help us to stand firmly, and with consistency and compassion fight for the life of the unborn and the defenseless.

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