Monday, November 12, 2012
I wanted to share this on here because I think that it is something that pro-lifer's need to see and I wouldn't mind hearing your opinions on this as well. I recently shared one of the graphics that I made on another Pro-life site on Facebook. I'm getting use to having pro-aborts attack me for some of my Pro-life graphics and views that just goes with it I know. However some of these pro-abortion people were actually trying to quote scripture from the Bible that they want to say supports abortion or that shows that unborn children in the womb are not as valuable to God as born people are. Now I have heard this argument before so that didn't shock me but this is something that all Pro-lifer's need to know how to address if and when it comes up for them, I think this is especially true if you are a Christian! Now all of this came about from me simply posting this Pro-life graphic of Jesus with the Scripture from Matthew 18:10 on it.
I won't post the names of those that made the comments but here are a few of the the comments from where I posted this graphic...
2. "Do any of you people actually read the Bible??? Jesus actually said children, not babies. It's a different word in both Aramaic and Hebrew. The other thing you may not know is that they didn't have ultrasounds back in Jesus's time. Just sayin'."
And then there was this very lengthy one that quotes a lot of scriptures trying to make their pro-abortion stance and dehumanize the unborn baby.
I am so tired of people pulling out the "don't judge" card if you are stating something that they don't want to hear regardless of it's the the truth or not. And this kind of apathy and political correctness and SILENCE from Christians is in large part why the world is in the mess that it is in today! And why abortion has continued!
People take this one scripture "Judge not, that you be not judged" Matthew 7:1 out of context not even bothering to read the rest of the scripture after it or look at anything else that Jesus and his apostles teach throughout the rest of the New Testament and try to keep people silent on anything and everything that they don't want to hear about or agree with. Saying that by speaking what we believe or stating the facts and truth that we are judging them and by doing so that we are sinning by trying to help and teach others.
So here is my answer to that post.
I was not judging anyone by making this graphic. I've said it before I'll say it again this is a direct quote of Jesus in Matt. 18:10 from the KJV of the Bible. I am a sinner too and I am no one’s judge I never claimed to be. However since you brought up the topic I will address it because you have quoted quite a few scriptures here but you are taking many out of context and only using part of them to try to support your support of abortion. There are several fallacies to your arguments and they are your fallacies not the Bibles. People can not take scripture out of context and only in parts and try to make them say something that they did not.
Jesus did indeed say... "Judge not, that you be not judged" Matthew 7:1.
However you aren't finishing out the scripture (as many people do in today's society) that wasn't all that Jesus said, he continued...
Matthew 7:2-5 KJV
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Note that the verse goes on after the first verse to tell us how we should judge and the clear message is that we should judge fairly. Matt 7:1 has to be interpreted both in light of the context of the surrounding text as well as the whole of scripture. If read in its entirety - we can see that what Jesus was forbidding was unrighteous judgment, not all judging.
Does this mean we are never to judge or try to help our fellow brothers and sisters learn differently if they are living or doing something that could hurt them or that is not according to God's word?
Certainly not, for Jesus also said:
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" John 7:24.
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" John 7:24.
We are commanded to exercise righteous judgment. We are forbidden to judge when we are not qualified to do so. If we tell someone what the Bible says about something that they are doing that is wrong then it is not us judging them but God's word that judges them. Telling others what the Bible says and what Jesus teaches is not judging them its in fact doing exactly what Jesus commanded us to do...
Matthew 28:19-20 KJV
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
That is not placing a stumbling block in front of our brothers and sisters it is teaching them Christ's word and his will as he commanded us to do! That is removing the stumbling blocks from in front of them not putting more before them.
Paul said in I Corinthians 1:10 "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." Judging is not a sin; judging is a characteristic of being a spiritual person! Satan has been lying to us, hoping that we will NOT judge others that we will be silent and let sin abound. Because he knows that the right kind of judgment pleases God and leads others from darkness to light and from death to life. Teaching people the truth is what a Christian is called to do.
1 Corinthians 6:1-5 KJV
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
Paul actually rebuked the Corinthians for NOT judging: If judging is wrong, then Paul needs to confess and repent for misleading these Christians! He clearly told them to JUDGE PEOPLE.
And I won't go into at length all the other Scriptures that show that we are to use righteous judgement but here are several that you should read...
Eph 4:11-19, John 4:1, Rev.2:1-3, Acts 20:28-31 and there are many more.
NOW to the scriptures that you referenced that you were trying to say support abortion...
The arguments that you are making in Exodus 21:22-25 and the others you have listed are all standard texts abortion advocates use trying to discredit the full humanity of the unborn. But these are false claims and not what the Bible teaches at all. Again these are taken out of context and a spin put on them that the Bible simply doesn't teach.
Exodus 21: 22-25 KJV...
22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
But this argument that the baby's life isn't somehow as valuable as the mother's or that God doesn't esteem the child's life as much as anyone else's is false and is flawed on several counts.
First, assuming the pro-abortion interpretation of this passage is correct (i.e. that the unborn's death is treated differently than the mother's), it does not follow that the unborn are not fully human. And in the next few verses after these verses listed the Bible presents a situation where a master unintentionally kills his slave and escapes with no penalty at all (the lack of intent being proven by the interval between the blow and the death.). Yet few liberals would argue that Scripture considers the slave to be less than human. It might be argued that both the slave and the unborn child had a lesser social status in Hebrew society, but it cannot be demonstrated from this that a lesser social status meant that one was less than fully human or that that is the way that God saw them because in many other instances in the Bible we see that God does not think that any person is more valuable than another he is no respecter of persons as in a persons social standing, their age, race, etc.
This single passage cannot be used to invalidate other Scriptures which confer full human status on the unborn. Passages such as Job 3:3,10-16, Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:5, Galatians 1:15, etc. all treat the unborn as persons and their lives as sacred and precious in God's eyes. The abortion advocate must somehow reconcile his own interpretation of this passage with these other Scriptures which are clearly not supportive of his view.
Finally, the pro-abortion interpretation of this passage (that a person who kills an unborn child only incurs a fine and therefore the child's life isn't as important as or considered as valuable as the mothers) has come under heavy fire from many Biblical scholars. They usually use a translation of the Bible like the NIV which interprets that same scripture as...
Exodus 21:22-25 New International Version (NIV)
22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely[a] but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows.
23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
There is a great deal of discussion about the phrase, "no serious injury." "No serious injury to whom?" asks theologian R.C. Sproul. Liberals, of course, argue that the phrase only applies to the mother. But only a few translations, such as the Jerusalem Bible, actually interpret the verse in this way. When read in the original Hebrew, the passage seems to suggest that both the mother and the child are covered by the lex talionis -- the law of retribution. The Hebrew term ason (harm/injury) is clearly indefinite in its reference, and the expression lah(to her), which would restrict the word "injury" only to the mother, is missing. Hence, the phrase, "no serious injury" seems to apply equally to both mother and child and if either is harmed the penalty is "life for life, tooth for tooth, hand for hand," etc. According to Hebrew scholar Dr. Gleason Archer, "There is no second class status attached to the fetus under this rule. The fetus is just as valuable as the mother." (Cited in J. Ankerberg and J. Weldon,When Does Life Begin, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1989 pp. 195-6. See also, Meredith Kline, "Lex Talionis & the Human Fetus," Simon Greenleaf Law Review 5 [1985-1986] pp.73-89.)
Genesis 2:7. the argument for "breath" (nephesh). The argument goes that the first man, Adam, became a living soul when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. So pro-abortion people like to try to claim that since the unborn don't "breathe" until birth, they are not fully human. This argument is completely absurd and false.
First, it is scientifically imprecise to say that the unborn do not 'breathe' until birth. From conception forward, the unborn child receives and transfers oxygen, though not through the lungs. What changes at birth is the mode of breathing: instead of receiving oxygen through the placenta, the child begins to breathe through its lungs. Hence, the argument can be made that birth does not mark the beginning of human respiration.
Second, if the ability to sustain oxygen through the lungs is what indeed makes one human, then all those dependent on ventilators and oxygen machines would have to be classed as non-human and according to pro-aborts could be killed too if this logic were true.
Finally, the analogy between Adam and the unborn child does not fit. The creation of Adam was a unique historical event in which God formed Adam from inanimate matter (dust) and then breathed into him the "breath of life." The unborn child is not created in the same manner that Adam was. The unborn child is a living entity from conception. Hence, the passage does nothing to discredit the humanity of the unborn.
The accounts of the creation of man and woman in Genesis (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:4-25) tell us this: "God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27).
The image of God! This is what it means to be human being! We are not just a bunch of cells randomly thrown together by some impersonal or unseen forces. Rather, we really reflect an eternal God who knew us from before we were made, and purposely called us into being.
The unborn are children and alive and just as valuable as born children and adults are to God. God created them and knows the unborn personally. The Bible does not speak of the unborn child as an unthinking, unfeeling tissue mass, but as a person with whom God interacts.
Jeremiah 1:4-5
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Psalm 139:13-16
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Scripture gives identity to unborn human life. Psalm 139 - notice the spiritual relationship the psalmist has while in the womb "The psalmist surveys his life in four stages: Past, present, future, and before birth, and in all four refers to himself as 'I.' He who is writing as a full-grown man has the same personal identity as the fetus in his mother's womb." (John R.W. Stott)
Psalm 22:9-10
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
These verses do not distinguish between "potential life" and "actual life" when referring to the pre-born. Genesis 16:11; Isaiah 46:3-4; Psalm 22:9-10 (Notice in Psalm 22:10. "From my mother's womb you have been my God.")
Jesus is spoken of in the womb. Matthew 1:20-21 (Note: The incarnation is the most compelling Christian apologetic for the sanctity of unborn human life. To argue that life does not begin at conception must lead one to assume that the human Christ was at one point a "potentially human" Christ. Those who say that life does not begin at conception are in direct opposition to the teachings of the Bible.
Scripture uses the same language for the unborn as it does other children. Luke's gospel uses the word "baby" or "child" (Gr. brephos ) to describe John the Baptist prior to his birth. We are told in 1:41 and 1:44 that the "baby" (brephos) leapt in Elizabeth's womb. But one chapter later (2:12,16), the already born Christ child is also referred to as a "baby"(brephos ). Since brephos is commonly used to describe infants and older children (Luke 18:15, Acts 7:19, 1 Peter 2:2), Luke's use of the word for the pre-born John the Baptist is not without significance.
The Old Testament, meanwhile, uses variations of the word "child" or "children" for both the born and unborn, and in several instances applies personal language to the conceived embryo. Job said (3:3), "May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, 'a male child is conceived."' [Hebrew word gebher [man child] is used here to describe Job at the point of conception. The word is often used for adult males, but is applied here to a conceived embryo.] As Beckwith observes, "This passage connects the individual born with the individual conceived." Job is clearly using personal language to trace his humanity back beyond birth to the act of conception.
And there are many more scriptures which show that both God and Jesus value all human life and that it is sacred, precious, and a gift from God himself. God and Jesus do not condone or approve of abortion which is the killing of an innocent human being. There are countless times that murder is condemned by both in the Bible.
God’s own finger writes in stone the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17) and Christ reaffirms it (Matthew 19:18 - notice that He mentions this commandment first). The Book of Revelation affirms that (unrepentant) murderers cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (Revelation 22:15). It's addressed in many other places as well but I won't go into that further these show sufficiently what their stance on life is.
There is no verse in the Bible where God or Jesus condones or allows for abortion.
*References and quotes also used from...
http://www.priestsforlife.org/speakersmanual/ch4theologicalcasebible.htm (I'm not Catholic but they show the position perfectly on many points on trying to use scripture to support abortion. So some of my response is direct quotes from this site.)
Germain Grisez,Abortion: the Myths, the Realities, and the Arguments, Corpus Books, 1970, pp. 123-127 for a lengthy discussion of this point.)
Cited in J. Ankerberg and J. Weldon,When Does Life Begin, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1989 pp. 195-6. See also, Meredith Kline, "Lex Talionis & the Human Fetus," Simon Greenleaf Law Review 5 [1985-1986] pp.73-89.)
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Thank you so much for this excellent post; I have been frustrated in the past by seeing such twisting of the Bible!
ReplyDeleteHi Aura Lea you are very welcome! I'm so glad that you liked the post. It really bothers me when people try to use the Bible to support abortion God would never be in support of anything evil like abortion.
ReplyDelete