Is It Possible To Be A Christian And Pro-Abortion? Part 3

Many in the pro-life community are surprised when they learn that some Christians are pro-abortion (some inexplicitly, others explicitly). We’ve been exploring this issue in the last several posts: Is it possible to be a Christian and hold to a pro-abortion view? While we’ve concluded that it is possible (one can be a follower of Jesus Christ yet hold a view on various topics that is biblically wrong), we’ve also noted that to be a pro-abortion Christian is biblically incorrect and inconsistent with Scripture.

While this series is not intended to attack those with whom we disagree, it is designed to educate all Christians on what the Bible says about the sanctity of life. Scripture is clear that it is useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).

As I mentioned in my previous post, Scripture is inerrant—in other words, it’s without mistake or falsehood. To be a Christian, one must accept not only the inerrancy of Scripture, but also the tenet that Jesus is the Son of God whose death on the cross offers forgiveness of sins and a personal, intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe.

So how could true believers reconcile their pro-abortion position with the Word of God? Pro-abortion Christians commonly make the following general arguments:
The Bible doesn’t specifically prohibit abortion.
Scripture associates true life with breathing.
A child in the womb is not a complete person, but rather a “potential person.”
God commands people to be killed, thus He is not pro-life. Let’s address each idea from a biblical perspective:

1. The Bible Doesn’t Specifically Prohibit Abortion

While this statement is true, the Bible doesn’t specifically prohibit identity theft, Internet pornography, money laundering, suicide, or a host of other damaging activities either. As Paul noted in 2 Corinthians 3:6 (NASB), “God . . . made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” In other words, certain things are specifically outlined in the Bible, and there are also spiritual manifestations of those things, which often take on broader (but no less accurate) applications. We are given the ability to apply Scripture to situations in all times, all cultures, and all nations.

The Sixth Commandment (thou shall not kill or murder) makes abortion a nonissue. As we discovered last week, the Bible makes no discernable difference between life in the womb and life outside of it. The unjust taking of human life is explicitly forbidden in the Bible, and abortion is, by definition, the unjust taking of human life.

2. Scripture Associates True Life with Breathing

The argument is that since children in the womb do not breathe, they are not, in a biblical sense, truly alive.

Both Genesis 2:7 and Job 33:4 connect life with breath. However, there are many verses that speak of living and active creatures where there is no mention of breath. Consider when Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11:43-44) or when Elisha raised a dead man (2 Kings 13:21). In both cases a person was given life (or brought back from death), but there is no mention of breath. While breath is certainly an obvious sign of life, the Bible does not use breath as a criteria for life.

The obvious understanding of breath in the biblical sense is that it metaphorically represents all of the bodily functions required for life—heartbeat, kidney function, brain activity, cell division, and so on. Breath alone does not set these functions in motion, nor does the absence of breath—while ever so brief—stop these functions from fully operating. Therefore, while breath is related to life, it isn’t a criteria for life. It should then follow that a child inside the womb, while not breathing on its own, is still considered in the biblical sense to be fully alive.

Additionally, breathing provides us with the necessary oxygen for survival. A baby in utero receives the necessary elements for survival (including oxygen) through the mother. Though her lungs are filled with fluid in the womb, she is ingesting air through fluid and blood. So while the baby isn’t breathing through her lungs just yet, she is still receiving the life-giving oxygen through other means. The unborn baby needs the exact same element we do (oxygen); she just receives it in a miraculously different way.

3. A Child in the Womb Is Not a Complete Person, but Rather a “Potential Person”

So if the child in the womb is alive and a member of the human species, and if Scripture prohibits aborting it based on the Sixth Commandment, the only case left to be made by pro-abortion Christians is that the Bible does not qualify children in the womb as people. This argument has no valid scriptural backing and is merely a subjective modern assessment imposed on the unborn child.

In both the New and Old Testaments, the Bible uses the same words to describe the unborn, newborns, and youths. The Hebrew word yeled is used throughout the Old Testament referring to an unborn child (Exodus 21:22) as well as to a “youth” and even a “teenager.” Similarly, the New Testament Greek word brephos can be found in Luke 1:44, Luke 2:12, and Luke 18:15—all referring to varying stages of childhood development. Only recently has the term fetus been adopted to refer to a child in the womb. And even then its Latin derivative means “unborn human being.”

4. God Commands People to Be Killed, Thus He Is Not Pro-life

I receive emails to this effect fairly frequently from atheists or even pro-abortion Christians. The essence of the argument is this: sometimes God commanded entire peoples (including women and children) to be killed. He wiped out the entire planet (save Noah and his family) during the flood. Several times in Scripture we read how God used death as a judgment on people. So if He commanded the death of whole communities (presumably including pregnant women and their unborn children), then He isn’t pro-life. Thus, His people shouldn’t be pro-life either.

Space does not permit a full unpacking of this argument, but here are just a few thoughts:

This argument assumes that God and man are equals who should, therefore, abide by the same code. But the Bible makes it abundantly clear that God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8). His wisdom and plans are unsearchable; His sovereignty is inexplicable. However, He is eternally good, righteous, and holy. He is also just, and that justice sometimes takes the form of blood and death.

While it is easy to point the finger at God and accuse Him of treating human life glibly (which He never does), we should be quick to remind ourselves that sin has always demanded a blood punishment. This was the basis of Old Testament animal sacrifices. It is also on that basis that God sent His own Son to shed blood and die for our sins (1 Peter 3:18).

While it is difficult to read about God’s judgment of people through death, God’s Word makes it plain that He is longsuffering, patient, kind, loving, and compassionate (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 86:15; 1 Peter 3:20). God’s judgment through death was always applied when evil was abounding. And even then, His judgment was designed to awaken people to the depth of the evilness of sin and the abundant grace of God.

So while God did apply death as a judgment to various peoples, He eventually sent His own Son to die for our sake (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). And He gave clear instructions to His created beings to value life infinitely, to protect innocent life, and to save those who are unjustly being killed (Genesis 9:6).

Final Thoughts

It is not surprising when a secular society dehumanizes and devalues the unborn in order to justify their views on abortion. However, it is disturbing when people in the church distort Scripture or ignore God’s precepts in order to make it fit their own social or personal agendas—namely the propagation or continuation of abortion.

The pro-abortion position and the Christian faith are undeniably incompatible. And it is up to Bible-believing pro-life Christians to gently and lovingly reprove this erroneous belief system with a clear understanding of God’s Word. Every Christian must be willing and able to biblically defend our position on life. But most importantly, we should pray for those with whom we disagree, that God would soften their hearts toward the innocent unborn in our nation and help end the abortion holocaust in America.

If you would like to join Human Coalition as we pray for God to soften the hearts of fellow Christians to the plight of the unborn, then I invite you to sign our Pledge to Pray. By signing your name to this pledge, you are committing to pray for not only those with whom we disagree, but also for the women, men, and families who are impacted by the pain of abortion. Please sign Human Coalition’s Pledge to Pray today.

Thanks again to Rev. Jamie Peterson for his work and contributions to this article.