To Save a Life (Post 2)

            In my last post, I went over the groundwork for the Christian’s view of human life and abortion (make sure to read that post before this one!). Now what do you say to a non-Christian who doesn’t care for the Bible? This is apologetics, ladies and gentlemen.

            There are four main differences between a human life that is inside the womb and one that is outside of the womb. Let’s go through them.

1. Size
2. Level of dependency
3. Environment (inside womb vs. outside of womb)
4. Level of development

            The argument goes like this: because the life inside the womb is smaller, dependent on the mother, inside the womb, and less developed, it is not a human life. It is a lesser form of life.

            I apologize, but this simply doesn’t compute. Let’s go through each factor individually:

            1) Size. So someone who is smaller isn’t as alive as someone who is bigger? Gimli would object to that.

            2) Level of dependency. This one, at first, seems like the strongest objection. But it melts away when examined. The logic goes “because the life inside the womb can’t survive on its own, it’s not a human life.”

            Okay.

            We are all dependent on something other than ourselves. Oxygen, water, food, etc. Does that make us less human? What about the people who need feeding tubes to survive? Is that any different than the life inside the womb using the umbilical chord? What about the people that rely on pace-makers, insulin, and kidney machines to survive? Are they less human?

            Of course not. Let’s lay this argument to rest.

            3) Environment. The argument goes “due to the life in the womb’s location,  it is less human”. So where I am determines if I’m a human life or not? Are people in China as human as those in America? The answers are self-evident.

            4) Level of development. The argument goes “because the life in the womb is less developed, it is not human.” What about the humans who are born deformed? What about those who are born without limbs? Are they less human than us “normal” folks?

            Also, development continues outside the womb. Is a toddler less human than an adult? Obviously not.

            I just ran through the differences between life in the womb and life outside it. The differences do not make one human and the other not. But some might object by saying that maybe all four factors COMBINED make womb life less human. This also does not work, and I’ll dispatch it with an example.

            Is a child who is dependent on a feeding tube and a pace-maker and lives in Indonesia and was born without an arm less human than me?

            No.

            And that is all, ladies and gentlemen. Abortion apologetics. Now I’ll go on to some objections.

When Does Life Begin?

            The conventional view is life began the moment of conception. Another view is that human life begins at implantation (six days after fertilization/conception) when the zygote attaches to the uterine wall. Another view is life begins when the brain or heart starts to form. Another view is that human life begins once the umbilical chord is cut.

            And so on and so forth.

            Which is correct? As I explained in the last post, the Bible clearly teaches that life in the womb is human, and it doesn’t differentiate over development (which is silly anyways, that was dealt with above) .

            The simple answer to this question is: what is your worldview? That will determine when you think human life begins. If your view is atheistic, you will view things more narcissistically. What benefits you the most? What is the most convenient for you? Obviously, abortion is the most convenient option.

            If you are a Christian, you’ll agree with the Bible when David said that he was “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). God is involved in the entire process and He doesn’t want His creation to die.

What About Rape?

            What about when a man rapes a woman and she becomes pregnant? She never wanted the baby. Is abortion okay then? While extremely tragic, something has to be noted objectively. This is very, very, very rare. It does not happen often.

            Also, which is worse? Murder, or rape? For if the life in the womb is human, then ending its life is murder. Must the child pay for the father’s crime?

Summary

            The bottom line is this: if life in the womb is not human, then killing it is not murder. Just like killing a plant is not murder. But if womb life is human, then killing it is murder and is wrong.
            I went over how the differences between life inside the womb and outside of it do not amount to anything drastic enough as to label womb life non-human. Therefore womb life is human, and therefore abortion is murder.
            I'm being blunt, but at the end of the day, my goal in life is not to be liked. It's to be like Jesus, and He stood for the truth in love. I have to do the same.

To Save a Life (Post 1)

            One of the hot button topics of today’s age is abortion. Is the life in a woman’s womb human, or something less than? Does a woman’s right to choose trump that life’s right to live? Is abortion justified in the face of rape?

            How is the Christian to answer?

            Unfortunately, there is a lot of emotion in this debate. And unfortunately, the church doesn’t really teach apologetics in this area. Or any area for that matter. So Christians resort to cries of “murder” and other emotionally charged sallies that don’t get any positive results.

            That’s unfortunate.

            There really are two types of answers to these questions, depending on who is doing the questioning. The first type of answer is relatively short and sweet, and it is directed to Christians who ask about abortion. Christians shouldn’t have any problems with the answer because it is right out of the Bible.

            The second type of answer is for the non-Christian. The answer is different because the non-Christian doesn’t accept the Word of God as his or her authority in life. It’s longer and messier, but still necessary.

For the Christian

            The occasional Christian will lean towards pro-choice, so it is important to have Bible verses ready to lovingly direct them back to God’s opinion in the matter. His opinion is kind of important. Let’s get started:

Jeremiah 1:4-5, Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 49:1.  Listen to me, O coastlands,  and give attention, you peoples  from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name…

Psalms 22:9-10, Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.  On you was I cast from my birth, and from  my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Genesis 25:22-23, The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”  So she went to inquire of the LORD.  And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

Galatians 1:15, But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace.

Luke 1:40-41, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

            There are many others, but this should be good enough. If the Christian doubts how God views life in the womb after this, you really have to question how much this person values the Bible.

For the Non-Christian

            Because I don’t want this post to be the equivalent of three or four pages, I’ll save the Christian’s answer for the non-Christian for my next post. But I’ll lay the groundwork here.

            Amongst Christians, whoever has the most Biblical support should be the one swaying the other. Why? Follow the logic: if the Bible is the Word of God, then His words are always true. Therefore whatever position in a debate lines up with the Bible is true and correct. Therefore Christians should try to hold the most Biblically sound positions in a debate. Obviously “pro-life” is more Biblical in this case, so that should end the argument amongst Christians.

            But you can’t do that with a non-Christian, because they reject the premise that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. If you threw a verse at him, he would respond, “Okay, so what?” I would do the same if someone came at me with the Book of Mormon or Quran. I simply do not accept those books as the Word of God.

            So after establishing what the Bible says on abortion, and why you accept the Bible as true, you have to go a different route. I’ll explore this route in my next post.

            But before I do that, I also have to put 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 out there:

            “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

            And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

            If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

            I am as guilty as anyone else. Truth is a knife without love. It damages, razes, burns, pillages. But with love, it builds, encourages, convicts, and strengthens. Many people are suffering through the guilt of an abortion. Many people know people who are suffering through the guilt of having an abortion.

            We are to step alongside them and try to UNDERSTAND them. Help them. Be there for them. Love them. Our wrongs are no better than theirs. We are all in the same boat; we are all sinners in need of a Savior.