FINAL RESEARCH PAPER
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Submitted to Dr. Todd Buck
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
THEO650_B02
Public Theology
by
Dennis Depre
October 9, 2022
Contents
Abstract .....................................................................................................................................3
Introduction...............................................................................................................................4
History of Abortion ...................................................................................................................5
What is the World’s View .........................................................................................................6
Biblical views of the creation of life ......................................................................................7
The Value of Life .......................................................................................................................8
Consequences of Abortion.........................................................................................................9
Compassion and grace through disagreement ....................................................................... 11
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 12
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 13
Abstract
This paper that I am doing will speak about abortion from a societal perspective and a
biblical perspective. Until recently this topic was not spoken about in and out of the church,
however, the overturning of Roe vs Wade has pushed it right back into the headlines. The
headlines are not only the media but also the church headlines, it is something that is being
talked about more than ever now. While society is arguing back and forth about pro-life or pro-
choice, this is the moment that the church can stand for not only the rights of the unborn but
giving grace through this time. This is not something that is a majority ruled in society, this is a
very split decision, however for the church it is clear. Abortion is a sin! This paper will have both
a statical aspect when it comes to abortion followed by the biblical principle. This principle will
not only focus on abortion itself as a sin but also on how to manage this delicate situation with
grace and mercy as the bible instructs us to.
Introduction
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.” This is just one of many bible verses that
speak to God knowing us before we were even thought about. When I think about this verse, me
that says that before you even were born God has a destiny for your life. This is something that
will be touched on more in this paper, but it speaks to life before conception.
Abortion has always been very divisive not only in church but also outside of the church.
There are many arguments on both sides of this topic, the bible does not specifically say abortion
is a sin, however, there are several verses that talk about life and how God formed you and knew
you before you knew yourself. These verses among others will be some of the verses that are
discussed in this paper. We can disagree all day about whether abortion is legal or illegal but
what we cannot disagree with is how Christians are called to be different and treat others
differently.
Romans 12:17-18 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the
eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. As
many bible verses, there are regarding caring for life, there are just as many that talk about
compassion, mercy, grace, and loving even our enemies or those whom we disagree with. This
essay will not only address abortion, the history behind it, and the biblical beliefs on if it is right
or wrong but it will also be about how we need to manage these situations as Christians.
We are called to be different; we are set apart from others. Matthew 5:14-16 tells us “You
are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp
and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the
house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your charitable
deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Christians can disagree with this topic and still be set
apart by the way that we manage our disagreement. The following paper will touch on several
topics when it comes to abortion but at the end of the day, it will be research conducted on a
biblical principle for not only abortion but for how to continue to show compassion to those
around us.
History of Abortion
To make an informed decision about this topic, the history of abortions is especially
important. “Until the mid-1800s, abortions were readily available. The woman could perform
them on themselves, and many practitioners would help them.”1Abortion was always around
how it was performed may have changed but it has always been a topic. The debate over the
1 McBride, Dorothy E. Abortion in the United States: a Reference Handbook: A Reference Handbook.
Santa Barbara 4
abortion policy began in the 1840s (although some states changed their laws as early as the
1820s) and continued until 1900. 2 “The removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the
uterus, resulting in, or caused by its death.”3 There are being several changes to the laws since
this debate started happening, in 1973 the US Supreme Court ruled that restricting abortion rights
was unconstitutional. What is Roe vs Wade and where did it come from?
Roe vs Wade a supreme court case from the 1970s, Roe vs Wade was a supreme court
case that extended the right to privacy to women seeking abortion and refuses to declare the fetus
a person under the constitution. This case decriminalizes abortion in the United States. The law
has been around since 1973 and was recently overturned by the supreme court in 2022. This law
gave women the right to have an abortion if they so choose to do so and they could not be
charged with a crime. From a biblical perspective, nothing changes because this law changed.
The Bible verse Jeremiah 1:5, says; 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. Which still to this day
stands in the bible.
One thing we must remember as Christians is not everyone is having abortions, some
people are having these procedures, but not everyone. The World health organization has
concluded that about seventy-three million induced abortions happen throughout the year, of
which 61% of them are for unintended pregnancies and 29% of all pregnancies end in abortion.
When it comes to life, even one case is one too many so where do we go from here? Now that we
know a little about abortion, where does society stand?
2 Ibid., 6
3 Iran J Psychiatry, 2011
What is the World’s View
To understand where the world stands on abortion, there are several groups of people
who need to understand where they stand. “In the United States, there are three main positions on
abortion: pro-life, pro-choice, and the muddled-middle” 4The majority are either liberal or
conservative. When it comes to liberals, they believe that the woman has a right to choose for
herself and no one should make that choice for her. When it comes to conservatives, they believe
that the baby is alive at conception and that if you have an abortion, you are taking that life. Then
you have a group of people who fall somewhere in the middle. They believe that abortion is not
supposed to happen, but they are specific cases that it could be used. For example, in cases where
the pregnancy resulted in rape, there is a middle ground of people who say that the woman
should have the right to choose the next steps for herself. Lastly, we have the churchgoers, there
is a belief that abortion is wrong. Christians can get their belief from the bible, which has several
verses that speak to a pro-life choice the following are some of the verses that speak to a pro-life
choice, Exodus 20:13 tells us, you shall not murder, 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” and Psalms 127:3-5 which read “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a
reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they
contend with their opponents in court.”
Biblical views of the creation of life
The Bible is noticeably clear, God created us in his very own image. Not only were we
created from his image, but Eve was created from a part of Adam after God realized it was not
4 Bellinger, Charles K. "Religious Arguments and the Abortion Debate." Human Life Review,
Spring, 2017. 51.
good for him to be alone. Genesis 1:27 tells us that So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God he created him; male and female he created them. When looking at what the
biblical view of abortion is, we tend to look at the bible but there are other areas we can learn
from too. John A Eidsmoe made a journal entry titled “A Biblical View of Abortion.” In this
journal he asked a question that is something that we may all be thinking, “does abortion
involve the killing of a human being and if so, when if ever is it justifiable?”5Breaking down
scripture can reveal so much to us as Christians. More than just a biblical principle but hiding in
plain text it makes it more clear on the bible’s stance on abortion. As an example, Eidsmoe will
go on in this writing to show that God makes no distinction between an unborn child and a born
child. When you look at the word used for a child in the bible they are used interchangeably in
Greek or Hebrew. Luke 1:44 refers to "the babe [brephos] in my womb leaped for joy.6 This
verse is telling the story of how Elizabeth had an unborn child in her stomach who was leaping
for joy. He then shows in the very next chapter of Luke how that same word, brephos is used to
describe a child laying in the manager. There is another example that Eidsmoe uses when setting
the example of a baby being interchangeable, in Genesis, there is a reference to Jacob and Esau
in the womb. The word brephos is used in that scripture to represent a baby but an unborn child
at that point.
Based on the above scriptures, we can come to a clear conclusion that God does not make
any distinction between an unborn child and a child that has been born. So, if this is the case then
we can also look to scripture to figure out what the biblical principle is for abortion. If there is no
distinction between born and unborn, then when you look at Exodus 5:17 and God commands his
5 1 John A. Eidsmoe, “A Biblical View of Abortion.” Journal of Christian jurisprudence: a publication of
the O.W.Coburn School of Law of Oral Roberts University. (1983), 18.
6 Ibid.
people to not murder. Now that there is a clearer understanding from a biblical perspective about
an unborn and born child, we need to now look at the value that God puts on human life.
The Value of Life
When Christians think about the value that God has placed on human life, they need to
look no further than how God sent his only son to redeem us and take the wages of sin on his
shoulders. John 3:16 tells us that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God created every one of us,
he knows every detail about us, and he cares to the level of sending his only Son to earth to die
for our sins.
If God created us and the bible tells us that we will all be judged by him. If he created us,
then we have no right to decide when that life ends. Not only do we not have any rights, but we
also do not have the authority to judge when that life should be taken. In a book called the
Gospel and Abortion, the two authors discuss some very controversial topics including abortion.
“Every abortion robs God of His glory by putting man and government in place of God,
determining life and death.”7 For those who say that abortion is not specifically mentioned in the
bible, the authors do an excellent job of presenting an argument towards that line of thinking.
They say “lead one to think that the Bible says nothing about the Trinity or the two natures of
Christ, that it says nothing about original sin, and that it pronounces no prohibition on
pornography or mind-altering drugs, all because those specific words were not used.”8 When we
go into the thinking of it, it is not in the bible it must be ok we could miss valuable principles that
7 Moore, Russell D., and Walker, Andrew T. The Gospel and Abortion. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group,
2017, 2.
8 Ibid., 10
are in the bible if we were to just study it and understand the meanings behind the meanings. So
now that we have assumed that the bible speaks against abortion, what are some of the
consequences of abortion?
Consequences of Abortion
No matter what we decide in life there are going to be consequences and ripple effects of
those decisions, for example, if you follow God and are a Christian that is a life choice. The
consequence of that could be judgment or the loss of relationships. There are consequences for
decisions both in the Old and New Testament, Adam and Eve faced consequences for going
against God’s will and eating from the forbidden tree. Lucifer faced consequences for his
decisions and was banished to hell for his decisions, these consequences are no different from
those that have an abortion. As Christians, we are to be living a life that God would call us to
lead, one thing that we are called to is to multiply. If we are having abortions, we cannot multiply
our family as God intended us to do. The family, which is an up to now remains the foundation
of humans, (Adrian P) is harmed when the plan of abortion is implemented instead of God’s
plan.9
Beyond the multiplication we are called to, there is a psychological effect when it comes
to abortion. Now this effect is mostly on the woman who is having the abortion. This is an effect
that is not just in the short term, this is an effect that can come back at any time. Most females
who commit abortions suffer from depression and worry about not being able to conceive again.
This is a consequence that will not just affect them if they have a family or a significant other it
will also affect them. There is a chance that they would not be able to conceive again thus putting
their chances of building a family in jeopardy.
9 Paul, Adrian Gh. "The Sin of Abortion and its Anthropological Implications on the Destiny of
Humankind."
The Bible also tells us at the end of our life we will all be judged for the actions that we
take while we are walking in our bodies. Romans 14:12 tells us “So then each of us will give an
account of himself to God.” When we are faced with that judgment day, what is going to be on
our record for judgment? God made has made it noticeably clear to all of us that he believes that
abortion is taking of life whether it is unborn or has been born already. It is up to us to live a life
that when judgment day comes, we can answer for our decisions.
Compassion and grace through disagreement
Do we have to agree with everyone to have compassion and grace in their life. In John
8:1-11 8 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, two but early the next morning he was back
again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was
speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught
in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this
woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you
say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus
stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he
stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8
Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped
away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd
with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your
accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. This story can teach
us how to disagree with someone who may be sinning without casting shame on them. Jesus is
aware that the church leaders have not lived a sin-free life, in this story he challenges them to
cast the first stone if they are without sin. In Luke 23:24, Jesus is on the cross dying and the very
people who are killing him Jesus asked God to forgive them. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Jesus
has given us story after story that deals with how to live a life with someone who may have
different views than you, but you can still walk in unison. Timothy 1:9 tells us “He has saved us
and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his purpose
and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” There is
nothing we can do to earn God’s love so why do we think that we need to hold someone else to a
standard that is above God’s?
Conclusion
Throughout this paper, we have spoken about some very key topics when it comes to
abortion. We went over the history of abortion, its meaning of it, some statistics about it, and
how the laws were formed and changed. We then looked at how God views abortion and learned
some biblical truths surrounded by the word used for baby in the bible. Baby is interchangeable
when it is translated from Greek and Hebrew. It is interchangeable when it comes to the born or
unborn child. There are consequences to having abortions, breaking God’s calling or will for our
life, spiritual consequences, and then possible medical consequences for the mother. Also among
these consequences are the mental ones that may never go away. In the end, abortion is in the
bible as being wrong, but we are also called to be different. The difference could be the way that
we manage those around us who may disagree with us on this issue. There should be an
understanding on both sides in which we can disagree, still understand both sides, and have
compassion and mercy as Jesus had for those who were crucifying him.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.
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