Is Abortion Okay for Christians?
The following is a post in reference to a link left on the message board to a pro-abortion site. The site claimed that one could be a true Christian and pro-abortion. I recount and respond to some of their arguments below.
I recall hearing such pro-abortion arguments from a so-called Catholic feminist back in 1978 on a Catholic College campus. I was still a teenager, but with ready resolve gave the woman a difficult time regarding her interpretation of the facts. As I get older, I must admit to becoming increasingly disheartened. Not only are many Catholics pro-abortion, but they politic for their cause without shame. The Holy Father has reminded us in EVANGELIUM VITAE that abortion and the pro-death mentality are directly opposed to the Gospel and the incarnation of Christ.
Turning to the link you offered, the author contends that from 100 AD to 600 AD most "theologians" discounted any homicide in abortion, but instead stressed the sins of fornication and adultery. Nothing is said here about the fact that such a person would no longer be welcome in the Church, a most terrible punishment for sure. Further, while I question her dates, she denotes as "theologians" those who may only have been canonists or others charged with leveling juridical penalties. The death sentence rendered for homicide might not have been imposed; however, this did not in itself mean that murder had not been committed.
The Church has always and everywhere opposed abortion and infanticide. Such was an issue that quickly distinguished the early Christian community from its pagan neighbors. The universal catechism quotes from ancient documents that show the Catholic Church's disdain toward abortion: "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish" (DIDACHE 2,2 [140 AD]; cf. Epistle of Barnabas 19,5 [70/79 or 117/132 AD]; Ad Dionetum 5,6 [125/200 AD]; Tertullian, Apology 9 [197 AD].
Illustrating their dishonesty, pro-abortion Catholics will mention the matter of hominization or delayed ensoulment. Thomas Aquinas is mentioned by name as holding that it occurred 40 days after conception for males and 80 days after for females. However, no mention is made that St. Thomas also inherited a faulty view of biology, believing that the whole person in potency was locked in the man's seed. Further, St. Thomas still considered the destruction of this person in potency to be a serious moral wrong. He did not accept abortion as a legitimate response to pregnancy. Modern biology supports the view of immediate hominization.
In any case, since we cannot empirically observe ensoulment, all believers must logically opt for the alternative that causes least harm, giving the unborn the benefit of the doubt. Catholics have as an added inducement the dogma of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. Things cannot be preserved or cleansed from sin, only persons. Thus, one could argue that like Mary, all are persons at the very first moment of conception. All human persons, from the womb to the tomb, are deemed as possessing a precious and irreplaceable dignity. All human life is incommensurate and beyond any utilitarian value.
Catholic principles that emerge from the Gospel of Life are universal and absolute. Past application was sometimes questionable because the data from the other sciences was imperfect. The universal condemnation of abortion throughout all Christianity and its history is unassailable. The pro-abortion proponents (who claim to be Catholic) are seeking to confuse this truth behind extraneous details.
Notice that the so-called ADULT! CHRISTIANITY site professes to be defending the rights of the "un-bornagain". Some of the material and links strikes me as lewd and I was embarrassed to visit it at all. They not only support abortion but other perverse matters as well.
What about the article entitled, "Abortion is Not a Sin"? As they do with so much else, they trivialize the dignity of the human person and assault the Gospel of Life.
Psalm 139:13-16 is reduced to a mere blueprint for human life, and not as an indicator of the human life of the unborn. This contention contradicts the text. "Truly you have formed MY INMOST BEING; you knit ME in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. MY SOUL also you knew full well; nor was my frame unknown to you when I was made in secret, when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth (figurative language for womb)" (Psalm 139:13-15). The infusion of the soul is, in Christian terms, the beginning of human life. The context here would allow us to contend that it occurs at the very first moment of conception. The reference to "my inmost being" would also refer to that which makes us human. The pronouns are all personal, "I" and "me". We would not speak so about a tumor or a mere plan for our construction. It even seems that on some mysterious and intuitive level the soul of the unborn child in the womb is already in relationship with the Creator. Other Scriptures as with the visitation of Elizabeth by Mary reaffirm the Christian contention that human life and personhood begins in the womb. The unborn John the Baptist leaps joyfully in the womb when in the presence of the unborn Christ secluded in the flesh of Mary. The Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary is another support to the pro-life cause. Mary is preserved from Original Sin at the very first moment of her existence in the womb of St. Ann. Things cannot be delivered from sin, only persons.
The attempt is made to contrast the message from the psalm citation with the creation stories in Genesis. However, the unique creation of man and woman in the primordial garden is a narrative quite different from the usual experience of human generation. Further, while none of these passages were intended to teach biology, the understanding was clear among God's people that the unborn child is one of the human family. Otherwise, it would be hard to understand the happiness of mothers who feel their babies move within them or their sadness when they miscarry.
The author writes, "It is nothing less than idolatry, elevating the status of mere man, his sperm and his ejaculation above the power of God to give life." Such a separatist understanding falsely images the human being as trapped in a robotic body of flesh and blood. Rather than seeing our biology in conflict with God, we see it as an element of our human identity that is in partnership with divine creation. When men and women engage in the marital act, they are to do so responsibly, open to the gift of new life that comes from God. The mentality subscribed to by the article would ultimately allow for homosexuality and contraception. It drives a wall between the Almighty and us.
Citations are made from Hosea 9:14,16 in attempt to show that God approves of abortions. This is ludicrous. God is the author of life and death. Just because some babies die naturally in the womb does not give us the authority to terminate their lives. Indeed, the usurpation of God's authority as the article promotes would be true blasphemy and idolatry. The curse from the prophet's lips against their enemies is in reference to that which they consider most sacred. "Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts . . . yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb." Motherhood and family life was the measure of success in the Jewish world. Thus, these words illustrate not that the life of the unborn is cheap, but most precious. Such a blow would be hard to recover.
The ignorance of the author is compounded regarding Mary. She is portrayed as a pro-choice feminist who just happened to say yes to God. Anything else, we are told would be the unthinkable "rape [by God of] an unwed, teenaged virgin." First, the providence of God assured her positive response. Second, we belong to God and thus whatever God does for us must be measured as gift. Third, Mary was lawfully married to Joseph in the first of a two-tier ritual). The pro-abortionist is wrong on all accounts. Given that basic Scriptural facts can be misconstrued, it is hard to give this article any serious consideration. It is simply a revisionist attempt to excuse a self-indulgent lifestyle and a disregard for the true dignity of human life. I suppose the good Pope might rightly consider it propaganda for the pervasive culture of death.
The article from this point quickly becomes incoherent. We are told that those who seek the enact laws to protect human life or who participate in peaceful protest "lead innocent believers down a road to murder and depravity." Four thousand dead babies a day, one and a half million abortions a year (including thousands of partial birth infanticides), and the author has the audacity to call pro-life advocates guilty of "murder and depravity". Note that the web site in question would countenance all sorts of alternative sexual lifestyles. Many lesbians promote abortion because it allows them to insure female offspring, killing the males before they see the light of day.
It makes one very sick. Do not be fooled by them. The real victims are the dead children.
I recall hearing such pro-abortion arguments from a so-called Catholic feminist back in 1978 on a Catholic College campus. I was still a teenager, but with ready resolve gave the woman a difficult time regarding her interpretation of the facts. As I get older, I must admit to becoming increasingly disheartened. Not only are many Catholics pro-abortion, but they politic for their cause without shame. The Holy Father has reminded us in EVANGELIUM VITAE that abortion and the pro-death mentality are directly opposed to the Gospel and the incarnation of Christ.
Turning to the link you offered, the author contends that from 100 AD to 600 AD most "theologians" discounted any homicide in abortion, but instead stressed the sins of fornication and adultery. Nothing is said here about the fact that such a person would no longer be welcome in the Church, a most terrible punishment for sure. Further, while I question her dates, she denotes as "theologians" those who may only have been canonists or others charged with leveling juridical penalties. The death sentence rendered for homicide might not have been imposed; however, this did not in itself mean that murder had not been committed.
The Church has always and everywhere opposed abortion and infanticide. Such was an issue that quickly distinguished the early Christian community from its pagan neighbors. The universal catechism quotes from ancient documents that show the Catholic Church's disdain toward abortion: "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish" (DIDACHE 2,2 [140 AD]; cf. Epistle of Barnabas 19,5 [70/79 or 117/132 AD]; Ad Dionetum 5,6 [125/200 AD]; Tertullian, Apology 9 [197 AD].
Illustrating their dishonesty, pro-abortion Catholics will mention the matter of hominization or delayed ensoulment. Thomas Aquinas is mentioned by name as holding that it occurred 40 days after conception for males and 80 days after for females. However, no mention is made that St. Thomas also inherited a faulty view of biology, believing that the whole person in potency was locked in the man's seed. Further, St. Thomas still considered the destruction of this person in potency to be a serious moral wrong. He did not accept abortion as a legitimate response to pregnancy. Modern biology supports the view of immediate hominization.
In any case, since we cannot empirically observe ensoulment, all believers must logically opt for the alternative that causes least harm, giving the unborn the benefit of the doubt. Catholics have as an added inducement the dogma of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. Things cannot be preserved or cleansed from sin, only persons. Thus, one could argue that like Mary, all are persons at the very first moment of conception. All human persons, from the womb to the tomb, are deemed as possessing a precious and irreplaceable dignity. All human life is incommensurate and beyond any utilitarian value.
Catholic principles that emerge from the Gospel of Life are universal and absolute. Past application was sometimes questionable because the data from the other sciences was imperfect. The universal condemnation of abortion throughout all Christianity and its history is unassailable. The pro-abortion proponents (who claim to be Catholic) are seeking to confuse this truth behind extraneous details.
Notice that the so-called ADULT! CHRISTIANITY site professes to be defending the rights of the "un-bornagain". Some of the material and links strikes me as lewd and I was embarrassed to visit it at all. They not only support abortion but other perverse matters as well.
What about the article entitled, "Abortion is Not a Sin"? As they do with so much else, they trivialize the dignity of the human person and assault the Gospel of Life.
Psalm 139:13-16 is reduced to a mere blueprint for human life, and not as an indicator of the human life of the unborn. This contention contradicts the text. "Truly you have formed MY INMOST BEING; you knit ME in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. MY SOUL also you knew full well; nor was my frame unknown to you when I was made in secret, when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth (figurative language for womb)" (Psalm 139:13-15). The infusion of the soul is, in Christian terms, the beginning of human life. The context here would allow us to contend that it occurs at the very first moment of conception. The reference to "my inmost being" would also refer to that which makes us human. The pronouns are all personal, "I" and "me". We would not speak so about a tumor or a mere plan for our construction. It even seems that on some mysterious and intuitive level the soul of the unborn child in the womb is already in relationship with the Creator. Other Scriptures as with the visitation of Elizabeth by Mary reaffirm the Christian contention that human life and personhood begins in the womb. The unborn John the Baptist leaps joyfully in the womb when in the presence of the unborn Christ secluded in the flesh of Mary. The Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary is another support to the pro-life cause. Mary is preserved from Original Sin at the very first moment of her existence in the womb of St. Ann. Things cannot be delivered from sin, only persons.
The attempt is made to contrast the message from the psalm citation with the creation stories in Genesis. However, the unique creation of man and woman in the primordial garden is a narrative quite different from the usual experience of human generation. Further, while none of these passages were intended to teach biology, the understanding was clear among God's people that the unborn child is one of the human family. Otherwise, it would be hard to understand the happiness of mothers who feel their babies move within them or their sadness when they miscarry.
The author writes, "It is nothing less than idolatry, elevating the status of mere man, his sperm and his ejaculation above the power of God to give life." Such a separatist understanding falsely images the human being as trapped in a robotic body of flesh and blood. Rather than seeing our biology in conflict with God, we see it as an element of our human identity that is in partnership with divine creation. When men and women engage in the marital act, they are to do so responsibly, open to the gift of new life that comes from God. The mentality subscribed to by the article would ultimately allow for homosexuality and contraception. It drives a wall between the Almighty and us.
Citations are made from Hosea 9:14,16 in attempt to show that God approves of abortions. This is ludicrous. God is the author of life and death. Just because some babies die naturally in the womb does not give us the authority to terminate their lives. Indeed, the usurpation of God's authority as the article promotes would be true blasphemy and idolatry. The curse from the prophet's lips against their enemies is in reference to that which they consider most sacred. "Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts . . . yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb." Motherhood and family life was the measure of success in the Jewish world. Thus, these words illustrate not that the life of the unborn is cheap, but most precious. Such a blow would be hard to recover.
The ignorance of the author is compounded regarding Mary. She is portrayed as a pro-choice feminist who just happened to say yes to God. Anything else, we are told would be the unthinkable "rape [by God of] an unwed, teenaged virgin." First, the providence of God assured her positive response. Second, we belong to God and thus whatever God does for us must be measured as gift. Third, Mary was lawfully married to Joseph in the first of a two-tier ritual). The pro-abortionist is wrong on all accounts. Given that basic Scriptural facts can be misconstrued, it is hard to give this article any serious consideration. It is simply a revisionist attempt to excuse a self-indulgent lifestyle and a disregard for the true dignity of human life. I suppose the good Pope might rightly consider it propaganda for the pervasive culture of death.
The article from this point quickly becomes incoherent. We are told that those who seek the enact laws to protect human life or who participate in peaceful protest "lead innocent believers down a road to murder and depravity." Four thousand dead babies a day, one and a half million abortions a year (including thousands of partial birth infanticides), and the author has the audacity to call pro-life advocates guilty of "murder and depravity". Note that the web site in question would countenance all sorts of alternative sexual lifestyles. Many lesbians promote abortion because it allows them to insure female offspring, killing the males before they see the light of day.
It makes one very sick. Do not be fooled by them. The real victims are the dead children.
posted by Father Joe Jenkins at 11:14 AM
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