There is a theology I just discovered that tries to offer a cogent Biblical Christian justification for Abortion.
It begins with the view that God is omniscient (all knowing), which is true. Therefore, God knows who will abort their baby before bringing it to term. Consequently, under this view, God can choose not put a soul in that “group of cells” since He knows it will never be born. Further, even if God did allow a soul in utero, since the soul is immortal (cannot be killed) it would not die during an abortion. Finally, IF one believes in the theological concept of “age of accountability”, the worst that would happen would be the unborn baby would go immediately to Heaven to be with God for eternity. Given that a relative few of mankind will enter Heaven (Matt. 7:14), that is a pretty good deal (2 Cor. 5:8).
So, under that scenario, abortion does not seem like such a bad thing after all, right?
My view on abortion is shaped by Scripture, the typical verses used a prooftext follow.
- 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.”
- Psalms 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
- Exodus 21:22-23 “If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,
God Holds Man Accountable for His Sins
Just because God knows something (for example who will be aborted) does not make that behavior acceptable to God. Regarding abortion, He can certainly intercede in many ways. He could prevent the pregnancy in the first place. He could cause the pregnancy to be nonviable. He could change the mind of the mother. God could do many things to intercede and likely He does.
But God offers man free will to make decisions. (If there was no free will there would be no need for a Bible, life’s application book). The fact that God COULD intercede does not change the free will decisions of man, and their consequences. When a woman chooses “pro-choice” over “pro-life” she, her doctor, and society in general (based on laws agreed to and enacted) are making a free will decision to go against God’s will, in my view. God’s ability to intervene in the behavior of man is true of many things where God is omniscient but is not obligated to be proactive.
God’s willingness to give man free will in deciding on matters such as abortion does not abdicate man’s responsibility for our sin, as we exercise that free will.
Taking a life in the womb is no more or less a sin than taking a life outside the womb. There are mitigating circumstances but, in the end, we are held accountable for our decisions. The only ultimate solution is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as a substitute for our sins (Rom. 10:9).
Postscript
One additional set of Scripture verses I recently came across that further strengthens God’s knowledge of the unborn is in Genesis, related to the birth of the twins Jacob and Esau.
Genesis 25:21-23 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 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.”
We are not just a group of cells in the womb that magically become a baby at the moment of birth. Some of our personality is hereditary and God knows each of us and who we will become long before we are born.
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Jeff Hilles | BCWorldveiw.org, a 501(c)3 Nonprofit
