How do pro-abortion Christians reconcile their views with pro-life scripture?

[OneChristianLight]

Luke 1:41-44, for example: "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit . . . . As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy."

The quoted Bible verse describes fetuses in the womb as babies, or in other words living humans.

There are some liberal Christians out there who believe that a woman has the right to choose an abortion if her pregnancy is inconvenient, not realizing that everyone deserves a chance at life. How do these left-wing Christians reconcile their pro-abortion views with Bible scripture that teaches life begins at conception?

 

[Poppyseed78]

I'm sure this thread is going to become very long.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

They ignore those parts of Sacred Scripture.

“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.” - Jer 1:5

“And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive. But the children struggled in her womb: and she said: If it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive? And she went to consult the Lord. And he answering said: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb, and one people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her time was come to be delivered, behold twins were found in her womb. He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin: and his name was called Esau. Immediately the other coming forth, held his brother's foot in his hand, and therefore he was called Jacob.” - Gen 25:21-25

 

[Root of Jesse]

Subscribing.

 

[Wunderlust]

No one is "pro-abortion." No one "supports abortion."

Some people believe that outlawing abortion is not a solution as it would be carried out illegally and dangerously, as it had before.

 

[bbbbbbb]

[Staff edit]

there is a peculiar argument among pro-choice "Christians" that runs something like this. The Bible is quite clear that the majority of humanity will not be saved. If, as is widely believed, infants and babies who die before reaching an age where they can trust Jesus Christ for their salvation, they will be saved (using Bathsheba's firstborn son by David as their proof). Therefore, it is a much better thing to send a baby to heaven rather than to let it live and grow into a sinner who ends up in a lost eternity. Obviously, there are many flaws to the argument, but this is the argument, such as it was given to me.

 

[OneChristianLight]

No one is "pro-abortion." No one "supports abortion."

Some people believe that outlawing abortion is not a solution as it would be carried out illegally and dangerously, as it had before.

According to a Gallup poll, 45% of Americans say they are pro-abortion. To tell me that "no one 'supports abortion'" is not a very smart thing to say. Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/1576/Abortion.aspx#1

The argument that abortion should be legal because illegal abortions are dangerous is ignorant. If a woman from a nation where abortion is outlawed gets an illegal abortion and gets hurt from the procedure, that is her fault. Abortion shouldn't be legal just because some selfish women would kill their babies unsafely if it were illegal.

 

[Tigger45]

No one is "pro-abortion." No one "supports abortion."

Some people believe that outlawing abortion is not a solution as it would be carried out illegally and dangerously, as it had before.

But legalizing abortion has only exasperated the whole situation by causing the carnage inficted on unborn babies to skyrocket.

 

[Armoured]

How do pro-abortion Christians reconcile their views with pro-life scripture?

How do pro-life Christians reconcile their views with all the scripture commanding killings, including of infants and the unborn?

 

[seeking.IAM]

I do not know what label you may choose to apply to my position. I am personally against abortion. I believe it to be a sin. I have no quarrel with churches that condemn the practice. But I also have strong opinions about what it means to live in a free country. And I believe there are certain things the government should just stay out of if we are to preserve liberty. Otherwise, freedom is just an illusion.

 

[Wunderlust]

According to a Gallup poll, 45% of Americans say they are pro-abortion. To tell me that "no one 'supports abortion'" is not a very smart thing to say. Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/1576/Abortion.aspx#1

45% of Americans are not pro-abortion. They are pro-choice. Pro-abortion means you want there to be abortions. Even the most vocal pro-choice movement would rather no one have to get into that situation in the first place.

The argument that abortion should be legal because illegal abortions are dangerous is ignorant. If a woman from a nation where abortion is outlawed gets an illegal abortion and gets hurt from the procedure, that is her fault.

I understand that one of the underlying factors is 'punishment.' Women who get abortion aren't inappropriate content stars and prostitutes.

Abortion shouldn't be legal just because some selfish women would kill their babies unsafely if it were illegal.

Most feel abortion should be legal because it is not up to society to make decisions like that.

 

[Indent]

Well these so-called “liberal” Christians probably don’t hold to a simplistic notion of inerrancy (if they have one at all).

The Bible can be approached in a lot of ways—it all comes down to hermeneutics. If the Bible is a collection of books written by all kinds of people, in a different language and with different intellectual categories, and the cultural limitations are inescapable and/or God appears to interact with people in a particular way, that’ll shape how I read the Bible.

These are a people with an ancient worldview, and therefore there is room for discernment in how one approaches certain lines in the Bible.

You might not agree with that, but I don't agree with Christians flattening out the Bible with a so-called "plain reading" either.

btw I'm pro-life.

 

[thecolorsblend]

No one is "pro-abortion." No one "supports abortion."

Some people believe that outlawing abortion is not a solution as it would be carried out illegally and dangerously, as it had before.

It's a good thing NARAL and Planned Parenthood weren't around back in ancient times or Mary would've been pressured to go ahead with the abortion since her circumstances were the gold standard of an unplanned pregnancy.

Abortion is murder. It's as simple as that.

 

[BrianJK]

Is this post asking in earnest, in an attempt to truly understand believers who think differently in this one issue? If so, I'll gladly discuss.
If it's going to degrade into insulting or attacking the faith of those who aren't as convinced as you on this issue, I fail to see the point in the discussion.
Let me know!

 

[Kersh]

I oppose abortion, and I believe that we should move towards restricting it and even criminalizing it in many cases. However, I base that on what science has shown us about fetal development, not so much on Scripture. The Bible is actually rather silent on the topic.

 

[Armoured]

I oppose abortion, and I believe that we should move towards restricting it and even criminalizing it in many cases. However, I base that on what science has shown us about fetal development,

For example?

 

[Kersh]

For example?

For example, we know that a fetus is increasingly infantlike throughout pregnancy. For example, at various points of pregnancy, there is an observable heartbeat, evidence of nervous system development, and even the ability to survive outside of the uterus. These all point, in my opinion, to the humanness of the fetus, long before birth.

 

[Armoured]

For example, we know that a fetus is increasingly infantlike throughout pregnancy. For example, at various points of pregnancy, there is an observable heartbeat, evidence of nervous system development, and even the ability to survive outside of the uterus. These all point, in my opinion, to the humanness of the fetus, long before birth.

As is discussed several other places, it isn't the "humanness" of the foetus that is the issue. No one suggests it is anything other than human, it's the human beingness, or personhood, that is the issue.

 

[thecolorsblend]

As is discussed several other places, it isn't the "humanness" of the foetus that is the issue. No one suggests it is anything other than human, it's the human beingness, or personhood, that is the issue.

So when Democrats say "That's not even human, it's just a lump of tissue", they don't actually mean that it's not human and is just a lump of tissue?

 

[Wunderlust]

I oppose abortion, and I believe that we should move towards restricting it and even criminalizing it in many cases. However, I base that on what science has shown us about fetal development, not so much on Scripture. The Bible is actually rather silent on the topic.

No one wants to have an abortion. No one gets giddy and says, "Can't wait to get my next abortion."

I am not sure how a society is just if it wants to punish and endanger people for reaching that point. I think abortion is wrong, but I have no idea why people get obsessed about criminalizing it instead of finding steps to help women not get to that point in the first place.

The problem is, that I am generally an understanding and compassionate person. I am not driven by an emotion of "they must be punished!" Or, there must be consequences.