'An acceptance of the practice of Abortion (or of embryo research) is incompatible with Christian belief in the sanctity of life but not with the attitudes of ethical philosophers or popular politicians.' Discuss.

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Priscilla Fernandes        Page         07/05/2007

‘An acceptance of the practice of Abortion (or of embryo research) is incompatible with Christian belief in the sanctity of life but not with the attitudes of ethical philosophers or popular politicians.’ Discuss.

Procured abortion, the deliberate killing and removal of a foetus from the womb, is hotly debated and very controversial in today’s society. As well as the views of some modern moral philosophers, the Christian view on this situation is to be discussed in this analysis.

The Teaching of the Bible

All Christians accept the Bible as a source of authority. The Bible has an impact on Christians’ faith and decisions as it shows them how to lead their lives, as God wants them to. If a Christian were to turn to the Bible for guidance on Abortion, they would find no direct teaching, concerning the topic. There are however sources in the Bible that underline the issue of sanctity of life as a basis to an argument against Abortion.

The basis of the Christian belief is the importance of the sanctity of life. Christians emphasize that life is sacred, holy, worthy of reverence and should be respected, as do most other religions. The Bible emphasizes the sanctity of life by portraying life as a gift from God that should not be destroyed by any other authority.

The Bible states in the 10 commandments,

Thou shall not murder’

or

‘Thou shall not kill’

The fifth commandment clearly states that it is condemned by God to eliminate an innocent person’s life.The act of Abortion can be related to the issue of murder. The Christian writer Patrick Reardon believes that, ‘The act of Abortion is murder, and it is always murder, and there are no circumstances, whatever, in which murder is a legitimate moral option The deliberate, directly intended killing of an innocent life is a sin that screams to heaven for vengeance. Always, in all circumstances, and with no exceptions’. Some Christians share this same view of Abortion being a form of murder because it destroys the gift of life and thus it rejects the idea of the sanctity of life and is condemned in all circumstances.

A factor that shows the sanctity of a human life is the relationship between God and a person. Christians believe that they can experience God’s presence and there are several reasons to why a person can be at one with God. In the Old Testament it says that God made man in his own image:

‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.’

This Biblical statement claims that there is a divine link between man and God and that we reflect God’s image. Therefore it could be said that a person’s life is divine and sacred as it represents God as his own creation and this echoes the idea of the sanctity of life. Another example that shows the relationship a person has with God is the following:

‘Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst knit me together in mothers womb; I praise thee for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depth of the earth.’

The belief illustrated here is that a person has a relationship with God from conception. It is said here that God knows a person before they are even born. Again this shows the divine relationship between a person and God and illustrates the sanctity of life. Therefore Abortion would be incompatible with the Christian belief in the sanctity of life.

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Another factor that proves that life is sacred is the image of life being a gift from God.

‘The Lord gave her conception and she bore a son’

God gives the mother a son, which means he is a gift from God. God’s gift is seen as precious and should not be misused. The gift of life is used to become closer to God. The Ruth passage shows that God’s gift to women are their children. The elimination of the gift of life through Abortion would be incompatible with the Christian belief in the sanctity of life.

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