Godfrey, I appreciate your interest and tactfully asked and researched question about why Christians (in General) feel that abortion is wrong. I also see your point of view and how you interpreted those verses, I however, disagree and interpret those verses differently. I interpret those verses as, If a man ACCIDENTALLY causes harm to an unborn child, then his punishment should not be as severe. It goes on to say that if the woman is further hurt, or if it is maliciously hurt, that the punshment should be greater, as in that of killing a live human (eye for eye stuff). Go on and read that whole chapter, especially Exodus 21:18-26 to get the full context. The King James version is good, and so is the New American Standard Bible, which says:
Exodus
21:22
"If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges {decide.}
21:23
"But if there is injury, then you shall appoint {as a penalty} life for life,"
This furthers the cause of Pro-Life, because it says basically, that if 2 men are fighting with each other, and a woman "gets caught in the crossfire" and her unborn child is killed as a result, then the offender's punishment should not be as great as if he had intentionally killed the child and harmed the woman.
I will post some more on this subject in a later thread.
Quote:
Originally posted by godfrey n. glad
Now that you mention Christian faith, I have to ask where Christians get the idea that God would be anti-abortion. In fact, the Bible doesn't address the morality of abortion at all, and the only verse I know of, in my research, that addresses the death of a fetus/unborn child, is Exodus 21:22-23:
So, it appears that God (given that the Bible is the word of God) doesn't consider the fetus/unborn child to be worth as much as a post-birth human's life. He says that if the fetus/unborn child dies, that's "no mischief." and there are only minor punitive damages as deemed necessary by judges and the husband. Yet, if the woman is seriously harmed, that is what is considered evil. So, if even God doesn't think an unborn child's malicious death is worth more than a slap on the wrist, payment of a fine, or 20 lashes (etc), why do Christians now believe it is his will that they be treated exactly as post-birth humans? I don't question the tradition, just how it originated in the first place. it doesn't appear to come from the Bible/God Himself.
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