I’ll field this one. So while the Bible never explicitly mentions abortion, there are multiple reference in the Bible about how God forms us and knows us from the moment we are in a mother’s womb. Jeremiah 1:5, multiple Psalms like 22:10, etc. Most Christians point to these passages, and our knowledge of human development/biology to come to the conclusion that life starts at the moment of conception, and since Exodus 20:13 condemns murdering another human, abortion is always inherently wrong. There have been of course debates in the history of Christianity as to when the spirit enters the child but most err on the side of caution.
Look at it this way, there is near universal ethical agreement that “it is always wrong to purposely take an innocent life.” So philosophically there are 3 options a person can hold in regards to abortion: A human life starts at conception, we don’t know exactly when human life starts, or Human life does not start at conception. Unless someone can prove the last position by definitively providing evidence and an exact line as to when a human life begins, the most logical and ethical decision is to ban it in the name of caution. Since most Christians hold the first and second positions, they cannot in good conscience allow what either is, or could potentially be, state sanctioned murder.
Anyway, that’s the abridged version. Also, to clarify what the previous poster said, the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic Dogma that states Mary, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, was born without Original Sin. Just figured I’d break that down because a lot of people thinks that it refers to the Virgin Birth, but the 2 events are separate. It’s why you’ll never see the term Immaculate Conception in Protestant theological writings
What does it matter what Christians think? Abortion should be opposed on ethical grounds, and not religious grounds, as the left loves to pretend opposition to abortion is about blind allegiance to religion when it's not.
It matters because without God, all things necessarily become relative. It is the reason why Atheists, moreso than any other group, push for progressive ideology based on a "what feels good" moral ground.
Of course, it becomes exceedingly difficult in today's age, when we are so isolated and protected what is actually real, to interact and develop that relationship with the spiritual world to be able to believe that - let alone build an entire moral structure around such concepts.
One of the things Molymeme used to have to contend with as an atheist ancap was that the people most hostile to his political philosophy agreed with him on religion (fellow atheists), and the people most agreeable to his politics were the most hostile to his religious philosophy (evangelical Christians). So he had to pick a side, and I think ultimately he decided that he'd rather be an atheist among ancap Christians than an ancap among progressive atheists.
Here's a secular argument for pro-life. When a spermatozoa and an ovum combine, a human embryo is formed. Not a dog, or a fish, or a bird, or a turtle. 100% of the time, a human baby will be born. We know this because SCIENCE tells us. According to SCIENCE, the baby has DNA distinct from both his mother and father, all the way at the beginning, at conception. Not 15 weeks. Not 9 months. So at no point is it the mother's body. It is a distinct human entity.
I can say this as a man who was raised atheist, was pro-choice until the disgusting 3rd trimester and date-of-birth abortion laws in New York and Virginia made me reconsider, and yes I became pro-life BEFORE converting to Christianity. There is no longer any valid argument for abortion. It's murder because the child is always going to be a human.
The Bible does not say a great many things. The answer to your question is that Biblical literalism is a weird American Protestant thing that even they don't hold to all the time. Christianity has a very long tradition of Aristotelianism; it's baked into the thinking even if most Christians don't realize it. We believe abortion is murder (and a sin) because it is reasonable.
Immaculate conception which is in the Bible dictates that life begins at conception, but go on with your easily disproven conjecture
I’ll field this one. So while the Bible never explicitly mentions abortion, there are multiple reference in the Bible about how God forms us and knows us from the moment we are in a mother’s womb. Jeremiah 1:5, multiple Psalms like 22:10, etc. Most Christians point to these passages, and our knowledge of human development/biology to come to the conclusion that life starts at the moment of conception, and since Exodus 20:13 condemns murdering another human, abortion is always inherently wrong. There have been of course debates in the history of Christianity as to when the spirit enters the child but most err on the side of caution.
Look at it this way, there is near universal ethical agreement that “it is always wrong to purposely take an innocent life.” So philosophically there are 3 options a person can hold in regards to abortion: A human life starts at conception, we don’t know exactly when human life starts, or Human life does not start at conception. Unless someone can prove the last position by definitively providing evidence and an exact line as to when a human life begins, the most logical and ethical decision is to ban it in the name of caution. Since most Christians hold the first and second positions, they cannot in good conscience allow what either is, or could potentially be, state sanctioned murder.
Anyway, that’s the abridged version. Also, to clarify what the previous poster said, the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic Dogma that states Mary, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, was born without Original Sin. Just figured I’d break that down because a lot of people thinks that it refers to the Virgin Birth, but the 2 events are separate. It’s why you’ll never see the term Immaculate Conception in Protestant theological writings
What does it matter what Christians think? Abortion should be opposed on ethical grounds, and not religious grounds, as the left loves to pretend opposition to abortion is about blind allegiance to religion when it's not.
It matters because without God, all things necessarily become relative. It is the reason why Atheists, moreso than any other group, push for progressive ideology based on a "what feels good" moral ground.
Of course, it becomes exceedingly difficult in today's age, when we are so isolated and protected what is actually real, to interact and develop that relationship with the spiritual world to be able to believe that - let alone build an entire moral structure around such concepts.
One of the things Molymeme used to have to contend with as an atheist ancap was that the people most hostile to his political philosophy agreed with him on religion (fellow atheists), and the people most agreeable to his politics were the most hostile to his religious philosophy (evangelical Christians). So he had to pick a side, and I think ultimately he decided that he'd rather be an atheist among ancap Christians than an ancap among progressive atheists.
Literally who?
Here's a secular argument for pro-life. When a spermatozoa and an ovum combine, a human embryo is formed. Not a dog, or a fish, or a bird, or a turtle. 100% of the time, a human baby will be born. We know this because SCIENCE tells us. According to SCIENCE, the baby has DNA distinct from both his mother and father, all the way at the beginning, at conception. Not 15 weeks. Not 9 months. So at no point is it the mother's body. It is a distinct human entity.
I can say this as a man who was raised atheist, was pro-choice until the disgusting 3rd trimester and date-of-birth abortion laws in New York and Virginia made me reconsider, and yes I became pro-life BEFORE converting to Christianity. There is no longer any valid argument for abortion. It's murder because the child is always going to be a human.
The Bible does not say a great many things. The answer to your question is that Biblical literalism is a weird American Protestant thing that even they don't hold to all the time. Christianity has a very long tradition of Aristotelianism; it's baked into the thinking even if most Christians don't realize it. We believe abortion is murder (and a sin) because it is reasonable.