For 2,000 years, Christians have been advocating for babies in the womb and promoting a culture of life.
In our time, though, you may hear abortion activists and liberal politicians cite their “Christian faith” as a reason they support abortion.
Consider this statement from former Georgia state representative Stacey Abrams:
“While your faith tradition may tell you that you personally do not want to make that choice, it is not my right as a Christian to impose that value system on someone else. The value that should overhang everything is the right to make our own decisions, the free will that the God I believe in gave us.”
Of course, no one would cite “free will” as a reason people should be allowed to kill adult human beings – so why is that different for preborn ones?
In any case, those who try to cite their “Christian” faith to support abortion are woefully uninformed – or disingenuous – about what Christians have always believed about abortion: it is the intentional killing of a preborn child and a grave evil.
From the earliest moments of Christianity, church leaders spoke out against abortion. We find evidence for this in numerous extrabiblical early Christian documents.
The Didache
The Didache is an anonymous early Christian teaching, written around 70 AD – or at least in the first century. The document was most likely written prior to the death of the Apostle John and is perhaps the earliest known extrabiblical Christian writing.
It is also referred to by the authoritative title, “The Lord’s Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations.”
In The Didache, we find this instruction to early Christians:
You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is begotten.
The Epistle of Barnabas
Another of the earliest known Christian documents is the Epistle of Barnabas, written between 70 and 130 AD.
For the first several centuries of the church, the document was “antilegomena,” (literally “spoken against”) a “disputed” writing that some early Christians considered part of the canon of Scripture, though it was later rejected.
Nonetheless, that controversy demonstrates the authority that the document held for early Christians.
The Epistle states:
You shall not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shall you destroy it after it is born.
These two writings are just a very small sample of an overwhelming case that shows the Christian church – from its very inception – has always stood up resolutely for life in the womb.
Early Christians placed immense value on human life; its why they were known for rescuing newborn babies who had been left to die of exposure.
Two thousand years later, Christians who work or volunteer at pregnancy resource centers, who contribute to pro-life organizations and who vote for pro-life politicians become one more link in the very long chain of the great pro-life Christian tradition.
If you are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy and want to learn more about your options, visit My Choice Network.
Focus on the Family offers a free, one-time counseling consultation with a licensed or pastoral counselor. To request a counseling consultation, call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) or fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.
Focus on the Family has been working to turn the cultural tide and save mothers and babies from abortion for years. Since beginning the Option Ultrasound Program in 2004, Focus has helped save nearly half a million lives.
Our goal is to save one million babies by 2025. Just $60 will save a life through Option Ultrasound. Will you partner with us to save a life from abortion here?
Related articles and resources:
Counseling Consultation & Referrals
Dealing With Unplanned Pregnancy
Pro-life Answers to Pro-choice Arguments
Pro-Life Supporters Can Never Compromise on the Issue of Life
The History of Christianity and Abortion
Being Completely Pro-Life in the Church
Finding Emotional Healing After an Abortion
Resources: Hope & Healing After Abortion
Finding Healing and Hope After an Abortion
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