Why are Christians pro-life if God is pro-choice?

Question

What the Bible says about Abortion
Abortion is not murder. A fetus is not considered a human life.

"If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life." -- Exodus 21:22-23

The Bible places no value on fetuses or infants less than one month old.

"And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver." -- Leviticus 27:6

Fetuses and infants less than one month old are not considered persons.

"Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD." -- Numbers 3:15-16

God sometimes approves of killing fetuses.

"Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts." -- Hosea 9:14

"Yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb." -- Hosea 9:16

"Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up." -- Hosea 13:16

God sometimes kills newborn babies to punish their parents.

"Because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die." -- 2 Samuel 12:14

God sometimes causes abortions by cursing unfaithful wives.

"The priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell. And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. ...
And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people. And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed." -- Numbers 5:21-21, 27-28

God's law sometimes requires the execution (by burning to death) of pregnant women.

"Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt." -- Genesis 38:24

Answer 1

Good eyes...notice you haven't gotten a good answer yet...

Great responses though...presented with evidence they make some nice carte-blanche statements that don't answer the question...

If it's out of context...provide the context...

Mainworry- another absurd response...you crack me up...

Answer 2

Since 'pro-lifers' consider depro-vera shots & birth control pills to be abortion yet they vote against health care for children already born I say that 'pro-choice' is more life-affirming. Societies that outlaw all contraceptives usually sell their least favorite children-into sex slavery, into child armies, or simply abandon them, they're valued less because there are so many: "I have just watched the DVD for Children Underground and found it to be very disturbing, as it should be. The situation of the homeless children isn't all that different from the homeless here in the states. The scope of the problem in Romania is larger, but the film only focuses on a small number of children. They are drug addicted, mischievous, and seemingly addicted to living on the street. A group of social workers in a shelter bring up the issue of how children become accustomed to living on the street are not able to adapt to shelter life. I can't recall another documentary touching on the idea of how difficult it is to help certain people, even when resources are available to do so. Medicine is expensive and clinics can not afford to waste it on addicts, shelters can not afford to provide for those deemed incapable of rehabilitation. Even if the children want help, and many don't, or don't appear to know how to accept it, they must be prepared even before being brought into a shelter. The damage done to these kids isn't easy to diagnose or repair. They may have suffered at home, been made despondent extreme poverty, and have psychiatric conditions. Once they are on the street they need to be "deprogrammed" before they can begin to change their ways. In my opinion, they will never be all right, they will always be 'shell shocked' by their experiences."

Answer 3

God is Pro Free Will not pro let's murder babies. Some of the quotes you give are taken out of context.
Read the entire story of Tamar. It was Judah her father in law and not God who said to burn her for harlotry (not for pregnancy)Numbers 5 is referring to wives suspected of adultery and has nothing whatsoever to do with the murder of innocent babies. Numbers 5: 29 "This is the law of jealousies..."
Exodus 21:22 says if a woman is caused to miscarry than her husband and the judges will fine the person(s) responsible. Vs. 23 takes it a step higher and requires life given for life taken.
There are other facts not taken into consideration such as Israel was a Theocracy directly under the rule of God. There were times that a pagan nation was to be utterly destroyed. Due to primitive amenities many infants died within the first month so they were not counted in the census until it was seen that they would not succumb to infant mortality.
The bible is best used when searched in a humble spirit, willing to be led into understanding and not when hunt and pecked at to support a pet theory.

Answer 4

I think that you may seem right because you aren't able to stick whole chapters from which these verses come from onto this page. However, for those of us who don't have Bibles, it's a glitch. We can't tell the context of some of the verses that you've pulled. On others, you're right. God DID allow innocent babies to die to punish the people at fault. It seems wrong, even to a Christian, that God would do something like that, but He did and he still does. I'll admit that this probably isn't the answer that will blow your theories on God away--I 'll admit it because I don't fully understand myself--but I do know that God does everything for a purpose. I'll have to say that He didn't do these things because he was pro-choice. Maybe He did them because He wanted His people to obey Him no matter what, to put Him above all others--even their own children. Recall Exodus 20? Whatever the case, God is not pro-choice.

Answer 5

Yahweh loves killing children. He did it or told people to do it many, many times in the bible. Maybe he makes them into cherubs or something like that.

Funny how christians don't have any biblical support against abortion other than 'thou shalt not kill', which is a law that can be applied to any kind of death. When you chop down a tree aren't you killing it? How exactly are you supposed to eat if you don't kill either plants or animals?

I really think the whole anti-abortion stance by christian is really about two other things:
1) controlling women, which christians love to do. (The Catholic Church especially.)
2) they want a larger population because they think that will gain them more followers. (The irony being that the population of the earth keeps growing and growing and participation in that Catholic church keeps shrinking and shrinking.) Other christian denominations do the same thing to an extent.

BUT HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF YOUR MOMMA ABORTED YOU??? (Such a rational question.)

Answer 6

You quote Ex 21, which states exactly the opposite of what you're saying, it says if the life of an unborn baby is taken because men cause injury to it by injuring the mother, they shall pay with their life. Which means an unborn child's life is equal to the life of a man's.

The living but unborn are persons in the sight of God from the time of conception. Since abortion takes a human life, it is not a moral option except to prevent the death of another person, the mother.

Jer. 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.

Ps. 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

Bible narrative: John the Baptist leaped for joy while still in his mother's womb. In doing so, John the Baptist and Elizabeth, by the Holy Spirit, acknowledged the unborn Jesus as Lord (Luke 1:41-44).

Your reasoning behind God putting to death such children because they are unborn is false. Rather it is because of the sin of the parents.

Deuteronomy 5
9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

In regards to Levitcus 27, it is speaking about redeeming a child because all first born males belong to God, and that which any man has previously devoted. A special ceremony had to take place to acknowledge that the child had been reddemed because God had set the Levites as his inheritance. If the child was a boy it needed to be circumcised first, and i suppose God had his reasons for setting one month as the time of designation. This is what Mary and Joseph are doing when Simeon blesses them.

Answer 7

Life is a continuum, without any discernible beginning or end. God knows where we were before we were conceived, and where we will go after we die. Everything in the middle is life.

I don't think your argument is with God, so much as it is with Dogma that attempts to define the beginning of a persons life. People who advocate abortion for convenience need to deny the life of the fetus, to justify their actions. Pro-life advocates, when faced with a decision that requires them to choose between the life of a mother, and the life of her unborn child, sometimes need to accept the choices they have, as God's Will.

Free Will doesn't always give a lot of choices, usually, it's between the lesser of two evils.

That's the human dilemma...

Answer 8

Great point here!

So many people have said - well would you want to have been aborted? You might as well say that about every sperm and egg that we fail to unite. The point is that before I could think, I would not have cared if I was aborted.

Many people also quote Psalms (out of context of course when it suits a fundamentalist's needs). That passage is about the forecasting of a prophet. Likewise with Judges, God had foreseen his appointed king.

For all the Fundies that said you quoted out of context, they did worse.

Answer 9

Pro-choice is Pro-death.

Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Answer 10

Do you, know, my child, I'm very glad I don't follow that God. I've never liked the retribution of the OT God, and since I was never taught to "fear" God, I find that sort of behavior in a Deity abhorrent. Forgive me for saying this, but I think it's true, that "God's Law" was too often interpreted and misunderstood by men.

Answer 11

Would you have rathered your mother had opted for abortion. How can abortion not be murder, it is taking a life a gift from God that you cannot create. Partial birth abortion is one of the most cruel abortions. Please stop taking things from the bible and using them for your ungoldy purposes.

Exodus that you quoted said if a man hurt the woman with child. It does not say if she willingly kill the child she carries. Please read the new testament before making your wild comments.