When does life begin?

Question

There are those who believe that life begins at conception when sperm meets the egg. I don't necessarily disagree with that.....

What I'm wondering is whether that life is any different than, say, plant life. Plants are alive, but stomping on a new shoot isn't considered murder.

So is life one thing, and being "ensouled" another? Even if there is life at conception, is it considered a soul at that time? Or just life, like a plant?

Please tell me your thoughts on this.

This is where I play Oscar presenter or perhaps a teacher grading papers:

Thank you to EVERYONE who responded for understanding what I was asking, and not being thrown off by my bad plant analogy. And for the respectful, honest answers.

And kudos go to:

handsoncelibacy, DjStabMas... and iknowtrut... for their humor. And an extra nod to iknowtrut... for his succinct and "shocking" answer.

To YDoncha (name still makes me laugh) for an answer that makes you go hmm....I'll have to read up on that. And if I were a writer, I'd have a plot for my next paranormal romance.

To george and beautylie... - I think you're on to something!

To WALID, BEEL and pontiuspi... for their different perspectives.

And last but not least to bunny_lov... for a shivery story.

And the Oscar (or the A+) goes to.....

Answer 1

When the spore hits the mushroom. Heck I don't know. Does anyone? Fundamentalist Christians kmow. Why don't the rest of us? I took years of college biology and I still don't know.

Answer 2

I'm not a biologist but it seems to me that the sperm and egg are alive even before conception - otherwise fertilization would not even take place. The question you ask intrigues me as well. It is the soul and spirit that set humans apart from other living organisms. The Bible does not give the specifics of when this occurs and I haven't a clue. Some people believe there is a "soul bank" filled with souls waiting to be dispensed. I find that a bit wacko - but that's just me. I don't know the answer and neither does anyone else on the planet.
It's a great question. = )

Answer 3

Life does begin at conception. If you take dna from a child just created in the womb, you find human dna , not plant life. It is alive and growing.. Not growing into a frog or a plant, but it is a human being growing. just cant survive outside the womb yet. My goodness, let it stay and have life. Who are we to deceide soeone els eis to live or die. . Gals yell labout their rights. What about the rights of the child? If there is a baby girl inthere, what about females rights then? Its absurdity from a cruel world that wants to sleep around and then rid selves of an unwanted baby, that can convince themselves its ok to kill them. and yes, they have a soul already.
But, plants dont have souls, so there is no comparion.
Stompingon a plant and killing it , is killing it.
And taking out a tiny baby before its ready is killing it to. No law on the books about killing a plant. But there are laws about murder, and everyone involved with abortin should be charged and serve time for murder. God can forgive them, if they ask and stop it all. But till then, they are lost. and will be held accountible forall the babies they kill. Wait till they get old and someone says all old ppl should die/ And yes, there are ppl for that too, and killing the handicapped. What if you were injured tomorrow and disabled/ Who has a aright to say you need to die> Only God gives life and is to take it. Anything else brings hell.
No, a tiny baby not born yet is not like a plant, one has a soul and one doesnt.
Good questions. What if your mom had you aborted? You wouldnt be here to ask that question, huh? and for the women that scream womans rights, if their mom had them aborted, they wouldnt be here at all. womans rights. Mens rights. All matter, and so do the rights of the unborn baby.
Get real. Wake up. Jesus is coming soon, and ppl need to repent before its too late. If we allow ppl to deceide who lives and dies, are we next? for whatever the reason.
There are those that say all blacks should be killed? WE can never put anyone in those positions, as to what happens if blacks are the minorites, will they then say all whites should die? These are all lies of the devil, and we better wake up. OUr nation is not still being blessed by God because of all of this. When they deceided abortion was ok, look how the nation went down in a hurry? Not safe to walk almost anywher. WHen a nation devalues human life, get ready... cuz its downhill after. But, Jesus is coming soon and lets just be sure we go with Him, and not have to stay and suffer the gread tribulation. Open our eyes Lord, we want to see JESUS

Answer 4

My opinion on this is that when that sperm meets that egg they are alive! That's why I am so bent on abortion! Like you stated plants are alive but don't have a soul! Whereas a child when conceived have a living soul from the beginning! If the spirit of life wasn't in that fetus than it would be born dead. But when the sperm hits the egg that baby has a soul and is considered a live human being.

Answer 5

Well , as a scientific fact, life starts when the sperm and egg start forming cells. But Soul is spread in the living body after almost 100 days of the conception.

Answer 6

Read Leviticus 17:11,14 and it states that life is in the blood. Medically it has been proven that blood does not enter a fetus until it is 14 days old. So if pro-lifers believe that the Bible is true then they should realize tht Biblically a human life does not exist at conception but two weeks later.

Answer 7

For me legally I would say that human life begins at the age that a fetus can live outside the womb. Of course that is changing all the time with advances in medicine.

Edit: Or like George p said Life begins on your first real motorcycle ride.

Answer 8

Life starts when you are born and take your first breath. Not at conception...

Let's look at a couple of scientific facts. Firstly, nearly 20% of ALL conceptions end in miscarriage - often without the mother ever being aware she was pregnant. This means that God is the world's most prolific abortionist.
Secondly, if life begins at the moment of conception, does this mean that we should prosecute Chimera's for cannibalism? A Chimera is a twin (two separate zygotes) where one of the twins is completely absorbed by the other, leaving the living person with two distinct types of DNA... If life began at conception, then this means that the Chimera possesses two souls and is guilty of cannibalism.

Whaddya think?

Answer 9

At conception and there is a soul at that moment.

I am a Christian and I believe that the bible is the True and Holy Word of God our Creator. In His Word He tells us:

For You formed my inward parts
You wove me together in my mother's womb
I will give thanks to You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works
And my soul know it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me
When as yet there was not one of them.

Psalm 139:13-16

Answer 10

With the reproduction of egg and sperm. These single cell creations are alive. Human life begins at conception. Human life comes into full manifestation at birth.

Answer 11

I have one child. At around 7 months gestation I awoke from a nap to a man calling my name over and over. I got up to look at the door, around the house, but no one was there. I now believe that was the moment a soul entered my daughter's body. That is just my opinion.