Over thirty years ago I had the privilege of helping lay the foundation for a local Crisis Pregnancy Center. Sharon and I picketed hospitals that performed late term abortions that resulted in live births of babies who were then left to die alone. I've debated pro-death candidates on their pro-abortion positions and preached from a pro-life worldview all of my ministry life. I share the discouragement of pro-life people who are watching our new President dismantle every brick of the pro-life protection afforded children by our laws. No matter how much pro-death people try to paint us as unfeeling and uncaring for the woman facing a crisis pregnancy, we must continue to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Who knows if God will move through these words to turn a woman's heart toward Him as she faces the frightening prospect of bringing a baby into the world that she didn't expect. There are crisis pregnancy centers all over our country, ready to offer help and hope to hurting women.

Abortion is not a new concept. Listen as our early church fathers plead with listeners to protect the child growing within.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) also known as St. Augustine was a philosopher and theologian. Augustine, a Latin Church father, is one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. Augustine was heavily influenced by the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus. He framed the concepts of original sin and just war. When the Roman Empire in the West was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God (in a book of the same name) distinct from the material City of Man. His thought profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. Augustine's City of God was closely identified with the church, and was the community which worshiped God.

"Sometimes, indeed, this lustful cruelty, or if you please, cruel lust, resorts to such extravagant methods as to use poisonous drugs to secure barrenness; or else, if unsuccessful in this, to destroy the conceived seed by some means previous to birth, preferring that its offspring should rather perish than receive vitality; or if it was advancing to life within the womb, should be slain before it was born." (De Nube et Concupiscentia 1.17)

On the undeveloped fetus:

"Hence in the first place arises a question about abortive conceptions, which have indeed been born in the mother's womb, but not so born that they could be born again. For if we shall decide that these are to rise again, we cannot object to any conclusion that may be drawn in regard to those which are fully formed. Now who is there that is not rather disposed to think that unformed abortions perish, like seeds that have never fructified? But who will dare to deny, though he may not dare to affirm, that at the resurrection every defect in the form shall be supplied, and that thus the perfection which time would have brought shall not be wanting, any more than the blemishes which time did bring shall be present: so that the nature shall neither want anything suitable and in harmony with it that length of days would have added, nor be debased by the presence of anything of an opposite kind that length of days has added; but that what is not yet complete shall be completed, just as what has been injured shall be renewed." (Enchiridion 23.85.4)

On therapeutic abortion:

"And therefore the following question may be very carefully inquired into and discussed by learned men, though I do not know whether it is in man's power to resolve it: At what time the infant begins to live in the womb: whether life exists in a latent form before it manifests itself in the motions of the living being. To deny that the young, who are cut out limb by limb from the womb, lest if they were left there dead the mother should die too, have never been alive seems too audacious. Now, from the time that a man begins to live, from that time it is possible for him to die. And if he die, wheresoever death may overtake him, I cannot discover on what principle he can be denied an interest in the resurrection of the dead." (Enchiridion 23.86)

"Therefore brothers, you see how perverse they are and hastening wickedness, who are immature, they seek abortion of the conception before the birth; they are those who tell us, 'I do not see that which you say must be believed.'" (Sermon 126, line 12)

Apocalypse of Paul - This document is without date and has been proven to be a falsification, but it is included for its historical value and influence.

"And I saw women wearing white robes, being blind, and standing upon obelisks of fire; and an angel was mercilessly beating them, saying: Now you know where you are; you did not attend when the Scriptures were read to you. And the angel said to me: These are they who corrupted themselves and killed their infants. Their infants therefore came crying out: Avenge us of our mothers. And they were given to an angel to be carried away into a spacious place, but their parents into everlasting fire." (40)

Vision of Paul

"I asked and said: 'Who are these men and women who are strangled in fire and pay their penalties?' And he answered me: 'These are women who defiled the image of God when bringing forth infants out of the womb, and these are the men who lay with them.' And their infants addressed the Lord God and the angels who were set over the punishments, saying: 'Cursed be the hour to our parents, for they defiled the image of God, having the name of God but not observing His precepts: they gave us for food to dogs and to be trodden down of swine: others they threw into the river. But their infants were handed over to the angels of Tartarus who were set over the punishments, that they might lead them to a wide place of mercy: but their fathers and mothers were tortured in a perpetual punishment.'" (40)

The Apostolic Constitutions

"Thou shalt not use magic. Thou shalt not use witchcraft; for he says, 'You shall not suffer a witch to live' [Ex. 22:18]. Thou shall not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is begotten. If it be slain, it shall be avenged, as being unjustly destroyed." (Apostolic Constitutions 7:3 [A.D. 400)

The Letter of Barnabas (AD 74) is a Greek treatise with some features of an epistle containing twenty-one chapters, preserved complete in the 4th century Codex Sinaiticus where it appears at the end of the New Testament. It is traditionally ascribed to Barnabas who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, though some ascribe it to another apostolic father of the same name, a "Barnabas of Alexandria," or simply attribute it to an unknown early Christian teacher.

"The way of light, then, is as follows. Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born" (Letter of Barnabas 19)

Hippolytus wrote the Refutation of All Heresies a Christian polemical work of the early third century. It catalogues both pagan beliefs and 33 Gnostic Christian systems deemed heretical.

"Women who were reputed to be believers began to take drugs to render themselves sterile, and to bind themselves tightly so as to expel what was being conceived, since they would not, on account of relatives and excess wealth, want to have a child by a slave or by any insignificant person. See, then, into what great impiety that lawless one has proceeded, by teaching adultery and murder at the same time!" (Refutation of All Heresies)

If you are considering an abortion, please do not go forward with that decision. Give God the opportunity to bring beauty from the ashes of your dreams, to give you treasures in the darkness and most of all, to bring your child into this world.

In His Grip,
Pastor Betters

MARKINC Ministries, its staff, or volunteers accepts no liability for the content of this blog, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of MARKINC Ministries.

Some have exhorted me to give up the fight, that abortion has always been with us and always will. I understand their discouragement but I cannot keep silent when whole generations of children are wiped out. We must keep declaring truth with the hope that God will open ears and hearts to His purposes. As a very young pastor I preached a strong pro-life abortion, perhaps not realized the conflict that could arise from my position. But all of that turmoil was worth it when a young woman shared her story. Unbeknownst to her parents she was scheduled for an abortion the next day. She heard the message but fought against God's truth and kept her appointment. She cried as she lay on the abortionist's table, prepared to end the life of her baby. God's Word rang in her ears and she suddenly sat up and exclaimed, "I can't do this. I can't kill my baby." The doctor and nurses tried to convince her that she was just emotional and would "get over it" when she got on with her life without the burden of a child. But this young woman stayed firm. She confessed her pregnancy to her parents (church leaders) who immediately embraced her and encouraged her to bring her baby into the world. Which she did. Perhaps, dear reader, you have bought into the world's view of life and you are ready to end your child's life. I plead with you to consider the fact that from the beginning of time, God created life and this pregnancy is part of His plan for your life and the life of your child. But don't take my word for it. Read on and ask God to open your heart to His truth. Listen to the voices of ancient history, crying out to you.

The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles recorded in The Didache (1st Century AD)

"The Lord's Teaching to the Heathen by the Twelve Apostles:

"1 There are two ways, one of life and one of death; and between the two ways there is a great difference. 2 Now, this is the way of life:...The second commandment of the Teaching: 'Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not corrupt boys; do not fornicate; do not steal; do not practice magic; do not go in for sorcery; do not murder a child by abortion or kill a newborn infant.'" (d.177)

"What reason would we have to commit murder when we say that women who induce abortions are murderers, and will have to give account of it to God? For the same person would not regard the fetus in the womb as a living thing and therefore an object of God's care [and then kill it]....But we are altogether consistent in our conduct. We obey reason and do not override it." (Legatio 35)

"How, then, when we do not even look on, lest we should contract guilt and pollution, can we put people to death? And when we say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the abortion, on what principle should we commit murder? For it does not belong to the same person to regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being, and therefore an object of God's care, and when it has passed into life, to kill it; and not to expose an infant, because those who expose them are chargeable with child-murder, and on the other hand, when it has been reared to destroy it. But we are in all things always alike and the same, submitting ourselves to reason, and not ruling over it." (A Plea for the Christians 35.4)

"There are some women who, by drinking medical preparations, extinguish the source of the future man in their very bowels, and thus commit a parricide before they bring forth. And these things assuredly come down from the teaching of your gods." (Octavius 30)

To Anfilochius, Bishop of Iconia:

"She who has intentionally destroyed [the fetus] is subject to the penalty corresponding to a homicide. For us, there is no scrutinizing between the formed and unformed [fetus]; here truly justice is made not only for the unborn but also with reference to the person who is attentive only to himself/herself since so many women generally die for this very reason." (First Letter 2)

Ambrose (c.340-397) was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the fourth century. He is counted as one of the four original doctors of the Church.

"Indeed there are those women who cut off the word prematurely born/aborted, before they give birth, there are those who have Christ in the womb but they will not yet have formed (him), to whom it is said: my children, whom I desire to bring forth again and again until Christ be formed in you." (Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam, lib. 10, line 252)

"But why the eye or the hand, since the aborted child has both a hand and an eye which has already been formed?" (Ambrose, Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam, lib. 10, line 283)

"And elsewhere the same Ecclesiastes, being an old man, guarded him better whom his mother had cast out by abortion, because he did not see these bad things which they make in this world, he neither came into these shadows nor walked in vanity, and for that reason he who did not come into this life will have more of a rest than he who came." (De bono mortis, cap 2, par. 4, line 11)

Jerome (347-420) was a Christian apologist best known for translating the Vulgate.

"You may see many women who go so far as to take potions that they may insure barrenness, and thus murder human beings almost before their conception. Some, when they find themselves with child through their sin, use drugs to procure abortion, and when (as often happens) they die with their offspring, they enter the lower world laden with the guilt not only of adultery against Christ but also of suicide and child murder. (Epistula 22)

John Chrysostom (347-407) bishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his asceticism.

"Why sow where the ground makes it its care to destroy the fruit where there are many efforts at abortion, where there is murder before the birth? For even the harlot thou dost not let continue a mere harlot, but makes her a murderer also. You see how drunkenness leads to whoredom, whoredom to adultery, adultery to murder; or rather something even worse than murder. For I have no name to give it, since it does not take off the thing born, but prevents its being born. Why then dost thou abuse the gift of God, and fight with His laws, and follow after what is a curse as if a blessing, and make the chamber of procreation a chamber for murder, and arm the woman that was given for childbearing unto slaughter?" (Homily 24 on Romans)

But that's not all from early Church Fathers. If you are still wondering about when life begins, tune in tomorrow to hear from Augustine of Hippo and others.

In His Grip,
Pastor Betters

MARKINC Ministries, its staff, or volunteers accepts no liability for the content of this blog, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of MARKINC Ministries.

It is not uncommon to hear the pro-abortion crowd refer to pro-lifers as right-wing religious extremists. Along with that name-calling, there always seems to be tagging along close behind a polemic that we who are pro-life take Bible verses out of context. They accuse us of not being able to defend our position without a few out of context verses from the Bible that suit our arguments. I beg to differ. Over the next few days I will trace what early Church leaders believed about a woman's right to an abortion.

I certainly maintain that the teaching of the Old Testament and the New Testament is clearly anti-abortion. I can prove that in a scholarly way. But for the sake of argument, allow me to lay out for you the thought of the extra-Biblical material especially in the afterglow of the Apostles' ministry, that is, after the Apostles died off. Why should we bother to look at this material? Extra-Biblical literature, although it does not have the weight of Scripture does represent the cultural and theological mindset of the early Church thinkers and leaders. What did the early Church leaders believe about a woman's right to an abortion? Let me illustrate.

Let's start with a second century document (circa 135 AD) written under the pseudo-authorship of someone named Peter. It was not written by the Apostle Peter, thus one reason it is not in the New Testament Canon. It is called The Apocalypse of Peter. Below is a passage from this short letter describing a scene at the Judgment seat of Christ:

"I saw a gorge in which the discharge and excrement of the tortured ran down and became like a lake. There sat women, and the discharge came up to their throats; and opposite them sat many children, who were born prematurely, weeping. And from them went forth rays of fire and smote the women on the eyes. These were those who produced children outside of marriage and who procured abortions. Those who slew the unborn children will be tortured forever, for God wills it to so." The Apocalypse of Peter 2:26;64

Tertullian (c. 160 - 240) was one of the most influential and prolific early Christian authors, and the first to write Christian literature in Latin. He was a great apologist (defender of the faith) and a polemicist against unorthodox heresy. He was the first to coin the term "Trinity" to describe the Godhead. Below are excerpts of his teaching on abortion from two of his books, De Anima and Apologia.

"That the unborn child is alive: How are they dead unless they were first alive? But still in the womb an infant by necessary cruelty is killed when lying twisted at the womb's mouth he prevents birth and is a matricide unless he dies. Therefore there is among the arms of physicians an instrument by which with a rotary movement the genital parts are first opened, then with a cervical instrument the interior members are slaughtered with careful judgment by a blunt barb, so that the whole criminal deed is extracted with a violent delivery. There is also the bronze needle by which the throat - cutting is carried out by a robbery in the dark; this instrument is called an embryo knife from its function of infanticide, as it is deadly for the living infant..

They [John and Jesus] were both alive while still in the womb. Elizabeth rejoiced as the infant leaped in her womb; Mary glorifies the Lord because Christ within inspired her. Each mother recognizes her child and each is known by her child who is alive, being not merely souls but also spirits." (De Anima 26.4)

"Thus, you read the word of God, spoken to Jeremiah: 'Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee.' If God forms us in the womb, He also breathes on us as He did in the beginning: 'And God formed man and breathed into him the breath of life.' Nor could God have known man in the womb unless he were a whole man. 'And before thou came forth from the womb, I sanctified thee.' Was it, then, a dead body at that stage? Surely it was not, for 'God is the God of the living and not the dead.'" (De Anima 26.5) "It is not permissible for us to destroy the seed by means of illicit manslaughter once it has been conceived in the womb, so long as blood remains in the person." (Apologia, cap 25, line 42)

"In our case, murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is man-killing; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in the seed." (Apologia 9.6)

"Give us your testimony, then, ye mothers, whether yet pregnant, or after delivery (let barren women and men keep silence), - whether you feel in the embryo within you any vital force other than your own, with which your bowels tremble, your sides shake, your entire womb throbs, and the burden which oppresses you constantly changes its position?" (De Anima 25)

"Now we allow that life begins with conception because we contend that the soul also begins from conception; life taking its commencement at the same moment and place that the soul does" (De Anima, 27)

"The Law of Moses, indeed, punishes with due penalties the man who shall cause abortion - Exodus 21:22-24" (De Anima., 37)

These statements are startling, but there is more. Check back tomorrow or sign up for the RSS feed to be alerted to my next post.

In His Grip,
Pastor Betters

MARKINC Ministries, its staff, or volunteers accepts no liability for the content of this blog, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of MARKINC Ministries.