I had to pull out my Chumash (the Old Testament, for most of you) in light of the ignorance about the Bible and gay marriage, and in doing so thought I'd share this fun fact for whoever is curious. This is what it says:
On the "personhood" of a fetus: Shemos Parshas Mishpatim, Chaf Beis, or Exodous 21:22-24
"If men fight and they collide with a pregnant woman and she miscarries, but there is no fatality, he shall be punished as the husband of the woman shall cause to be assessed against him, and he shall pay it by order of judges. But if there shall be a fatality, then you shall award a life for a life; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot; a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise."
You can't get any clearer- the Old Testament states that abortion of a fetus is NOT the killing of a person, period.
Just had to throw that out there since religious Christians seem to always pull out the Old Testament to support their misconception that abortion is murder.
Re: FYI- According to the Bible, abortion is NOT murder.
I disagree with you...Looking at the whole context of the Bible, New & Old Testament, God who is the Creator of life is FOR life!! In the New Testament, Jesus says "Suffer the little children to come unto Me" meaning let them come, so why would He be okay with ending life of children??
I realize you & others won't agree with me but I strongly disagree with your post.
Well now isn't that a horse of a different color!
Please explain what G-d meant by the passage quoted, then. He stated that it is appropriate to take a life for a life if the woman dies because murder is a crime, and yet, stated that when someone terminates the life of a fetus, he must pay damages to the woman's husband.
Tort vs. crime!
How do you know when he says "come unto Me" he's not meaning, let them come to heaven and be with Jesus/God? That's how I read it.
I was TOTALLY waiting for a response like this. Doh! OT foiled by NT once again. Oh that wiley Jeebus. *eye-roll*
Because by the quote the OP gave, an unborn fetus is not a child. YOU are making that distinction based on your own person beliefs. But the bible only talks about children that are already born (hence the section that a miscarriage does not equal a fatality)
He would not, but the point I get from the OP is that a fetus is not a child (yet)
Lynn Marie born September 5, 2007
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I'm pro-choice (and a Christian!), and maybe I'm not reading the Bible passage correctly, but I thought this passage was commonly used by pro-lifers to claim that God is AGAINST abortion.
ETA it sounds like He still thinks it's wrong but not on the level of murder.
What does that have to do with whether the Bible/God considers abortion wrong? The OP's quote makes it pretty clear that OT law does not consider a fetus to be a person. So "fetus" does not equal "child."
(Disclosure: I'm nonreligious, prochoice, and for reducing the number of abortions as much as possible through means such as education, readily available birth control, and increased availability of health care and support for pregnant women.)Then why in the hell do some people try to legislate the bible??? If "everyone can read and interpret an they see fit," then what rational reason is there for relying upon any portion of it to create laws? You have defeated your own argument with that statement.
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city.
Deuteronomy 22:23-24
So yeah, if i catch my wife whoring around, I'm stoning her.
If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her ... and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: And the damsel's father shall say ... these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. ... But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die.
Deuteronomy 22:13-21
And if my new wife isn't a virgin, I'm stoning her too.
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother ... Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city ... And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
And if my PITA kids are disrespectful, I'm gonna stone them too!!!
Hooray Bible!!!!
I haven't spoken to my Jewish friends about abortion in a while, but I was under the impression that Judaism teaches that while abortion is not a sin, it is considered desecration of the body, which is a sin.
Bwahahaha.
Beauty? Really?
I personally would vote to legalize abortion, but I don't think you are "legislating" your religion if you would vote against abortion because you think it is morally wrong or equivalent to murder. Everyone votes according to their conscience, and many people have the views they do because of religion. Just like if you have the value of progressive taxation to benefit the poor, and you say you have that belief about helping the less fortunate because of the example set by Jesus' teachings, that doesn't mean you are legislating the Bible. It just means you are voting your conscience.
I'd say a real church-state issue is mandating Bible studies in schools, or creating a religious requirement for public office. People voting on specific ballot issues according to their religious beliefs? Not the same thing.
This made me lol. For realz.
At yecholah korahat ivrit? Eizeh yofe!
Lamah ata koneh et ha Torah, v'lo yihieh tipsha.
Do you believe the Old Testament was written originally in English? I'm SO curious.
Many religious people don't. It's considered a sin by some.
Isn't the Bible, a book that people base their lives off of, so awesome...I mean, there are a couple different versions in circulation which pretty much insures you can find a bible that will confirm your personal beliefs...
That is one reason I cannot understand how people can so devoutly follow a book that has been changed and intrpretted so many different ways over the years...anyway, different arguement for a different day...
I don't think OP is trying to show that God would be all like"Yeah! Abortion!" but rather showing that the bible does not have life beginning at conception, otherwise, the eye for an eye thng would call for the death of the dude who "ran into" the woman and caused miscarriage.
I also want to add that most pro-choicers are not pro-abortioners...rather we believe that every woman should chose for herself...
OH.MY.FUCKKING.GOD! You did NOT just say that??!!??!! OP is quoting from the ORIGINAL bible - you know, the one written in Hebrew? The one that hasn't been translated from Hebrew to Aramaic to Greek to Latin to English?
Perhaps you should stop quoting the bible!
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.