Explain How Christian Teachings May Be Used In A Discussion About Abortion Essay, Research Paper

Christians are

taught about their religion through teachings from the Bible. They also follow

what the Pope and other religious teachers tell them. These teachings help guide

Christians through life.On the subject of ?having children? God told his

people that they should multiply he said ?Be fruitful and increase, fill the

earth? (Genesis 1:28). When God said this, the world was sparsely populated so

He wanted to fill it with His people. He also said, ?Like arrows in the hand of

a warrior are the sons of one?s youth. Happy is he who has his quiver full of

them? (Psalm 127:4-5). The arrows represent the sons, the warrior, the father.

Happy is he who has many arrows, meaning the more sons the father has, the

happier he will be.Christians believe that begins at conception, this

is what they have been taught. ?You knit me together in my mother?s womb . . .

my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place . . . your

eyes saw my unformed body? (Psalm 139). This Psalm refers to ?you? meaning God.

This quote is suggesting that God created humans the way he wanted them to be.

Another quote to back this up is from the ?Declaration on procured abortion? by

the Roman Catholic church in 1974, it reads, ?From the time the ovum is

fertilized a new life is begun. It is the life of a new human being with it?s

own growth. It would never become human if it were not human already?. The

point that the Roman Catholics are trying to make is that a human is an

individual from conception. Christians

believe that the abortion of a baby is wrong. However this depends on the

individual case. The Church of England said, ?The life of a foetus is not

absolutely sacrosanct if it endangers the life of the mother? (1984). What this

means is that if the mother?s life is in danger then abortion is acceptable.

So, in this case, they are for abortion under certain circumstances.

Another quote, which agrees with this, is from the General Synod of the Church

of England ?We believe that abortion is an evil, but we also believe that to

withhold compassion is evil. Christians need to face frankly that in an

imperfect world the ?right? choice is sometimes the acceptance of the lesser of

two evils.? In simpler terms it is better to have an abortion than an unfit

mother and an unhappy child. However the Didache contradicts this point of

acceptance by saying,? ?You shall not

kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already

born? this is an early Christian dating back to 200 A.D. It means that to kill

a child of any form is wrong.Everyone knows

that it is wrong to kill including Christians who are strictly against it. The

teachings on the subject of murder are very clear. A straightforward command

from God told them ?Thou shalt not kill? (The Ten Commandments). It is as

simple as that. The Second Vatican Council back this up by teaching this; ?Life

must be protected from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are

abominable crimes? (1963) this quote means the same as what the Didache said;

that it is wrong to kill a child of any form.