(no subject)

[semiotic_pirate]

The following is a post phanatic made a while ago. I found it quite interesting and wonder if more people know about this little tidbit. Kinda blows a wide and gaping hole in the christian-anti-abortion group doesn't it? Notice I call them anti-abortion, not pro-life, because if they were pro-life they wouldn't be trying to kill (or encouraging the deaths) of people who are pro-abortion. After all, if all life is sacred you wouldn't want to be killing anyone. Another point is this; if they are all fired up about saving "the innocent" but they are Christian... what happened to their belief in Original Sin? No one except Mary, mother of Jesus, was born without it. Supposedly. Well, it always seems that, if you make an argument claiming that the Bible backs up your opinion someone else is bound to find a counter argument within the Bible as well.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pro-life crowd, or at least the Christian subset of the pro-life crowd, tends to argue its case from a Biblical perspective, as one would expect. Generally, it's claimed that abortion is the moral equivalent of murder.

But there's a Biblical passage that seems to call that assertion into question, and in a big way: Exodus 21:22-25.

"If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise."

To sum up, if you beat a pregnant woman and she miscarries, it's a civil matter, punishable merely by a monetary fine. If you hurt the woman, then it's a criminal matter and you can be physically punished. If you murder the woman in the process, you yourself are to be put to death.

Kill the woman, you die. Simply kill the fetus, you're out some cash.

Isn't this a pretty substantial point of evidence that abortion and murder are not morally equivalent?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So? Comments? Discussion?

Comments

[blueadept.livejournal.com]

I'm a pro-choice atheist Jew, but take what you will from my comment below...

The passage seems to mean injury to the fetus, not the woman. "[S]he gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury" to me seems to mean that it's an actual premature birth, not just a miscarriage. It's possible to cause premature birth by way of agitating the body. In fact, a recent study shows that having sex when you're close to birth can bring on labor.

I could be wrong, but I guess that's why I'm not a Biblical scholar. Or maybe the Bible is vague, and that's why so many loonies can claim to be scholars.

[puf-almighty.livejournal.com]

That's pretty sharp, to catch that. I'd have (and did) just taken it for whichever it's presented as, because it's convincing as phrased either way.
Guess it hinges on finding somebody who actually reads ancient Hebrew and seeing what they say about the context.

Or maybe the Bible is vague, and that's why so many loonies can claim to be scholars.
Word.

[puf-almighty.livejournal.com]

Revised Standard edition sez it as, "22: "When men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no harm follows, the one who hurt her shall be fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine."

Suppose somebody who's both anti-abortion, and all about the KJV, might see that as proof that you have to stick with the KJV- it can be interpreted to fit pre-existing politics!

[blueadept.livejournal.com]

Ooh, nice. I wonder what the original Hebrew says... I could ask a rabbi or something.

[semiotic-pirate.livejournal.com]

if you can ask a rabbi how the original verse is worded and how it can be interpreted that would be neat. a lot of meaning is lost when translations are sloppy.

I'm glad this post is getting so much traffic, it is good to see the differing viewpoints.