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by btilly 968 days ago
You say prescriptive, but what does the Bible prescribe?

The word abortion appears zero times. As https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12178933/ points out, the clearest reference is to miscarriage. And there the fetus is valued at far less than a human life.

Just because a religion has taken a position on a topic doesn't mean that their religious texts agree.
1 comments
aifooh7Keew6xoo 968 days ago
Well, I understand it's pretty clear on killing:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou_shalt_not_kill

Certainly whether or not abortion qualifies as killing is a matter of interpretation, but judging from signs I've driven by I'd say it's not an unpopular interpretation

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btilly 968 days ago
Most people are pretty clear on killing. What does or doesn't qualify as killing is the central question.

No matter how popular the interpretation may be, the Bible *DOES NOT* prescribe a viewpoint on whether abortion is killing. Quite the opposite in fact. What little is said relating to it in the Bible is evidence that abortion is something *LESS* than killing.

It is perfectly valid to believe that abortion is murder. But arguments that the Bible says so are based on invalid logic.

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cratermoon 968 days ago
I'm not one of those atheist edgelords who likes to trash the Bible based on a few choice verses, but I do acknowledge the rampant contradictions inevitable in a work so constructed: Deuteronomy 20: "when the Lord your God delivers it into your hands, put every male in it to the sword;" and Joshua 7-12 describing the genocide of the Canaanites.

There are even verses in the New Testament that some interpret as giving permission to use violence in self defense, an interpretation I reject: Matthew 10:34 and Luke 22:36

So no, the Bible is not especially clear on killing, either.

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