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Early Church Views on Abortion

The document discusses the early Christian views on abortion, highlighting the lack of consensus on the timeline of fetal viability among early ethicists and church figures. Key texts like the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas express strong opposition to abortion, emphasizing the sanctity of life and the belief that children are a blessing from God. Despite the absence of explicit references to abortion in Scripture, early Christian writings laid the groundwork for a theological stance against the practice.

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kemmy
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15 views2 pages

Early Church Views on Abortion

The document discusses the early Christian views on abortion, highlighting the lack of consensus on the timeline of fetal viability among early ethicists and church figures. Key texts like the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas express strong opposition to abortion, emphasizing the sanctity of life and the belief that children are a blessing from God. Despite the absence of explicit references to abortion in Scripture, early Christian writings laid the groundwork for a theological stance against the practice.

Uploaded by

kemmy
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Abortion in the Early Church View

As stated previously, the abortion debate has escalated exponentially due to the
influence of early ethicists and prominent church figures who were not in harmony
with the timeline definition of viability of the fetus. Hence, even if there were lateral
agreements on abortion, there was still no consolidated timeline agreement. The
Roman Catholic church was generally anti-abortion based on sexual immorality, but
not the concept of slaying the fetus (Hovery, 1885). It should be noted that the Old
Testament expresses is dire love for children and does not merely mention abortion.
The children of Israel were a blessing, while sterility had been looked upon as a curse
(Cerling, 1972). Psalms 127:3-5 talks about children being a gift from God (Wilson,
2023). Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas are the pioneers in scribal references to
Christian abortion. The Didache is a manual based on the life of Christians and the
church. The Epistle of Barnabas is more concentrated on the interpretation of the Old
Testament (Hvalvik, 2021) and the theological correlation between Christianity and
Judaism (Gorman, 2000).

Didache, a Christian manual which means teaching, was formulated before 300 AD. It
was titled the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles and adopted the 10 commandments
(Jefford, 2024). This manual had an early influence on attempts to mold Christians
into siding with its beliefs with regards to abortion. It's four parts, with the first, “Two
Ways, the Way of Life and the Way of Death,” being more closely related to the
concept of abortion. Didache showed deep opposition against abortion and stated,
You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb, and you shall not murder the
infant already born “.

A specific quote from the Didache, “You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the
womb and you shall not murder the infant already born”, expresses the deep
condemnation of abortion during the early Christians (Thomas, 2022).

The Epistle of Barnabas

This was an early reference to abortion, thought to be established between the first
and second centuries. It was stated in the Epistle of Barnabas that you should not slay
the child by procuring abortion, nor destroy the abortion thought entity after birth. The
document was used as a template by pertinent church fathers such as Clement of
Alexandria and incorporated into some early copies of the Bible during the 4th
century. The purpose npf the Epistle of Barnabas was to clarify Christianity and
Judaism, stating that the scriptures of the Jews were made for the Christians, instead
of the Jews. In fact, according to some authors, it was believed that the Old Testament
could not be easily understood by the Jews. It was during the second century of the
Epistle of Barnabas that Christians were gravely against abortion, and hence the
correlation between the Christian teachings and the writings Epistle of Barnabas
(Blackshaw)

Surprisingly, there is no explicit reference to or condemnation of abortion to be found


in Scripture, and it was never addressed by Jesus. Despite this, a case against abortion
can still be constructed based on Biblical teachings. my opinion.

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