Theology professor claims that the Bible
is neutral towards abortion
Campus Reform,
by
Emily Fowler
Original Article
Posted By: Beardo,
8/19/2022 12:20:03 PM
According to one theology professor, the Bible is neutral when it comes to abortion.
On July 20, Melanie A. Howard, Associate Professor of Biblical & Theological Studies at Fresno Pacific University (FPU) in California, published an article in The Conversation explaining her view that the Bible neither condemns nor supports abortion.
FPU claims to be the only accredited Christian university in California’s Central Valley. “In the days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade,” writes Howard, “some Christians have cited the Bible to argue why this decision should either be celebrated or lamented. But here’s the problem: This 2,000-year-old text says nothing about abortion.”
Reply 1 - Posted by:
WhamDBambam 8/19/2022 12:30:58 PM (No. 1253299)
"Theology perfessers," am there anything they don't know?
12 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
HisHandmaiden 8/19/2022 12:36:32 PM (No. 1253306)
Guess she missed memorizing the 10 Commandments as a kid in Sunday School…
[“Thou shalt not kill,” is very clear.]
TBIYTC
22 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Quigley 8/19/2022 12:44:01 PM (No. 1253316)
To the Self Righteous it’s neutral on religion.
10 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
columba 8/19/2022 12:52:20 PM (No. 1253323)
This post illustrates Martin Luther's mistake of BIBLE ONLY.
9 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Venturer 8/19/2022 12:55:04 PM (No. 1253327)
Did they have clothes hangers 2,000 year ago?
6 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
oldmagnolia 8/19/2022 12:56:06 PM (No. 1253328)
I give you a clue professor: Number 5 - Thou shall not kill.
10 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Namma 8/19/2022 1:00:43 PM (No. 1253333)
gosh, I read "Thou shalt NOT KILL" Does not say, Thou shalt not kill after a baby is born, but go at it before the baby is born.
I have never seen this in any of the bibles I read.
9 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Norway 8/19/2022 1:01:38 PM (No. 1253335)
The Bible doesn't mention abortion because everyone from back then and until out 'enlightened' age KNEW that abortion was wrong and evil. It didn't need to be discussed for that reason.
16 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
MattMusson1 8/19/2022 1:11:02 PM (No. 1253340)
Followers of Moloch.
17 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Harlowe 8/19/2022 1:44:13 PM (No. 1253383)
#4~ Interesting comment. Mistake? In what way? Detailed explanation would be appropriate and appreciated.
5 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Miceal 8/19/2022 1:52:39 PM (No. 1253390)
I think "suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come un to me." Means something a whole lot different than these libs believe...
5 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Luandir 8/19/2022 2:07:58 PM (No. 1253399)
They're using the same straw man argument that sanctimonious Jimmikottah often trots out, e.g., "Jesus never said anything about homosexuality," as if other passages don't convey the message. The Bible doesn't say anything about pedophilia either, so are we expected to give that a pass? Some things are (or used to be) recognized as so universally wrong that they go without mention.
10 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
JoElla Bee 8/19/2022 2:40:48 PM (No. 1253431)
FTA: “In the days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade,” writes Howard, “some Christians have cited the Bible to argue why this decision should either be celebrated or lamented. But here’s the problem: This 2,000-year-old text says nothing about abortion.” ….. In a report in January of this year, for example, Campus Reform listed a sampling of 18 Christian universities that promote abortion. Some of the Universities include Texas Christian University, Virginia Wesleyan University, the College of St. Rose, and others.
2 Timothy 3: 7 “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
It appears that some have taken the notion that “anything goes” if it isn’t specifically named in the holy scriptures using their particularly chosen term of identification. “Silence means I can do anything I choose.”
They must have missed the childhood lesson about being sent to town with instructions to buy a loaf of bread. Momma sent you with more money than the cost of the bread. Her silence about the remainder of the money didn’t authorize you to spend the rest of the money on whatever you wanted to buy with it. Ignoring all of the lessons Momma had already taught you, just because she didn’t apply their principles to this particular instruction, would hardly absolve you from the repercussion of going against those principles.
Sadly, the lack of bad consequences for bad actions teaches bad lessons.
5 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
DVC 8/19/2022 3:26:41 PM (No. 1253459)
He's a California theology professor so it doesn't count.
7 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 8/19/2022 4:56:27 PM (No. 1253533)
Melanie A. Howard should do some more reading about the shedding of innocent blood. Pray for her students and Melanie.
6 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
GoodDeal 8/19/2022 4:58:39 PM (No. 1253536)
Another false teacher that we were warned about in the Bible. Pay no attention. Move along.
8 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
ncva 8/19/2022 5:14:29 PM (No. 1253547)
Psalm 139 13-16: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
6 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
MsMontana 8/19/2022 5:45:27 PM (No. 1253575)
What about the fact that John the Baptist leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when the announcement of Mary’s arrival at Elizabeth’s home? He recognized the divinity of Christ in his first trimester when JTB was only in the second Trimester.
What else needs to be written about it to know there is a Biblical recognition of a child’s humanity and divinity in the womb?
8 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
pmcclure 8/19/2022 6:22:55 PM (No. 1253606)
"Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive." II Kings 24:3,4
3 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
mre 8/19/2022 6:58:07 PM (No. 1253639)
John MacArthur continues to show his ignorance of Hebrew (and Greek).
3 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Faithfully 8/19/2022 8:25:55 PM (No. 1253740)
Don't have recreational sex. Idiots.
2 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
ladydawgfan 8/19/2022 8:46:45 PM (No. 1253759)
RE #12: with regards to the Bible and homosexuality, I refer you to Leviticus.
Leviticus 18:22 - Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Leviticus 20:13 - If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Now, I don't know about being put to death, but the Bible is pretty clear about homosexuality being an abomination.
2 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
mifla 8/20/2022 4:49:15 AM (No. 1254009)
Kind of like the Constitution, eh?
0 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
MickTurn 8/20/2022 4:57:27 AM (No. 1254019)
Wow, they can see words that aren't there...isn't that PerfesserPox?
0 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
franq 8/20/2022 8:20:00 AM (No. 1254121)
Exactly, #12. There are no recorded words of Jesus explicitly addressing incest or bestiality either. So I guess that means it's permissible. Hello!!!!! McFly!!!!!!!!
0 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
Calamity Kate 8/20/2022 10:02:17 AM (No. 1254226)
# 10, Prior to Luther removing 7 books from the Bible and declaring that anyone could interpret the Bible for themselves, the church had a three pronged approach to doctrine: sacred scripture (the books and letters inspired by the Holy Spirit and written by men), sacred authority (the magisterium, or the authority that Christ appointed the Church), and sacred tradition (the way Christianity was practiced prior to the Bible even being compiled.
For the first 300 years of Christianity, there was no Bible. The canon was settled after bishops were finally able to meet legally, without fear of persecution, after Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 AD. There was NO official or settled canon of the NT up to this point.
EVERYthing that was finalized in the bible was guided by the Holy Spirit and most importantly they asked - how does this book/letter line up with what we've been taught, by what was handed down by the Apostles?
Thess 2:15 says So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. (This establishes oral tradition.)
The end of John says there was no way to write everything Jesus said or did as it would take eternity to write. (Again, oral tradition)
Acts 8, the Ethiopian eunuch, a government official, was trying to read the book of Isaiah. He did not understand it. The plain text did not reveal itself to this educated man. The Holy Spirt transported St. Philip to the side of the eunuch's carriage and explained it to him, and shared the Gospel. (The need for correct teaching and interpretation. No reading/interpreting sola)
The three: Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium - all work together to provide a complete and accurate faith. They work together - one can never contradict the other two.
Remove one, or only focus on one (sola scriptura), and you end up with error, heresy, apostasy, confusion.
How is it there are 1000s of 'bible only' churches that can't even agree on basic doctrine?
Once saved, always (Baptists) vs. You can lose salvation (Wesleyans)
Believers baptism (Baptists) vs. Salvation Baptism (Lutherans)
Symbolic communion (Baptist) vs Consubstantiation Communion (Lutheran)
All claim to be 'bible only' believers yet disagree on every major tenant of the faith.
The Protestant 'reformation' has led to chaos and subjective interpretation of the bible, which then leads to 'to each, their own.'
Fast forward 500 years and we get 'bible scholars' or 'pastors' saying they've read the Bible and find that abortion is fine, or neutral, or whatever they're agenda is because there is no outside checks and balance on their conclusion (Tradition & Magisterium). Today people are now choosing their own pronouns and genders, or decide if it's a baby in the womb only if it's wanted-it's just a glob of tissue otherwise...all because modernity rejects objective reality and authority. Yes, I lay this at the feet of the Protestant Revolution.
A first century Christian document called the Didache explicity condemns abortion before the NT was ever even compiled. Sacred tradition must weigh in on how we 'interpret' the bible. The bible is not nor ever has been a book of personal revelation or interpretation.
Any 'interpretation' of Scripture that conflicts with Tradition (Didache, early church Fathers) or the Magisterium (the teachings of the Church) is an incorrect interpretation.
4 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
cold porridge 8/20/2022 12:02:12 PM (No. 1254351)
Hey idiot professor! What does the bible say about murder? Just because the word abortion was not in existence when the bible was written does not mean that God is for murdering of babies.
0 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
BigGeorgeTX 8/20/2022 2:18:11 PM (No. 1254474)
There's a special place in hell for false preachers.
0 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
Harlowe 8/20/2022 6:52:24 PM (No. 1254655)
#26~ Quite a Catholic seminarian perspective response to #10. For the sake of brevity, apology in advance if the following comments seem abrupt; no disrespect intended with any commentary.
~ Books of the Bible / Martin Luther did not remove books from the Bible; he separated them as being good to read but did not regard them as Holy Scripture based on canon as established by God. These books are known as Apocrypha.
.
~ Bible, Sacred Word of God / Martin Luther’s “Sola Scripture” is accurate. Scripture interprets Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Peter 1:20-21 – “...knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
~ Communion (Consubstantiation) / Lutherans do not believe in transubstantiation. “The Lord’s Supper is a precious gift of God in which Christ gives us His true body and blood (in a miraculous way), together with the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith.”
~ Magisterium / Martin Luther “maintained that individual churches should be governed locally, not by a centralized authority, as in the Roman Catholic Church. Although many Lutheran branches still have bishops, they do not exercise the same type of control over congregations.”
~ Reformation / There is no mortal who can, with absolute certainty, know if God may have chosen Martin Luther to bring about the Reformation so the more than 500-year-old persecution of this man is inappropriate. God uses sinners to bring about His will: Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, Samson, David, Paul, Peter.
The Reformation led to positive changes in arts, inventions and explorations, literature, as well as political and social changes.
~ Sola, Sola, Sola / Luther believed the Scriptures contained the one necessary guide to truth. In the Lutheran Church, much emphasis is placed on hearing the Word of God. The church teaches that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is inspired or “God-breathed.” The Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible. “...man is saved by grace alone without the deeds of the Law.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
During an interview with Attorney Reinder Füllmich, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò said: “To be Catholic means to make a heroic choice, by which we do not adhere to a philanthropic association, but are incorporated through Baptism into the Mystical Body of Christ, and BY GRACE, we are constituted as children of God the Father in Christ Jesus. ...” (May 27, 2022)
~ Tradition / Martin Luther did not reject all the teachings of Rome (Tradition), but he did reject those teachings that Rome had distorted and misused. Jesus taught that “our salvation is a gift of God, not works and all we need do is accept and believe on Him for salvation. It is not in traditions or anything we or others can do for us. It is a private decision made freely between God and ourselves without intercession by anyone or anything else. For more than 500 years followers of Martin Luther and others have believed and accepted the truth of the Scriptures without filter or any man made traditions. We have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone.”
“Because the New Testament is the only inspired (infallible) record of what the apostles taught, it follows that SINCE THE DEATH OF THE APOSTLES THE ONLY APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY WE HAVE IS THE INSPIRED RECORD OF THEIR TEACHING IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. That is, ALL APOSTOLIC TRADITION (TEACHING) ON FAITH AND PRACTICE IS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. This does not necessarily mean that everything the apostles ever taught is in the New Testament, any more than everything Jesus said is there (cf. John 20:30; 21:25). What it does mean is that ALL APOSTOLIC TEACHING THAT GOD DEEMED NECESSARY FOR THE FAITH AND PRACTICE (MORALS) OF THE CHURCH WAS PRESERVED (2 Timothy 3:15-17). It is only reasonable to infer that God would preserve what He inspired. THE FACT THAT APOSTLES SOMETIMES REFERRED TO “TRADITIONS” THEY GAVE ORALLY AS AUTHORITATIVE IN NO WAY DIMINISHES THE PROTESTANT ARGUMENT FOR SOLA SCRIPTURA. First, it is not necessary to claim that these oral teachings were inspired or infallible, only that they were authoritative. The believers were asked to “maintain” them (1 Corinthians 11:2) and “stand fast in them” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). But ORAL TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLES WERE NOT CALLED “INSPIRED” OR “UNBREAKABLE” OR THE EQUIVALENT, UNLESS THEY WERE RECORDED AS SCRIPTURE.”
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
2 people like this.
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