Abortion is practiced all around the world. It is practiced both in developed, as well as developing, countries.
What is an abortion? What are the different types of abortion? When does human life begin? What exactly are a woman's biblical rights to chose? Do the Bible and early religious writings tell us how Christians should view abortion?
This article will attempt to answer those questions.
An abortion, for the purposes of this article, is human induced killing of an unborn (or forced out) human baby.
MSN Encarta has this definition:
1. operation to end pregnancy: an operation or other intervention to end a pregnancy by removing an embryo or fetus from the womb.
A partial-birth abortion is an abortion that happens in the later stages of pregnancy and can include killing the baby as it is being born.
There are at least seven ways that abortions are induced. Here are six of them:
First, there's the suction type abortion. This is where the unborn child is literally vacuumed from the mother's womb during the early stages of pregnancy.
The currette-type abortion is where the child is cut from the mother's womb with a spoon-like object.
A third type is similar to a Caesarean operation. The baby is surgically removed from the mother and allowed to suffocate, because the child's lungs aren't developed.
The fourth type of abortion is the Salt Brine technique. With this method, the unborn child is literally "pickled" to death by the injection of a strong salt solution. A few days after the injection the child is still born.
There is currently much debate about partial-birth abortions. This is where a child is partially delivered, then stabbed in the skull to have his or her brains sucked out.
There is also much talk about the RU-486 abortion pill from France, also called "mifepristione" in America. This pill works by inhibiting pregnancy hormones, and is normally used within seven weeks from conception (Melton J.L. ABORTION Ten Bible Reasons Why It Is Wrong. Copyright © 1996).
Because it can remove a fertilized egg, IUDs (intra-uterine devices) are considered to be abortion-inducing and are not considered simply as birth control by those in the the Churches of God.
Notice the following:
Women who use an IUD will expel about one fertilized ovum annually (assuming that they engage in intercourse once per week) (Source: ABORTION: CURRENT BELIEFS BY VARIOUS RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR GROUPS. http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_hist1.htm 07/17/07).
The Bible makes it clear that human life begins prior to birth. Since all fertilized human eggs are human, human life begins at the time of conception.
Knowing happens at conception makes this clearer. Normally (unless there is Down syndrome or something that changes the number of chromosomes) 23 unpaired chromosomes from the egg and 23 unpaired chromosomes from the sperm come together and form a new entity with 46 chromosomes. This new entity is a new human life. It did not come into existence before conception and does not change genetically after conception. It is not a dog, a frog, or simply a pile of tissue. The unborn baby is a developing human being.
The Bible shows, that unlike humans, God does know how babies grow in the womb:
As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything (Ecclesiastes 11:5).
The Bible makes it clear that David and Jeremiah were human and known before to God while they were in the womb prior to being born:
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me,When as yet there were none of them (Psalm 139:13-16, NKJV throughout except when otherwise noted).
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:4-5).
Furthermore, notice that the death penalty could come from an injury to a pregnant woman:
If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe (Exodus 21:22-25).
The expression "no harm follows" can be interpreted that both the mother and the baby live, and that the baby and mother are healthy. But, if they are not and somehow permanently harmed, punishment will follow, apparently including the death penalty if either die. God does not condone the killing of unborn infants.
In the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament) a term translated about 26 times as infant(s) or child or little one is the Hebrew word 'owlel. That same word is used for unborn infants in Job 3:16 (and perhaps other verses), hence God considers unborn infants to be living human beings--children.
However, human life cannot be considered to begin prior to conception for several reasons. One is since the Bible condemns sex outside of marriage and no one is biblically required to get married, it is not a sin to remain celibate (scriptures provided later). The natural monthly menstrual cycle of a non-pregnant woman results in the loss of an ovum each month. In a male, non-copulated sperm is reabsorbed. Hence since God designed these events, it should not be considered that human life begins prior to the joining of the sperm and the ovum (conception) as more sperm and ovum die naturally than can ever become fertilized.
While abortions have been done throughout history, they have never been as common as they are now in our modern age. It has been estimated that in these latter times there are approximately 46,000,000 abortions per year (Stanley K. Henshaw, Susheela Singh and Taylor Haas. The Incidence of Abortion Worldwide. Family Planning Perspectives. Volume 25, Supplement, January 1999). That is more people that have died in any war (other than probably World War II and possibly the Mongol Conquests) and it happens every year!
Actually, since only about 137,000,000 people died from the bubonic plague, more people have died in the 21st century from abortion than died of the bubonic plague--the hideous black death!
The Bible prophesied that in the last days people would be "without natural affection" (2 Timothy 3:3, KJV). Here is information on the Greek term so translated:
NT:794
astorgos (as'-tor-gos); from NT:1 (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of stergo (to cherish affectionately); hard-hearted towards kindred:KJV - without natural affection.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
What is interesting here is that the word astorgos seems to mean a lack of love towards those you are related to. Certainly that encompasses abortion. Thus increased abortions is consistent with the biblical prophecy in 2 Timothy.
Do women have biblical sexual rights and responsibilities? What are a woman's biblical rights? What, for that matter, are a biblical man's rights? Are there limitations? If so, what are they in this context?
The Bible makes it clear that women do have specific rights and responsibilities in the sexual arena.
One is the right, essentially a statute, not to have sex if they are not married:
If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and detests her, and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, 'I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,' "then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman's virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. And the young woman's father shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her; now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, "I found your daughter was not a virgin," and yet these are the evidences of my daughter's virginity.' And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. Then the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him; and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his day (Deuteronomy 22:13-19).
The above also gives women a right to not having her reputation improperly tarnished.
A woman also has the right to not be raped:
"But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter (Deuteronomy 22:25-26).
Another right is that women, like men, have the right to marry or the right not to marry. Notice:
But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion (1 Corinthians 7:8-9).
Furthermore, another is that women have a right to decide who they wish to marry. Notice the following two accounts:
Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go"... Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her (Genesis 24:58,67).
This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, 'Let them marry whom they think best...(Numbers 36:6).
However, married persons, either male or female are expected to not deprive their spouses of sex:
Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).
Furthermore, it needs to be mentioned here that the Bible does not teach against birth control methods that do not involve killing unborn babies. Here are some written Church of God perspectives:
Planned parenthood violates no law of God! Planned parenthood is a definite contribution to this supreme purpose of character building. It entails, of course, the responsibility for right and wise planning.
Any teaching or legislating which violates this divine purpose of God—which instills in wives the dread and fear of pregnancy—is a religious heresy, and/or a violation of the higher Laws of Almighty God!
No wife should ever need to suffer the fear of pregnancy. It is natural for every wife to want to become a mother. To prevent having children and producing a family would be a direct violation of God’s command, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” But to plan a family in an intelligent manner, as to the time of the first arrival, and the time-spacing of other children—that is a different matter. Nothing in the Bible forbids this. Much in the Bible, in principle, supports it! (Armstrong HW. Missing Dimension in Sex).
The Apostle Paul wrote: "But if anyone does not provide for his own [family]… he has denied the faith" (1 Timothy 5:8). Would anyone argue that a Christian can provide for a family member by killing him? Remember: one of the Ten Commandments specifically condemns murder (Exodus 20:13). In other words, any birth control method that induces abortion is wrong (Winnail D. Abortion: A Modern Holocaust? Tomorrow's World Magazine, LCG, March-April 2005).
Hence the Church of God believes that the Bible does allow for birth control, but not abortion. It is even possible that Jesus was to a degree encouraging the idea of birth control in the latter days as He warned:
But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation...(Matthew 24:19-21).
It is possible that Jesus is telling His followers that they may not wish to become pregnant just before the great tribulation. And if that is so, then birth control of some type may be advisable for married people where the wife is fertile. This also would be similar to Paul's comments about remaining single during a persecution he referred to as "this present distress" (1 Corinthians 7:26-27).
But even if wise birth control is not part of what Jesus is saying, as mentioned earlier, birth control does not kill any new life.
Married women also have the right to be loved by their Christian husbands as their husbands are biblically obligated to love them:
Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them (Colossians 3:19).
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself (Ephesians 5:25-28).
So, the Bible shows that women have the right (or obligation) to not have sex before marriage, do not have to get married, can marry who they think it best, can apparently engage in birth control, and have the right to be loved by Christian husbands.
The Bible tells both men and women which way to choose when they are faced with choices:
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you...
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:15-16,19).
Those who wish to live according to the Bible will choose life so that they and their children (their descendants) will live.
The first reference to any type of abortion in the Bible that I have seen occurs in Exodus. Notice the following account related to partial-birth abortions:
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; and he said, "When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them (Exodus 1:15-17,20-21).
Hence, in spite of being ordered by a ruler of the land, those that feared God would not perform partial-birth abortions and God provided for those who refused to do them.
Even pagan cultures have realized that abortion is wrong. Notice the following picture which is a Bas relief decorating the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, dated circa 1150, depicting a demon performing an abortion upon a woman by pounding a mallet into her belly:
The Bible warns about "doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). Surely abortion is not a doctrine of good angels.
The Bible condemns those that shed innocent blood, as that is something that God hates:
So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD (Deuteronomy 21:9).
These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:16-19).
Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace (Isaiah 59:7-8).
Thus says the LORD: "Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place (Jeremiah 22:3).
"Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence" (Jeremiah 22:17).
Babies are innocent. Killing them is the shedding of innocent blood.
Those that consent to abortions are often proud, are normally lying to themselves that they are not doing violence to a human being, and often have abortions because of their own lusts and covetousness. Adding the sin of abortion to their other sins is simply not the answer.
They also place themselves in the same category as Judas Iscariot, for he admitted that when he betrayed Jesus Christ, he (Judas) betrayed "innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4). Jesus was betrayed by someone He considered to be a friend--no baby should be betrayed by the mother that is supposed to love them.
Women are struck emotionally for the rest of their lives (please also LCG: Abortion Proponents Lied to Public as some women's sorrows about having abortions is mentioned) when they consent to an abortion (the Bible even warns of curses for killing the innocent, Deuteronomy 27:25). That is not a choice they ever should make.
The ten commandments were given to both men and women (Exodus 20:18-19). Both are to obey them, including the seventh commandment which states:
You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14).
Thus neither men nor women have the right to have sex with someone else's spouse. Furthermore, the Bible condemns all sexual immorality (sex outside of marriage):
Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body (1 Corinthians 6:18).
People may chose to violate God's laws, but they do need to understand that they are sinning if they do. And God does not approve of sin.
And the fifth commandment states:
You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13).
And Jesus expanded that commandment:
You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder,' and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment (Matthew 5:21-22).
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-44)
You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 19:19).
...whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them (Matthew 7:12).
No one has the biblical right to murder--and this was expanded to love your enemy as well as to love your neighbor as yourself. And this includes women--hence murder through abortion (which normally requires action on a woman's part) or murder through warfare (which normally requires action on a man's part) are not New Testament sanctioned rights of choice--as neither one of them is showing love (an article of related interest may be The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil).
Both gladiatorial murder and abortion were considered murder. Notice what Tertullian wrote:
...Christians, who were endued with the same principles of humanity with other men : that they went so far from being friends to murder or manslaughter, that they held it unlawful to be present in gladiatorial sports, where men's lives were so wantonly sacrificed to the pleasure and curiosity of the people : that they accounted it murder for any woman by evil arts to procure abortion, to stifle the embryo, to kill a child, in a manner before it is alive (Tertullian. Apology, Chapter 9 as cited in Cave W. Primitive Christianity. Henry Cary, ed. Oxford, 1840, pp. 280-281).
But in regard to child murder, as it does not matter whether it is committed for a sacred object, or merely at one's own self-impulse (Tertullian. Apology. Chapter 9. Translated by S. Thelwall).
So even in the late second century, those who professed Christ considered abortion to be murder. This was also the case in the third century when Hippolytus condemned a religious leader and Bishop of Rome named Callistus:
For even also he permitted females, if they were unwedded, and burned with passion at an age at all events unbecoming, or if they were not disposed to overturn their own dignity through a legal marriage, that they might have whomsoever they would choose as a bedfellow, whether a slave or free, and that a woman, though not legally married, might consider such a companion as a husband. Whence women, reputed believers, began to resort to drugs for producing sterility, and to gird themselves round, so to expel what was being conceived on account of their not wishing to have a child either by a slave or by any paltry fellow, for the sake of their family and excessive wealth. Behold, into how great impiety that lawless one has proceeded, by inculcating adultery and murder at the same time! (Hippolytus. Refutation of All Heresies, Book IX, Chapter VII. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1886. Online Edition Copyright © 2005 by K. Knight).
So early religious writers considered abortion to be murder. And fornication to be adultery. The Bible does not given anyone the right to commit fornication, adultery, nor murder. And abortion is murder.
Side Note About Roman Catholic History
The following is the official position of the Roman Catholic Church on abortion and was approved by the late Pope John Paul II and the current Pope Benedict XVI (when Benedict XVI was still known as Cardinal Ratzinger):
Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to moral law (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #22710. Imprimatur Potest +Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Doubleday, NY 1995, p. 606).
However, they seem to be ignoring the Roman Bishop Callistus (as well as later Popes) who did allow abortion.
Furthermore notice what one Protestant scholar wrote about other Roman Catholic Popes:
Most Catholics are not aware that the infallible Church and popes have changed their minds several times on this topic--unthinkable from today's perspective.
From the fifth century onward, Aristotle's view that the embryo goes through stages from vegetable to animal to spiritual was accepted. Only in the final stage was it human. Thus Gregory VI (1045-6) said, "He is not a murderer who brings about abortion before the soul is in the body." Gregory XIII (1572-85) said it was not homicide to kill an embryo of less than 40 days since it wasn't yet human. His successor, Sixtus V, who rewrote the Bible, disagreed. His Bull of 1588 made all abortions for any reason homicide and cause for excommunication. His successor, Gregory XIV, reversed that decree. In 1621 the Vatican issued another pastoral directive permitting abortion up to 40 days (Hunt D. A Women Rides the BeastHarvest House Publishers, Eugene (OR), 1994, pp. 519-520).
Quite similarly notice what one former Roman Catholic priest wrote:
Most Catholics assume that the soul is infused at conception...For fourteen hundred years until the late nineteenth century, all Catholics, including the popes, took it for granted that the soul is not infused at conception...
From the fifth century, the church accepted without question, the primitive embryology of Aristotle. The embryo began as a non-human speck that was progressively animated.
In the fifteenth century, moralists began to ask whether it was not possible in certain circumstances to get rid of the foetus without fault...Some went further. They said it was permissable to save a mother's life even after the foetus was humanized...
Gregory XIII (1572-85) said it was not homicide to kill an embryo of less than forty days since it was not human...His successor, the tempestuous Sixtus V, who rewrote the Bible, disagreed entirely. In his Bull Effraenatum of 1588, he said all abortions for whatever reason were homicide and were penalized by excommunication reserved to the Holy See. Immediately after Sixtus died, Gregory XIV realized that, in the current state of theological opinion, Sixtus' view was too severe. In an almost unique decision, he said Sixtus' censures were to be treated as if he had never issued them (De Rosa, Peter. Vicars of Christ. Poolbeg Press, Dublin, 2000, p.p 374-375).
Although there is no evidence that any Church of God leader endorsed abortion, sadly some affiliated with the Roman Church have.
The vast majority of abortions are essentially done because of personal preference. A small percentage (about 3%) done to protect the health of the mother. Perhaps about 1% of abortions are done because of rape.
The July-August issue of LCG's Tomorrow's World has an article titled "The Deception of Abortion" by Gerald Weston that stated:
Thankfully, not everyone has been deceived about the abortion issue. Several years after the Supreme Court ruling, a 15-year-old rape victim found herself in a situation like Norma McCorvey’s {pregnant}. But there was an important difference; the law now gave her the right to abort her child. Yet this brave young person chose to give birth to a baby daughter and turn her over for adoption to a couple who could care for her better than she could. The girl she brought into this world grew up in a loving family, went to university, became a social worker, married and had children. Today, millions of young people know of Pam Stenzel, an inspirational speaker and powerful advocate for abstinence, who teaches young people the price of having sex before marriage. When it comes to her own birth, in Pam’s own words, "I did not deserve to die because of the sin of my father."
Interestingly, the Bible specifically teaches:
As for his father, Because he cruelly oppressed, Robbed his brother by violence, And did what is not good among his people, Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
"Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son (Ezekiel 18:18-20).
Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the LORD commanded, saying, "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin" (2 Kings 14:5-6).
Those who believe in the God of the Bible do not kill babies because of the sins of their fathers. Nor should they kill their babies because of their own sins.
One anti-abortion writer posted the following:
Abortion Shows A Lack of Faith
Romans 14:23 says, "...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.
To have an abortion is to take matters into your own hands, rather than to trust God to work things out. This shows a lack of faith in God, which the Bible labels as SIN.
A desperate woman says, "I can't afford to have a child. I'm not ready for this." Lady, you need to start trusting God and claiming His promises. You need to STOP trying to run your own life for a change and START trusting God. You don't need an abortion, for such will only INCREASE your troubles. The devil has you thinking that abortion is the answer, that it will take care of everything, and you're very close to giving in to his subtle temptation. If you do, you'll regret it forever, and God will hold you accountable! (Melton J.L. ABORTION Ten Bible Reasons Why It Is Wrong. Copyright © 1996).
I agree.
Life clearly begins at conception. Abortion is a brutal and disgusting practice. It has been condemned throughout history.
Abortion is the killing of an innocent human baby. The Bible says that a woman has the right to not engage in fornication, not be raped, and not get married.
The Bible allows for contraception that does not induce abortion.
A woman has a lot of rights of choice. But just like a man, she does not have the right to take an innocent life.
She, just like a man, should always choose life.
Thiel R., Ph.D. Abortion, the Bible, and a Woman's Right to Choose. www.cogwriter.com/abortion.htm (c) 2007 1211
Articles of possibly related interest may include:
What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know?
LCG: Abortion Proponents Lied to Public Some information related to those who helped make abortion "legal" in the USA.
Successful Parenting: God's Way This is a new booklet by Dr. J. Fall.
Is God's Existence Logical? Some say it is not logical to believe in God. Is that true?
Is Evolution Probable or Impossible or Is God's Existence Logical? Part II This short article clearly answers what 'pseudo-scientists' refuse to acknowledge.
Where Did God Come From? Any ideas? And how has God been able to exist?
The Bible: Fact or Fiction? This is a booklet written by Douglas Winnail that answers if the Bible is just a collection of myths and legends or the inspired word of God.
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught?
Was the Commandment to Love the Only Command? Some have stated that John's writings teach this, but is that what the Bible really says?
The Ten Commandments and the Early Church Did Jesus and the Early Church keep the ten commandments? What order were they in? Here are quotes from the Bible and early writings.
Women and the New Testament Church Were women important in the New Testament Church? Which women and how were they involved?