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| Hector and his daughter Liliana from Fire Emblem Cipher |
Often Christians use the Bible to justify their moral or political stance. In this way, we all fall temptation to misquoting the Bible. One example I want to examine today is the Book of Numbers and abortion.
Numbers and abortion
One of the popular Bible quotes for pro-abortion Christians is from Numbers 5:27:
If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse. (Numbers 5:27; NIV)
In other words, the author of the passage was describing how to cause a miscarriage, which implied that abortion was acceptable during the Old Testament times.
Immediately you should see the fallacies in such an argument.
Fallacy 1: Describing is not the same as endorsing
One giant mistake that such pro-abortionists make is that just because the Bible describes something, it does not mean the Bible supports it.
For instance, in my history blog I often describe horrors of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. This does not mean that I support such terrors.
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| Describing the expansion of Imperial Japan is not the same as supporting it. |
Fallacy 2: The context is a test for unfaithfulness, not procedure for an abortion.
Even a simple look at the verse in context reveals that the passage is not about abortion, but about punishment for unfaithfulness.
But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have made yourself impure by having sexual relations with a man other than your husband”— here the priest is to put the woman under this curse—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. (Numbers 5: 20-21; NIV)
Fallacy 3: The verse is not deliberately causing a miscarriage
While the NIV translators used the term "miscarry", it is not a unanimous translation. The same passage is translated slightly differently even within the English versions.
And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people. (Numbers 5:27; ESV)
When he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall discharge, her uterus drop, and the woman shall become an execration among her people. (Numbers 5:27; NRSVUE)
If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people. (Numbers 5:27; NLT)
Comparing the translations, the idea of miscarriage is admittedly unclear. Nevertheless, it is clear that Numbers 5:27 refers to a punishment for the unfaithful wife.
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| Children are a gift from God |
Fallacy 4: The Bible overwhelmingly supports procreation
Lastly it is a mistake to take a single verse and make a stance out of it. The Bible is very clear in its support for childbearing.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, (Psalms 139: 13- 14; NIV)
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him. (Psalms 127:3; NIV)
Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,
clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews?
You gave me life and showed me kindness,
and in your providence watched over my spirit. (Job 10: 10 -12; NIV)
Conclusion
It is dangerous to twist the Bible for our purposes. We instead, should mediate on the Bible and be inline with God's purposes.
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