Date of Article: 12/11/2008 “Miscarried fetuses would not rise from the dead”. (Augustine).
Whenever I argue this complex matter the following questions arises in my mind: is it appropriate to argue abortion based on human rights? What is a human being? When do we say an unborn baby is a human being and has rights? Yes there is a difference between a human being and a person; but where and how do we draw a line? Is the right of a mother the right of a baby? Science has proven that a baby is not part of a mother during pregnancy. As the church we should be concern about saving souls, but what is a soul? Can a soul exist without a body?
Some people argue that abortion is a termination of life. They failed to answer the complex questions about life; for instance; what is life? When do we start saying he/she has got life and some of them further argues that incase of women’s life being endangered by the unborn baby, then the baby’s life must be terminated; the question is which measurer do you use to come to that conclusion. Which life should be killed to save another life (in a one must die situation). How do we argue this matter from which angle can we tackle it perfectly? The Bible doesn’t really give exact answers to these questions; I will try and consult with few well known authors in the field of philosophy and anthropology.
Augustine wrote extensively on sexual matters, arguing that the original sin of Adam and Eve are passed to each successive generation through the experience of pleasure during sexual intercourse. Thus he believed that every sex act is directly connected to original sin and also binds us more firmly to it (Nelson1978: 53). Augustine believed that women had a lower status than men and that the usefulness of women was primary because of their role in human reproduction. This means that a woman who aborts and miscarries was considered to be of no use, and stigmatized.
I (Faleni1 ) do not know whether abortion is a murder or not; because before coming to that conclusion I need to find answers to the questions above. Augustine believed that the coming of the fetus occurred forty days after conception for a boy and eighty day after conception for a girl; he said that a human soul cannot live in an unformed body.
St Jerome shared the similar views when he says that the seed gradually takes shape in the uterus, and it (abortion) does not count as killing until the individual elements have acquired their external appearances and their limbs. Pope Innocent 111 wrote a letter which ruled that the monk, who had arranged for his female lover to have an abortion, could not be guilt of murder if the fetus was not animated. Thomas Aquinas also held the view that only the abortion of animated fetus was to be considered murder. This is based on the view that the soul is not destroyed. The churches then taught that an abortion early in pregnancy could not be seen and judge the same as murder.
Embryo acquires a soul at conception:
This question raised new questions about the safety of the soul of fetus that dies. Hieronymus Florentinius 1658 promoted the idea that all embryos or fetuses, at any stage of gestation, which are in danger of death must be baptized. PopePius 1X called for excommunication of those responsible for abortion at any stage. In our church (PCA) we do not debate sexual related issues; just like talk about sex and sexuality, has become an inherited taboo of the early Christian tradition. That is why Aids managed to hide behind our “holy status” and is killing the church; today it is a well known fact that the Church has AIDS. This has been confirmed by the Methodist Church of Southern on their book “THE CHURCH HAS AIDS” I would like to challenge the ministers of our church to look at this matter from an African Theological perspective; I was told by my friend who is a member of African traditional religion that “there is no place for abortion in African traditional religion” He never understood the fact that abortion is not performed by religions; it is always performed legally or illegally by people:
My intensions here are not to bring answers to the questions raised above; but to challenge the committee on theological matters to open a debate on these matters. I am not intending to guide the church whether to fight for or against abortion. The church should be able to clear the mist and guide people on these matters. The legal position on abortion was drafted by the ANC in 1998; is that “every woman must have the right to choose whether or not to have and early termination of pregnancy according to her own belief” during the apartheid South Africa abortion law of 1975 says; “a woman was permitted seek a abortion only when it was evident that her life would be endangered by continuing the pregnancy”. But all these legal debates and laws does not help the church and doesn’t give answers to the dilemma the church is facing on issues of abortion.
PCA is not a church in the island; we are the church within the real communities; serving real people and these things are performed by our members. I personally believe abortion can never be a nice procedure it is terrible whether it’s done for pleasure or to save life. There is a trauma after it; psychology has proven that beyond doubt. The church should give a theological understanding of this matter: we have to formulate our “SEXUAL THEOLOGY” which will guide our church on sexual related matters.
Anglican Church Theological Committee: and arguments on the ground:
Those who for abortion:
• Bringing an unwanted child to birth or a child whose life will be utterly miserable and inhuman because of poverty, or more seriously, because of its own deformity, may be irresponsible.
• Abnormal fetuses are often naturally aborted. We may be called to further the work of nature by permitting abortion.
• Abortion should not be refused in order to punish the “mother for sin”
• Abortion would be justified should tests show that the child will have down syndrome.
• If the child is going to be deformed.
• If the mother is raped? What if is HIV Positive?
Those who are against:
• Human life, even when unwanted has worth.
• Human life is made in the image of God
• Adoption is always a possibility, however painful.
• With God’s help the mother will find that having the unwanted child is the source of unexpected blessings.
Lastly a woman should not be encouraged to compound the initial sexual irresponsibility but further irresponsibility by having an abortion simply to avoid blame and shame.
Conclusion:
Judging from the above contributions; there is a mystery around the issue of abortion. Especially when it is addressed from a religious angle. The Bible doesn’t provide explicit verses which are addressing abortion. This doesn’t stop us from creating a biblical based theology; which will serve as our references on this matter. Rape is a cruel act done by men without souls and can never be justified. But the product (baby) of rape is innocent; should we kill or abort the innocent child because the mother was raped? Or should we do that to erase the memories from a raped woman? This can never be a solution to this complex matter; because by so doing we will be punishing the wrong innocent person. Our government is saying death sentence to those who raped and killed innocent children and women is political cruel, barbaric and against human rights: but killing of innocent kids by means of abortion is fine and accepted:
Mzukisi Faleni: (Rev)
1 He is a Pastor in Nyanga Circuit. Dip Theo. Dip Couns. BTH Hons: MTh: Thesis: Narrative analysis on Genesis 16: “Abuse of women and children; modern commentators are saying Hagar was abused and raped by Abraham: can we qualify this statement without investigating the sociology and Ancient Israel life and family institution? 09/06. | |
