On Politics and Religion- Abortion and The Law

Exodus 21:22-25

 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise."

It is interesting that this is never discussed, in fact, quite the opposite is the Christian norm today. Abortion is not clearly forbidden in the Bible (I have read it cover to cover multiple times, including aloud), but harming a pregnant woman, perhaps by banning abortion for a lethal pregnancy- as one example- feels quite well covered by this verse, if one considers a legal battle "a fight." If one requires fists to be thrown to qualify here, I imagine that one will find themselves living in hell in short order, along the lines of The Handmaid's Tale, in this instance.

This is not politics; this is religion. Politics is ignoring your codex, and instead listening to some fool puppet tell you what your codex says, and following that crowd, even if on some level you know it is incorrect, factually, and wrong, morally. Religion is studying your codex and making sense of it, grappling with difficult decisions, and making a judgement call when you feel that there is one to make.

How did Jesus proceed when presented with such decisions? What lesson did Jesus teach those who would follow him after reading his words and of his actions, years after his walk on this earth was complete?

Matthew 12:2-8

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:9-13

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Mark 3:1-6

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Luke 13:10-13

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

If uncertainty persists within you regarding a point in The Law, do what you believe is right, based on what you actually believe regarding your codex (Bible, other religious book, etc.). A Christian should defer to Jesus, on all matters. Expect to be judged on Judgement Day for whatever choice you make. Make it the best possible choice that you can make, and be prepared to face the consequences, for better or worse.