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Abortion
By Louis Rushmore
In the eyes of God there is no difference between abortion and the murder of children of any age. A concise
and easily understood biblical principle that confirms this fact has to do with the New Testament usage of the
Greek word "BREPHOS."
"BREPHOS" is translated as "babe" twice in Luke 1:41, 44 and refers to an unborn child (here John the
Baptist): "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost . . . For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine
ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy."
Elsewhere, "BREPHOS," again translated as "babe," denotes a new born child (here Jesus Christ): "And this
shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger . . . And they
came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12, 16).
(See also Acts 7:19 and 1 Peter 2:2 where a form of "BREPHOS" in the former verse is applied literally to
newborn "children," and in the latter passage is used figuratively of new converts, fresh from the "new birth." A
form of "BREPHOS" is also used in the New Testament to identify slightly older children: "And they brought unto
him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them" (Luke 18:15);
"And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15)).
The references to literal "babes" (one unborn, one newly born) within two chapters of the same Gospel record
conclusively prove the initial proposition. God who through inspiration caused Luke to use "BREPHOS" to
identify both the unborn as well as the newly born makes no distinction between the two. Therefore, if it is
wrong and is even murder to willfully kill a newborn child (and assuredly it is), then it is equally wrong to
willfully kill (i.e., murder) an unborn child. In the eyes of God there is no difference between abortion and the
murder of children of any age.
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