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    What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Decisions
    What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Decisions
    What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Decisions
    Ebook98 pages1 hour

    What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Decisions

    By Wayne Grudem

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    Abortion and euthanasia are hot-button issues in our world today, accompanied by many differing views, deeply held convictions, and personal experiences related to privacy, sexual behavior, personal desires and responsibility, pregnancy, and children—but deeper than all these is the nature of human life itself. In this timely book, adapted from his larger work Christian Ethics, Wayne Grudem argues that human life is rooted in God's image, and it is therefore morally wrong to put an innocent human to death, whether at the beginning or end of life. He offers a biblical guide to these topics, defining his terms clearly, exploring science and politics, and weighing opposing arguments—answering questions about the protection of an unborn child, abortion in the case of rape or danger to the mother's life, and when to stop medical treatment at the end of someone's life. This short book will help all who seek to understand what the Bible teaches about these important issues that deal with human life.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrossway Books
    Release dateApr 16, 2020
    ISBN9781433568336
    Author

    Wayne Grudem

    Wayne Grudem (PhD, University of Cambridge) is Distinguished Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary. He is a member of the Translation Oversight Committee for the English Standard Version of the Bible, the general editor of the ESV Study Bible, and the author of over twenty-five books.  

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      Book preview

      What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Decisions - Wayne Grudem

      Thank you for downloading this Crossway book.

      Sign-up for the Crossway Newsletter for updates on special offers, new resources, and exciting global ministry initiatives:

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      Or, if you prefer, we would love to connect with you online:

      If you want to understand what the Bible teaches and what Christians think about these vital matters of life and death, this book is for you!

      John F. Kilner, Professor Emeritus of Bioethics and Contemporary Culture, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

      Wayne Grudem has faithfully offered a biblical-theological groundwork for making some of the most difficult decisions at the edges of life—its beginning and end. How does one who is committed to the sanctity of every human life approach questions about abortion, euthanasia, and other end-of-life issues? Digest this book to find out.

      C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University

      What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Issues

      Books in This Series

      What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Issues

      What the Bible Says about How to Know God’s Will

      What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Issues

      Wayne Grudem

      What the Bible Says about Abortion, Euthanasia, and End-of-Life Medical Issues

      Copyright © 2020 by Wayne Grudem

      Published by Crossway

      1300 Crescent Street

      Wheaton, Illinois 60187

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

      The content of this book has been adapted from Abortion and Euthanasia in Wayne Grudem, Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 566–605 (chaps. 21–22).

      Cover design: Jeff Miller, Faceout Studios

      Cover Image: Shutterstock

      First printing, 2020

      Printed in the United States of America

      Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

      Scripture references marked NRSV are from The New Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

      All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

      Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-6830-5

      ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-6833-6

      PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-6832-9

      Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-6831-2

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Grudem, Wayne A., author.  

      Title: What the Bible says about abortion, euthanasia, and end-of-life medical decisions / Wayne Grudem.

      Description: Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019034880 (print) | LCCN 2019034881 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433568305 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781433568329 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433568312 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433568336 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Christian ethics—Biblical teaching. | Abortion—Religious Aspects—Christianity. | Abortion—Biblical teaching. | Euthanasia—Religious aspects—Christianity. | Euthanasia—Biblical teaching.

      Classification: LCC BJ1275 .G78 2020 (print) | LCC BJ1275 (ebook) | DDC 241/.697—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019034880

      LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019034881

      Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

      2020-03-25 10:15:57 AM

      Contents

      Introduction

      Part 1: Abortion

      Biblical Evidence for the Personhood of an Unborn Child

      Scientific Evidence for the Personhood of an Unborn Child

      Other Arguments against Abortion

      Countering Arguments for Abortion

      What Laws Should Governments Enact Regarding Abortion?

      Objections to Laws Restricting Abortion

      The Importance of This Issue

      Part 2: Euthanasia

      Biblical Teaching

      The Crucial Difference between Killing and Letting Die

      Arguments against Euthanasia from Reason and Evidence apart from the Bible

      Objections

      Recent Legal Trends

      The Importance of This Issue

      Appendix: Artificially-Administered Nutrition and Hydration

      Questions for Personal Application

      Special Terms

      Bibliography

      Scripture Memory Passages

      Hymns

      General Index

      Scripture Index

      Introduction

      What does the Bible teach about the protection of an unborn child?

      Is there scientific evidence that the unborn child is a distinct person?

      What about abortion in the case of rape or to save the life of the mother?

      Is it wrong to put to death a person in great pain who has no hope of recovery?

      How can we know when to stop medical treatment near the end of someone’s life?

      Should the law allow doctors to perform euthanasia when a patient requests it?

      This book examines the Bible’s teachings on two subjects—abortion and euthanasia—that in many ways are subcategories of the same topic, the protection of human life, both at the beginning of life (in the mother’s womb) and at the end of life (in a hospital bed).¹

      In the Ten Commandments, we read this:

      You shall not murder. (Ex. 20:13)

      But this commandment is not confined to the Old Testament. It is repeated several times in the New Testament (see Rom. 1:29; 13:9; 1 Tim. 1:9; James 2:11; 4:2; 1 John 3:12, 15; Rev. 9:21; 16:6; 18:24; 21:8; 22:15; see also Jesus’s teaching in Matt. 5:21–26; 15:19; 19:18). The New Testament authors frequently affirm the continuing moral validity of the commandment You shall not murder.

      God is the Creator and sustainer of human life, and human beings are the pinnacle of his creation, for only human beings are said to be created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26–27). Therefore, God absolutely forbids human beings to murder one another.²

      PART 1: ABORTION

      Abortion is one of the most controversial topics in society today. Differing views about this topic are related to deeply felt personal convictions about privacy, human sexual behavior, pregnancy, parenthood, and human life itself.

      In this section, I will attempt to give an accurate summary

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