Christian History - Historic Christian Opposition to Abortion

In about 177 AD, Christian philosopher Athenagoras defends Christianity from three serious charges: atheism, immorality (specifically incest), and cannibalism. His defense, in the form of a letter written to the emperor, is probably best characterized as more philosophical than biblical, but still it stands as a serious defense to the charges of the time.

In this short excerpt, Athenagoras defends Christians from the "tall stories" being told about them by pointing out the how inconsistent it would be to be murderers and yet be unwilling to watch the bloody gladatorial games of the time, and how nonsensical it would be to oppose abortion, only to kill the child once out of the womb.

This excerpt is taken from Christian Classics Ethereal, and the full letter can be found here).

Since this is our character, what man of sound judgment would say that we are murderers? For you cannot eat human flesh until you have killed someone. If their first charge against us is a fiction, so is the second. For if anyone were to ask them if they had seen what they affirm, none of them would be so shameless as to say he had.

Moreover, we have slaves: some of us more, some fewer. We cannot hide anything from them; yet not one of them has made up such tall stories against us. Since they know that we cannot endure to see a man being put to death even justly, who of them would charge us with murder or cannibalism? Who among our accusers is not eager to witness contests of gladiators and wild beasts, especially those organized by you? But we see little difference between watching a man being put to death and killing him. So we have given up such spectacles. How can we commit murder when we will not look at it, lest we should contract the stain of guilt? What reason would we have to commit murder when we say that women who induce abortions are murderers, and will have to give account of it to God? For the same person would not regard the fetus in the womb as a living thing and therefore an object of God's care, and at the same time slay it, once it had come to life. Nor would he refuse to expose infants, on the ground that those who expose them are murderers of children, and at the same time do away with the child he has reared. But we are altogether consistent in our conduct. We obey reason and do not override it.

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