A Comm for Historymemes

My favorite bit of absolute nonsense from a whole bunch of American Christian groups is that they developed their own theology to explain how/why abortion is evil.

Problem: The New Testament never mentions abortion. You cannot find a direct mention of it there, you have to go to extra biblical sources or non canonical writings from the first few centuries AD/CE.

Modern American Christian Theologians will say that it didn't need to be mentioned, because they just carried forward the common Jewish beliefs of the time.

But uh... most modern Jews believe that life begins at first breath, ie, birth, and generally do not have anywhere near as hard a line against abortion, and they mostly claim theological descendancy from those Jews the Christians are referring to.

Oh, and the Old Testament actually directly spells out when you are supposed to force a woman to miscarry, ie, perform an abortion.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%205%3A11-31&version=NIV

Basically the set up here is: What if a man suspects his wife cheated on him?

Well, you bring her before the priest, complete with proper offerings, and the priest concocts a potion of dust, holy water, (referred to as bitter water) and the ensuing ritual:

19 Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you.

20 But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have made yourself impure by having sexual relations with a man other than your husband”—

21 here the priest is to put the woman under this curse—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse[b] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell.

22 May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.” “‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”

23 “‘The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water.

24 He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering will enter her.

.. The priest then takes the ritual offerings, does some more steps with them in the ritual...

27 If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.

28 If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, but is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.

...

Yeah so basically the Bible, in the Old Testament, actually specifically ordains and condones abortion when a woman is suspected of infidelity.

Some will argue that this is a mistranslation and what is actually being described is uterine prolapse (which would almost certainly kill the woman), or that this is all metaphorical or something, that its too vague and only refers to an inflammation of the thigh or belly...

But it seems kind of obvious (to me and the NIV translators) what its referring to in this context, and ancient Hebrew very often relies on greater context for words to have more specific meanings.