Over four in 10 American Christians believe the Bible is "ambiguous" on abortion, according to the Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University.
The findings, released Tuesday, are part of the CRC's American Worldview Inventory 2020 survey.
Conducted by CRC Director of Research George Barna, a noted evangelical pollster, the report found that 44% of respondents said they believe the Bible "is ambiguous in its teaching about abortion," while 34% said "abortion is morally acceptable if it spares the mother from financial or emotional discomfort or hardship."
Barna said in a statement that the findings on opinions about abortion were part of a broader departure from "biblical truth" by self-identified American Christians.
"The irony of the reshaping of the spiritual landscape in America is that it represents a post-Christian reformation driven by people seeking to retain a Christian identity," said Barna.
"Unfortunately, the theology of this reformation is being driven by American culture rather than biblical truth."
If you're one of those self-identified Christians who say you think that the Bible is "ambiguous" on abortion, keep reading and in a couple minutes you'll no longer be able to say that.
- For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. -Psalm 139:13
- From birth I was cast on you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. -Psalm 22:10
- "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." -Jeremiah 1:5
- When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. -Luke 1:41
- Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? -Job 31:15
- This is what the LORD says — your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself. -Isaiah 44:24
- Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. -Psalm 127:3-5
- But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through His grace. -Galatians 1:15
- 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. Exodus 21:22-25 [Old Testament law]
And last but not least, in light of all the preceding verses, let's add this one:
- You shall not murder. -Exodus 20:13
If you're one of those folks who think the Bible isn't clear about the infinite worth of the lives of unborn babies made in the image of God, I challenge you and beg you to read each of those verses again, slowly, and ponder their incredible implications.
