In my first reply on this thread I expressed a bit of dark hyperbole about how the leftists and Communists types can abort all their unborn for that means fewer of their type in the future. At my age I rarely do frequent revising of my articles of belief, but this topic caused me to do a rethink.
I've been a creationist for about 30 years as to the origin of the soul, and I remain a creationist. In the past I've considered ensoulment to take place at viability. I did so for a couple reasons. First, men of God as far back as the LXX placed ensoulment at the point the fetus was fully formed. Then the babe in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy at 6 months time. I still believe in delayed ensoulment but I now have come to believe it happens at birth or just prior to birth, rather than at today's
medical viability.
I reviewed many Scriptures that to my mind treat an individual, a person, as existing from birth, not from conception, such as Judg 16:17; Job 10:18, 19; Psa 58:3; Isa 46:3, etc. I do not recall the unborn being treated as an individual while in the womb, other than the verses where God's omniscience is described and He knew us from before creation, so I find that argument about an individual or person existing in the womb as pretty weak.
I found that a similar sentiment is stated in the Systematic Theology of Louis Berkhof also, ensoulment at birth. Earlier president of the SBC , W. A. Criswell, also believed it was only after birth that an individual existed. Various evangelicals of 30 years ago were not anti-abortionists. I also found a statement that truly connected with me: "While early Christianity still assumed that ensoulment occurred the moment just before birth, the presumed moment of the creation of the soul came to be moved further and further towards the point of conception on account of scientific findings."
https://nac.today/en/a/893822
This brought to my mind how the propaganda of the 'religious right' in the past 30-40 years sas started using medical science to date ensoulment, rather than biblical and theological understanding I knew a great change happened when the 'religious right' types complained that the NASB, 1977 edition used the long held word "miscarriage" in Ex. 21:22, so in the 1995 NASB it was changed to something like premature birth. I've read the Hebrew wording support for the modernist translation, and as with many arguments based on such weak arguments from the original language, it defies common experience of mankind, commonly called common sense.
I view the question of traducianism and creationism on the origin of the soul not agreed upon by the church in history for the Bible does not give solid and certain guidance on it. In the matter of timing of ensoulment there is variation among good Christian men of God as well. For a Christian, a child is a gift of God and it certainly not to be frivously aborted or aborted as a birth control, so it is to be cherished, but such view is not to be enacted into law to force others. Since these matters are not certain in religious belief among Christians, I've come to reject any law enacted that outlaws abortion at any time prior to birth. To make such a law is to violate the constitutional ban on religious establishment, and to place the ideas of one extreme segment of Christianity into law would be unconstitutional.
Therefore, I no longer consider what I posted a dark hyperbole, but as my literal belief. On a side note, this is another reason I no longer embrace the label "evangelical" and more and more see the 'religous right' as rank fundamentalism gone beserk, and this is causing me to
de-emphasize calling myself, MAGA. In fact, in November this year I'll probably vote for a Democrat for the first time in over 50 years, because the crazy female that Trump endorsed(for some unexplained reason) won the GOP Primary. I do not vote for women for leadership roles in government or church for it defies the Bible and 1900 years of church history, and I certainly do not vote for crazy people!
Forgive the poor phrasing and sentence structures, and spelling; but I have been pushed for time recently. I know most on this forum disagree, but that to me is why it should NOT be a matter of civil law to bind Christian, or non-Christian people of other views.