The question of the day was, does life begin at conception? Facebook is known for its off the wall memes and political debates. So today in the spirit of Facebook debates, I decided to engage someone who posted a questionable meme. No debates are ever won on Facebook, but it is interesting to engage others with opposing views none-the-less.
The meme that was posted was of an elephant fetus. In the meme, the caption was this is not a human being. Of course, the meme left off the part about the photo being of an elephant, not a human. After watching others comment on the photo, the individual decided to post the last few sentences that were left off in the original photo. In short, the text stated that the picture was of an elephant fetus. The idea behind the individual posting the photo was to get a rise out of the pro-life crowd.
After the individual exposed the photo for what it was, I decided to ask a few questions. The first question I asked was, is an elephant fetus still an elephant? This individual responded yes. The second question that I asked is a human fetus still a human. Not knowing what to say, the individual said yes it is human but not a person. Our conversation went back and forth asking questions. Finally, towards the end of the discussion, I posed the question “if a human fetus is a human, then when does life begin?” This individual did not know what to say at first but eventually responded birth.
I asked the person why does life begin at birth and not conception? They responded that a fetus isn't a human. I reminded them that we covered this at the beginning of our conversation. If an elephant fetus is an elephant, then a human fetus is a human. Not knowing how to respond, the individual got mad and frustrated.
Does life begin at conception according to the Bible?
Common sense tells you that everything has a beginning and everything has an end. We can also find truth in the Bible.
Galatians 1:15 NASB But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased
The Bible tells us that God knew us before we were even in the womb. If this is so, then from conception to birth we were formed by him. God knew us before our conception and surely before our birth.
Jeremiah 1:5 NASB “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Why does life begin at conception? Because God made us that way. Our creation and development in the womb formed who we are before we were born. We did not get a soul and begin our life upon birth. God knew us before our conception, and our life was created in the womb.
Many people that do not have a relationship with Christ have a hard time understanding life at conception. They do not understand that God knew us before we were born. It is hard to run from obvious Biblical truths if you are in the word of God. I encourage you to stand firm in your convictions and not buy into the fallacy that life begins at birth.