The pro-life ethic: More than a proof-text here and there

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We’ve been working our way through God’s law as it develops the pro-life ethic, and I began thinking, “Maybe I should share all the texts I’ve compiled on the pro-life ethic.”

Why not? They don't belong to me, and they might help someone in his or her own quest to understand and support the pro-life ethic beyond the usual "proof-texts." Still, I was undecided until a recent sermon challenged me to redeem the time.

My blog has been an attempt at redeeming retirement. I began to wonder, what if I were unable to finish blogging about all the passages? There is an end in sight, but it could be a long way off. 

A friend and frequent reader remarked, “You're writing a book!” I don't know about that, but it is a significant project. It may be book-length. Should I be, in God's providence, unable to complete it, at least I can leave behind what is the foundation of my work.

And so, I share below the passages that have informed my thinking on the subject. If you only scroll through, I hope you notice how pervasive the theme is in all of scripture, and how fundamental to other doctrines.

What's the deal with "brother-keeping"?

In the brief statements after each text, you may also notice the prevalence of a term I made up, brother-keeping. It comes from Genesis 4, where Cain asks, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” His attempt to disavow responsibility and justify murder makes the concept integral to the pro-life ethic. Rather than murdering a brother, you are to keep him in life, to the best of your ability.

God's word is full of examples, good and bad... Bible heroes who excel at brother-keeping, and villains who miserably fail. These are tied to biblical instructions about how we should treat others. By the end of the Bible, brother-keeping is joined with the mercy we're to show neighbors, the 'one another' passages about caring for brothers and sisters in Christ, and even the love we're to express for enemies. Yes, emphatically, we are our brother’s keepers, in the broadest sense of of brotherhood.

Why "pro-life ethic"?

Similarly, you may wonder why I use the made-up term “biblical pro-life ethic” instead of the more familiar “sanctity of human life”? The pro-life ethic certainly is based on the sanctity of human life as presented in scripture. Human beings are special (sacred) because we are made in God’s image. 

A pro-life ethic builds on that foundation, fleshing out how human beings are to be treated and not treated. The sanctity of human life provides the “why” for the “what” and “how” of the pro-life ethic.

To see which passages we’ve looked at so far, visit our outline. You see, we have a long way to go!

Texts for What is Mankind?

Origins of the pro-life ethic

  1. Genesis 1:26-31 - Mankind is made in God’s image and likeness
  2. Genesis 5:1-3 - Mankind procreates in his own likeness, the likeness of God
  3. Genesis 9:2-6 - The image and likeness of God is protected as God “requires” an accounting for the loss of every human life
  4. Genesis 2:7 - Mankind is given life
  5. Genesis 4 - A man ends the life of his brother
  6. Genesis 6:11-13 - The legacy of corruption from the first murder
  7. Genesis 16 - God protects an unwanted son
  8. Genesis 25:22-23 - Significance of life in the womb
  9. Genesis 29:31-35 - God opens and closes the womb
  10. Genesis 34 - Revenge taken too far
  11. Genesis 37, 41-45 - Brother-keeping as related to the pro-life ethic
  12. Exodus 1:11-22, 2:11-20, 9:18-21 - Examples of heroism amid inhumanity
  13. Exodus 4:22-26, 11:4-8, 12:12-33, 13:11-15 - Is God really pro-life?
  14. Exodus 13:13 - God “requires” redemption for “every firstborn of My sons”
  15. Exodus 14:12 and 16:3 - God is accused of being anti-life
  16. Exodus 17:8 - Amalek attacked Israel when it was faint and weary (see also Deuteronomy 25:17-18)

The pro-life ethic as developed in the law of Moses

  1. Exodus 20:13 – An explicit command prohibiting murder
  2. Exodus 21:2-11, 20-21, 26-27 - The pro-life ethic and slavery
  3. Exodus 21:12-14 - Murder defined
  4. Exodus 21:22-25 - Accidental harm to preborn babies
  5. Exodus 21:28-36 - The pro-life ethic relates particularly to human life
  6. Exodus 22:2-3 - What is bloodguilt?
  7. Exodus 22:21-27 - The pro-life ethic for foreigners, widows, orphans, and the poor
  8. Exodus 23:1-3, 6-8 - Justice and the pro-life ethic
  9. Exodus 23:4-5 - Love enemies by caring for their stray animals
  10. Exodus 23:25-26 - God is for physical and spiritual life
  11. Leviticus 17:10-14 - “The life is in the blood.”
  12. Leviticus 19:15-18 – “You shall not hate your fellow countryman…but love your neighbor as yourself.”
  13. Leviticus 18:21, 20:1-5 – Child sacrifice is prohibited
  14. Leviticus 24:17-23 – ‘Eye for an eye’ principle reiterated
  15. Leviticus 25:39-55 - Israelites are not to enslave each other
  16. Numbers 19:11-13 – Uncleanness as a result of touching the corpse of a dead person (different than for touching dead animals, Lev. 11:24-40). 
  17. Numbers 35:9-34 – Cities of refuge for manslayers
  18. Deuteronomy 1:16-18 – Equality means there’s not such thing as a lesser human
  19. Deuteronomy 5:15 - Slaves are not lesser humans
  20. Deuteronomy 10:17-19 – God judges impartially among humans
  21. Deuteronomy 14:27-29 – Caring for marginalized people 
  22. Deuteronomy 15 – Warning against lack of generosity to poor brothers
  23. Deuteronomy 16:18-20 – Warning against distorting justice by being partial to one person over another
  24. Deuteronomy 17:2-13 – Careful investigation before the death penalty
  25. Deuteronomy 18:10 – Child-sacrifice is “detestable” to God
  26. Deuteronomy 18:19 – Believing God’s prophet is “required” by God, as much as is an accounting for murder (Gen. 9:5-6)
  27. Deuteronomy 19:1-13 – Provision of cities of refuge repeated
  28. Deuteronomy 19:16-21 - educational value of swift and thorough justice
  29. Deuteronomy 20:10-18 – Rules for war
  30. Deuteronomy 21:1-9 – What to do when there’s a murder mystery
  31. Deuteronomy 22:1-4 – Caring for a brother’s animals
  32. Deuteronomy 22:8 – Safety regulations to preserve human life
  33. Deuteronomy 23:7-8 – Love for brothers who are enemies
  34. Deuteronomy 23:15 - What to do for fugitive slaves
  35. Deuteronomy 23:19-20 – No-interest loans for brothers
  36. Deuteronomy 23:24-25 – Brother-keeping is being a good neighbor
  37. Deuteronomy 24:6, 12-13 – Protect a debtor’s life and livelihood
  38. Deuteronomy 24:7 – Kidnapping a brother, violence toward him, is punishable by death
  39. Deuteronomy 24:8 – Prevent the spread of disease
  40. Deuteronomy 24:14-15 – Pay workers so they can eat
  41. Deuteronomy 24:16 – Don’t put the wrong party to death
  42. Deuteronomy 24:17-18 – Aliens, orphans, widows are “brothers” too
  43. Deuteronomy 24:19-22 – Enable the poor to harvest food
  44. Deuteronomy 25:1-3 – Limits of corporal punishment
  45. Deuteronomy 25:5-10 – A man’s duty to his brother’s widow 
  46. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 – Amalek is not a brother 
  47. Deuteronomy 28:53-57 – Curse for hostility toward a brother 
  48. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 – Choose life!
  49. Deuteronomy 32:35-43 – God will avenge the blood of His servants

The pro-life ethic exemplified in Israel’s history

  1. Joshua 2:14-21 – “Our life for yours…his blood on our head”
  2. Joshua 20 – Establishment of cities of refuge 
  3. Judges 6:30 – Perversion of capital punishment
  4. Judges 9 – A brother kills 70 brothers! 
  5. Judges 11:29-40 – Is Jephthah’s vow child-sacrifice? 
  6. Judges 16:28-31 – Was Samson’s death suicide?
  7. Judges 19 – Disregard for the value of a woman
  8. Judges 20 – Revenge for rape: Was it appropriate?
  9. Judges 21 – Mourning the loss of a “brother” tribe
  10. Ruth – Brother-keeping in action
  11. I Samuel 1:1-20, 2:6, 21 – God’s involvement in conception
  12. 1 Samuel 14:24-26 - Saul did not care for the physical well-being of his fighters
  13. 1 Samuel 15:7-9 - Saul violated the pro-life ethic in his treatment of Amalek
  14. 1 Samuel 18:7-9 - Saul was jealous of David’s kill-count
  15. 1 Samuel 18:10-11, 19:1,15, 20:31-33 - Saul attempted to kill David and Jonathan
  16. 1 Samuel 19:4-6 - Jonathan had to persuade Saul that killing David would be illegal
  17. 1 Samuel 20:3 - David swears to Jonathan (“truly as the Lord lives and as your soul lives”) that, despite the oath (above), Saul is still out to get him. 
  18. 1 Samuel 22:14-19 - Saul sentenced an entire village to death for one person’s “crime” of helping David
  19. 1 Samuel 24 and 26 - David refused to kill Saul when given the opportunity
  20. 1 Samuel 25, 2 Samuel 16:5-13, 19:18-23 - David restrained himself from taking vengeance on people who treated him poorly 
  21. 1 Samuel 30:11-15 - David is kind to an enemy
  22. 2 Samuel 1:13-16, 3:26-30, 4:2-12 - David honored the lives of his enemies
  23. 2 Samuel 9:1-13 - David cared for the needs of a disabled man
  24. 2 Samuel 11-12 - Sexual sin leads to murder
  25. 2 Samuel 13-15 – The pro-life/brother-keeping principle is muddled by Tamar’s rape and her brother’s vengeance
  26. 2 Samuel 16:7-8 - Shimei calls David a “man of bloodshed!”
  27. 2 Samuel 19:6 – Joab reminds David his servants are valuable too
  28. 2 Samuel 19:16-30 – David shows mercy to his enemies 
  29. 2 Samuel 21 – God punishes Israel for Saul and his bloody house
  30. 2 Samuel 23:13-17 - King David considers his men equal to himself
  31. 2 Samuel 24 – David needlessly puts human lives in danger
  32. 1 Chronicles 22:7-9, 28:2-6 - Shedding of “much blood” kept David from building God’s temple
  33. 1 Kings 3:16-28 – Wisdom saved a baby’s life
  34. 1 Kings 8:22-61 – Failures of brother-keeping bring disaster
  35. 1 Kings 11:7 – Solomon’s heart turns from serving God to sacrificing children
  36. 1 Kings 12:10-14 – Rehoboam contemptuous of his father and “this people” 
  37. 1 Kings 14:30 – Rehoboam’s iniquity brought continual war 
  38. 1 Kings 16:34 – Hiel defied God and lost two sons
  39. 1 Kings 17 – Elijah saves the life of a foreign widow and her son 
  40. 1 Kings 18:1-16 – Ahab spared horses and killed God’s prophets
  41. 1 Kings 20:26-43 – Foreign kings associate mercy with Israel’s kings
  42. 1 Kings 21 – Ahab and Jezebel are not a merciful 
  43. 2 Kings 1:13-14 – A wise captain pleaded for the lives of his men
  44. 2 Kings 3:27 – The king of Moab offered his oldest as a burnt offering 
  45. 2 Kings 4:1-7 – Elisha cared for a prophet’s widow and sons
  46. 2 Kings 4:14-17 – Elisha prayed for a barren woman to conceive
  47. 2 Kings 5:1-7 – An Israeli girl has compassion on her foreign captor
  48. 2 Kings 6:20-23 – Elisha showed mercy to captive enemies
  49. 2 Kings 6:24-31 – Eating children a sign of horrifying depravity 
  50. 2 Kings 7:9 – Four lepers have compassion on wicked Samaria
  51. 2 Kings 8:12-15 – Elisha weeps over the lives that Hazael will take
  52. 2 Kings 21 - Jezebel’s murderous plot against Naboth
  53. 2 Kings 9:7-8, 26 – Elisha pronounces vengeance on Ahab’s family
  54. 2 Kings 10:1-17 – Jehu thoroughly carries out vengeance on Ahab’s house 
  55. 2 Kings 14:5-6 – King Amaziah executes vengeance on his father’s slayers but does not go after their sons, in keeping with the law
  56. 2 Kings 14:19; 15:10-30, 21:23-24 – Conspiracies resulted in violent overthrow 
  57. 2 Kings 16:3, 17:17,31 – Ahaz “made his son pass through the fire” 
  58. 2 Kings 21:6 – Manasseh introduced child sacrifice in the southern kingdom
  59. 2 Kings 23:10 – Josiah defiled the place of child sacrifices
  60. 2 Kings 24:1-5 – Judah made to suffer for the innocent blood Manasseh shed
  61. 1 Chronicles 10:11-12 – Valiant men risked their lives to honor the bodies of Saul and his sons
  62. 1 Chronicles 19:1-5 – David’s mercy toward “brother” Ammon met with abuse and humiliation
  63. 1 Chronicles 22:8 – David denied the honor of building the temple because he had shed so much blood
  64. 2 Chronicles 11:4 – Rehoboam prevented from killing brother tribes in effort to reunite the kingdom
  65. 2 Chronicles 19:10 – Disputes between brothers
  66. 2 Chronicles 24:20-25 – Joash conspired to kill the high priest’s son 
  67. 2 Chronicles 28:3 – Ahaz guilty of burning sons in the fire
  68. 2 Chronicles 29:22-24, 30:16, 35:11 - So much blood needed to make atonement
  69. Nehemiah 5 – Nehemiah distressed by oppression of the poor
  70. Esther 7 - Ahasuerus prepared to annihilate an entire ethnic group on the word of one man

The pro-life ethic reflected in biblical poetry 

  1. Job 5:15 – God's character of saving the the poor 
  2. Job 6:27 – Miserable comforters “cast lots for orphans and barter over your friend”
  3. Job 7:17 - Job asks, “What is man?”
  4. Job 15:14 - Eliphaz asks, “What is man?” 
  5. Job 16:17 – Job asserts he has not shed innocent blood; asks that his blood be heard like Abel’s 
  6. Job 19:7 – Job pleas for justice against violence
  7. Job 20:19 – The wicked “oppress and forsake the poor” 
  8. Job 22:5-9 – Eliphaz accuses Job of crushing orphans
  9. Job 24:1-17 – Job complains that God does not seem to see murder victims
  10. Job 25 - Bildad asks, “What is man?”
  11. Job 29:12-17 – Job attests he’s been the advocate for the poor
  12. Job 31:16-23 – Job hasn’t even rejoiced at his enemy’s downfall
  13. Psalm 5:6b – YHWH abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 
  14. Psalm 8 – What is man that God is mindful of him?
  15. Psalm 9:12 - God requires an accounting of bloodshed and hears the cries of the afflicted
  16. Psalm 10:3-14 – Murderers believe God doesn’t see what they do, or forgets what they’ve done 
  17. Psalm 11:5 - The LORD hates people who love violence
  18. Psalm 26:9-10 - Psalmist pleads to not be swept away with men of bloodshed
  19. Psalm 27:12 - David begs to be delivered from people who “breathe out violence” 
  20. Psalm 37:12-15, 32 - The wicked plan to kill the righteous, but God thwarts the plot
  21. Psalm 51:14 - David prays for forgiveness from “bloodguiltiness” after killing Uriah
  22. Psalm 52 - Psalmist bemoans words that kill
  23. Psalm 54:3 - Violent men sought David’s life because they didn’t fear God
  24. Psalm 55:9, 21 & 23 - David trusts in God when men are treacherous
  25. Psalm 56:5 - Men lie in wait to kill David; David waits on the Lord
  26. Psalm 59:2 - Psalmist asks to be saved from men of bloodshed
  27. Psalm 62:3-4 - Things that go along with murder
  28. Psalm 68:5 - God is kind to oppressed people
  29. Psalm 72:12-14 - Righteous kings consider the lives of poor people to be precious
  30. Psalm 73 - Do people who believe wrongly become animals (less than human)?
  31. Psalm 79 - Lament over the killing of God’s people; plea for God to avenge
  32. Psalm 82:2-4 - Plea for God to take up the cause of the victims of injustice
  33. Psalm 94:6-11, 21 - What is the root cause of intentional killing? 
  34. Psalm 106:37-38 - Israel deserved punishment for shedding innocent blood 
  35. Psalm 109 - A wicked leader puts innocent people to death 
  36. Psalm 119:73 - God cares for people because He made them
  37. Psalm 127 - God continues to be involved in the creating and sustaining of life 
  38. Psalm 139:13-16 - God’s sovereignty at the beginning of a human life 
  39. Psalm 139:19-20 - Prayer to not be entangled with men of bloodshed
  40. Psalm 140:1, 4 - Prayer to be preserved from violent men 
  41. Psalm 144:3 - Another consideration of “What is man?” 
  42. Psalm 146 - The mortality of mankind
  43. Proverbs 1:10-19 – The wicked value wealth over people, will kill to get rich
  44. Proverbs 3:29-31 - The folly of violence
  45. Proverbs 4:14-19 - The wicked are sustained by violence
  46. Proverbs 6:16-19 – The Lord hates the shedding of innocent blood
  47. Proverbs 6:26 - Adulteresses hunt down precious lives
  48. Proverbs 7:23 - Adultery costs a man his life
  49. Proverbs 8:30-31 - Wisdom’s participation in creation
  50. Proverbs 8:35-36 - Wisdom promises life
  51. Proverbs 10:9-11 - Wisdom adds years to a lifespan
  52. Proverbs 12:6 - Words kill
  53. Proverbs 14:20-21,31 – God, who made the poor, is honored when we’re gracious to them
  54. Proverbs 17:4-5 - God feels it when we mock the poor
  55. Proverbs 19:17 - God receives our service to the poor as service to Him
  56. Proverbs 21:7 - He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword
  57. Proverbs 21:13 - God shuts His ear to those who shut theirs to the poor
  58. Proverbs 22:2 - Rich and poor have the same Maker
  59. Proverbs 22:9 - God blesses those who bless the poor
  60. Proverbs 22:16 - Those who oppress the poor will themselves become poor
  61. Proverbs 22:22-23 - Don’t rob from the poor simply because they are poor
  62. Proverbs 23:10-11 - God acts as a Kinsman-Redeemer to the fatherless
  63. Proverbs 24:1 - Wicked, violent men should not be envied
  64. Proverbs 24:10-12 – Brave people protect the weak in evil days
  65. Proverbs 24:17-18 - God watches how we treat enemies
  66. Proverbs 26:18-19 - Reckless, deceitful words are dangerous
  67. Proverbs 26:21 - Gossip kindles violence
  68. Proverbs 28:3 - Poor people must also be careful with people less well-off than themselves
  69. Proverbs 28:17 - Don’t give aid or comfort to a known murderer
  70. Proverbs 29:7 - Righteous people care about the rights of the poor
  71. Proverbs 29:10 - Upright people are concerned about the lives of innocent people
  72. Proverbs 29:13 - Small and great are made by God
  73. Proverbs 30:14 - Words can kill
  74. Proverbs 31:2-9 – Good leaders defend the the defenseless and speak up for the voiceless
  75. Proverbs 31:20 - The good wife helps those who are poor and needy
  76. Ecclesiastes 2:7 - Solomon’s practice of enslavement

Prophetic indictments against violations of the pro-life ethic

  1. Isaiah 1:11-23 – God rejects the blood sacrifices of people who have not repented of shedding innocent blood
  2. Isaiah 3:14-15 – Judgment due for mistreating the poor
  3. Isaiah 4:4 – Zion’s glory not returned until bloodshed is purged
  4. Isaiah 5:7 – The Lord looked for justice, but saw bloodshed
  5. Isaiah 9:5 – When Messiah comes, blood-soaked cloaks will be burned 
  6. Isaiah 10:1-2 – The unjust deprive widows and orphans of justice
  7. Isaiah 11:4 – Messiah will slay the wicked with his breath
  8. Isaiah 13:12 - Mankind will be made scarcer than gold 
  9. Isaiah 13:18 - Godless people have no pity on children
  10. Isaiah 15:8 – Moab’s river is “full of blood” 
  11. Isaiah 26:21 – Earth will reveal her bloodshed and no longer cover her slain
  12. Isaiah 30:1 - Folly of adding sin to sin (abortion to sexual sin)
  13. Isaiah 33:8 - Assyria has no regard for the sanctity of human life
  14. Isaiah 33:14-15 – Who can live before God? “He who … stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed”
  15. Isaiah 34:3-8 – God’s judgment of the nations will be bloody
  16. Isaiah 43:2 – God is there when we “pass through the waters…walk through the fire” 
  17. Isaiah 45:18 - God formed the earth to be inhabited by people
  18. Isaiah 47:6 – Chaldea erred by not showing mercy to the elderly
  19. Isaiah 53:9 - Jesus was never violent, never harmed anyone
  20. Isaiah 58:6-10 – God looks favorably on those who help poor and oppressed people
  21. Isaiah 59:2-15 – God rejects violent, bloody, and unjust people
  22. Jeremiah 2:34 – God indicts those who kill the innocent poor”
  23. Jeremiah 4:31 - Zion faints before murderers
  24. Jeremiah 5:28 – Brothers indicted for not taking in a brother’s widow and orphans
  25. Jeremiah 7:1-11 – God rejects worship from people who mistreat marginalized people
  26. Jeremiah 7:31– Child sacrifice never entered God’s mind
  27. Jeremiah 19:4-9 – People forsake God and kill innocent people 
  28. Jeremiah 22:3 – Do no violence, do not shed innocent blood
  29. Jeremiah 22:15-17 – Good kings help the needy and don’t shed innocent blood
  30. Jeremiah 26:15 – Killing God’s prophet = shedding innocent blood
  31. Jeremiah 27:5 – God has made men and the beasts
  32. Jeremiah 32:35 – Rejecting God results in the shedding of innocent blood 
  33. Jeremiah 49:11 – God promises to take care of Edom’s widows and orphans
  34. Jeremiah 51:35 – God will hold Babylon responsible for Zion’s blood
  35. Lamentations 4:13-14 – Spiritual leaders are defiled when they shed the blood of the righteous
  36. Lamentations 5:3 – Israel is like an orphan or widow
  37. Ezekiel 3:18-21 – God holds us responsible for warning others about sin
  38. Ezekiel 4:4 – All souls belong to God 
  39. Ezekiel 5:17 – Plague and bloodshed are a punishment for sin
  40. Ezekiel 7:11 – Violence is a punishment for wickedness
  41. Ezekiel 8:5-18 – Connection between bad theology and violence/bloodshed 
  42. Ezekiel 9:9-10 – “The land is filled with blood and the city is full of perversion” 
  43. Ezekiel 13:19 - Human life becomes cheap through false teaching 
  44. Ezekiel 13:20-23 - Women use charms to "hunt souls" 
  45. Ezekiel 16:36-38 – Women who commit adultery or shed their children's blood are judged
  46. Ezekiel 16:49 – Sodom and Gomorrah also sinned by not caring for the needy, the stranger
  47. Ezekiel 18 – “The soul who sins will die” but God wants us to “repent and live” 
  48. Ezekiel 20:3 – God refuses to hear the prayers of those who sacrifice children
  49. Ezekiel 22 – Indictment against those who destroy lives 
  50. Ezekiel 23:37-39 – Spiritual adulterers have blood on their hands
  51. Ezekiel 24:6-9 – “Woe to the bloody city!”
  52. Ezekiel 27:13 - Sinful nations paid for merchandise with slaves 
  53. Ezekiel 33:1-9 – God holds us responsible to warn others of physical danger 
  54. Ezekiel 34 - Good shepherds care well for their flock physically as well as spiritually
  55. Ezekiel 35 – Judgment against Edom for killing to get land
  56. Ezekiel 36:18 – Judgment against Israel for shedding blood in their land
  57. Daniel 4:27 – Daniel advised a pagan king to show mercy to the poor
  58. Hosea 1:4 – God punished Jehu for bloodshed 
  59. Hosea 4:2 – God indicts Israel for bloodshed after bloodshed
  60. Hosea 6:8-9 – Gilead is “tracked with bloody footprints”
  61. Hosea 12:14 – There will be no forgiveness of Ephraim’s bloodguilt
  62. Joel 3:19-21 – Egypt and Edom punished for violence against Judah
  63. Amos 1:13 - Ammon ripped open pregnant women to enlarge borders
  64. Amos 2:6-8 - Israel violated brother-keeping laws 
  65. Amos 3:10 - Samaria was full of violence and devastation
  66. Amos 4:1 – Samaria indicted for oppressing the poor, crushing the needy
  67. Amos 5:10-15 – Injustice oppresses the poor
  68. Amos 8:4-7 - Israel judged for treating poor people as though they’re of lesser value
  69. Obadiah 10-14 - Edom judged for not behaving as a brother to Israel during its distress
  70. Obadiah 15 - Negative stating of the Golden Rule
  71. Jonah 1:13-16 – Pagan sailors feared bloodguilt more than the prophet 
  72. Jonah 3:8-10 – Nineveh called on God for mercy and He gave them a reprieve
  73. Jonah 4:2 - A strange prophet complains of God’s mercy toward sinners
  74. Jonah 4:11 - God attests to His compassion toward lost people
  75. Micah 3:9-11 – Wicked people “build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with violent injustice” 
  76. Micah 6:6-8 – God prefers justice and mercy to lavish worship 
  77. Micah 7:2-3 – Seemingly everyone lies “in wait for bloodshed…each hunts the other” 
  78. Nahum 3:1-4 – “Woe to the bloody city!” (Nineveh) 
  79. Habakkuk 2:8-17 – Punishment pronounced “because of human bloodshed and violence”
  80. Zechariah 7:8-10 – Practicing justice and kindness is a true, acceptable fast
  81. Malachi 2:10-17 - We all have one Father, so we are each others’ brothers
  82. Malachi 3:5-6 – Might as well be a sorcerer, adulterer, or liar if you’re going to oppress others 

The pro-life ethic reinforced in the gospel of Jesus Christ & the acts of the early Church

  1. Matthew 5:21 - Jesus reiterates and expands the law against murder 
  2. Matthew 5:33-37 - Reactions that defuse violence
  3. Matthew 5:38-42 - Justice is not personal
  4. Matthew 5:43-48 - Rather than hating enemies, love them as God does
  5. Matthew 6:25-34 - While we seek His kingdom and righteousness God knows what we need for bodily comfort and survival
  6. Matthew 7:12 - The Golden Rule
  7. Matthew 9:13 - Jesus urges law-keepers to have compassion for law-breakers
  8. Matthew 12:1-22 - Rather than learning compassion, the law-keepers failed again
  9. Matthew 15:19 - Jesus pinpoint the real origin of murder and other sins
  10. Matthew 18 - Jesus expands the concept of brother-keeping
  11. Matthew 19:18 - Jesus reiterates the law against murder
  12. Matthew 22:39-40 - Law hinges on loving God and your neighbor
  13. Matthew 23:27 - Jesus laments over Jerusalem, how she killed the prophets
  14. Matthew 23:34-36 - Jesus likens Pharisees to those who killed the prophets
  15. Matthew 24:45-51 - Unbelieving stewards mistreat their fellows
  16. Matthew 25:31-46 - Service for brothers is service to Jesus
  17. Matthew 26:52 - Those who live by the sword will die by the sword
  18. Matthew 27:1-10, 24-25 - Bloodguilt culminates in the crucifixion of Christ, the ultimate shedding of innocent blood
  19. Mark 3:1-6 - Hardness of heart in unwillingness to help
  20. Mark 3:33-35 - “Brothers” are fellow-believers
  21. Mark 7:21 - Murder comes from the heart
  22. Mark 10:19 -  Jesus upholds the prohibition against murder
  23. Mark 12:28-34 - Which is God’s greatest commandment?
  24. Luke 1:39-45 - Preborn John the Baptist response to the presence of the preborn Jesus
  25. Luke 3:19 – John the Baptist confronts Herod about his failure at brother-keeping
  26. Luke 6:41-42 - Spiritual care for brothers
  27. Luke 10:25-37 - A neighbor is anyone in danger whom you can help
  28. Luke 11:47-51 - Jesus cites the long record of slain prophets, from the beginning of time
  29. Luke 13:10-17 - Jesus’ compassion for a disabled woman
  30. Luke 17:3 - Rebuking and forgiving a brother
  31. Luke 22:32 - Strengthening a brother
  32. Luke 22:47-51 - God’s kingdom does not advance by violence or threats of violence
  33. Luke 23:25 - A murderer released in exchange for the Giver of life! 
  34. John 8:44 - Satan was a murderer from the beginning
  35. John 13:34 - Love one another as Jesus has loved you
  36. Acts 3:14 - Peter indicts his people for rejecting Messiah and instead embracing a murderer
  37. Acts 5:27-39 - Religious leaders determine to kill followers of Jesus 
  38. Acts 7:19-21 - Pharaoh forced Israel to expose their infants to the elements so they died
  39. Acts 7:22-29 - Israel absorbed Egyptian attitudes toward human life while Moses did not
  40. Acts 9:1 - Saul leads the way in persecuting disciples of Jesus
  41. Acts 15:19 - The early Church maintains the Genesis 9:4 prohibition against ingesting animal blood 
  42. Acts 22:17-21 - Paul (formerly Saul) admits his complicity in killing the disciple Stephen
  43. Acts 26:4-12 - Paul described his former aggression against the Church
  44. Acts 28:4 - Folklore identified Paul as a murderer, which indeed he had been! 

The pro-life ethic expounded in the epistles

  1. Romans 1:28-32 - Because they forget God, people are full of murder and other wickedness
  2. Romans 12:9-21 - Love your enemies, leaving vengeance to God 
  3. Romans 13:9 - Love fulfills the law and does no harm to a neighbor
  4. Romans 14:1-21 - Love your brother more than food
  5. I Corinthians 11:7-12 - Despite sin and the curse of death, mankind still  bears the image of God
  6. Galatians 5:14 - The whole law is fulfilled in one statement: love your neighbor as yourself
  7. Galatians 5:19-21 (KVJ, NKJV, TLB, GNB) - Murder is a deed of the flesh, not the spirit
  8. Ephesians 4:2 - Every Christian should be gentle, patient, forbearing
  9. Ephesians 4:25-32 - Members of the body are neighbors too
  10. Philippians 2:3-11 - Jesus was willing to become a human being, and to serve other humans, even though He was far above them
  11. Colossians 3:5-11 - Jesus is conforming all types and classes of people into His image 
  12. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-6 – Sexual immorality defrauds brothers, which God will avenge
  13. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 - Don’t imitate lazy brothers, but also don’t treat them as an enemy
  14. 1 Timothy 1:9 - The law was made for murderers
  15. 1 Timothy 1:12-14 - Paul was grateful to no longer be a violent man in Christ
  16. 1 Timothy 2:1-8 - Pray for all people because there is one means of salvation for all
  17. 1 Timothy 3:3 (ESV, RSV, NIV, NKJV and other translations) - Church leaders should be gentle, not violent 
  18. 1 Timothy 4:1-5 - God created marriage and food for people to enjoy
  19. 1 Timothy 4:10 - The Savior of all men is the Living God
  20. Titus 1:7 - Church leaders must not be violent
  21. Hebrews 13:1-7 - Instructions for brotherhood
  22. James 1:27 - Looking after widows and orphans is pure religion
  23. James 2:1-4 - Wrongly differentiating between people violates the pro-life ethic 
  24. James 2:8-12 - Loving one’s neighbor is obedience to “the royal law.”
  25. James 3:8-10 – Cursing men while praising God is unseemly
  26. James 4:2 - Discontent leads to fights, quarrels, murder
  27. James 4:11 - Slander violates brother-keeping
  28. James 5:1-6 - Withholding wages can be murder; God hears the cries of the oppressed
  29. 1 Peter 4:15 - No Christian should murder anyone
  30. 1 John 3:11 - No Christian should hate a brother, because that is murder 
  31. 1 John 4:20-21 - Someone who hates a brother cannot say he loves God
  32. Jude 9 - Maintain respect for the Creator and His purpose in creation
  33. Jude 11 - Beware the way of Cain!
  34. Revelation 6:9-11 - God will avenge the deaths of martyrs
  35. Revelation 9:20-21 - People are given ample opportunity to repent of their murders and other sins against God
  36. Revelation 16:4-7 - Those who killed saints and prophets finally receive their punishment
  37. Revelation 18:11-13 – Babylon is held accountable for trafficking human beings
  38. Revelation 18:24-19:2 - Babylon is also held accountable for killing God’s servants
  39. Revelation 21:6-8 - The lake of fire awaits unrepentant murderers 
  40. Revelation 22:15 - Unrepentant murderers are denied eternal life

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Image credit: Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), Sistine Chapel Ceiling: The Erythraean Sibyl

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