We must go Through the Water to be Born Again

Warning: do not read this if it will cause you to stumble.

“decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” - Rm 14

This blog is not written in support of abortion rather in hopes of clarifying with the scripture when soul life begins.

Bible verses that indicate that "soul life" (or being a "living being" in the fullest sense described in Genesis) begins at birth, specifically in relation to the act of breathing.

Verses Emphasizing Breath as Key to "Living Being" Status:

  1. Genesis 2:7:

  • "Then the Lord God FORMED MAN of dust from the ground, and BREATHED into his nostrils the breath of life; and man BECAME a LIVING being (nephesh chayyah)."

  • Indication: This is a foundational verse. It presents a sequence: 1. Formation of the physical body from dust. 2. God breathing the "breath of life" (nishmat chayyim) into the formed body. 3. As a result of the breath, man "became a living being/soul." This strongly suggests that, for Adam, the state of being a "living soul" was contingent upon receiving the breath of life into his already formed body. Birth is seen as the moment an infant takes its first independent breath, this verse can be paralleled to that moment.

  1. Ezekiel 37:8, 10:

  • "[8]And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there WAS NO BREATH in them... [10]So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the BREATH CAME INTO THEM, and they CAME to LIFE and stood on their feet..."

  • This vision of the valley of dry bones mirrors Genesis 2:7. The bodies are fully formed, with sinews, flesh, and skin, but they are not alive. It is only when "breath came into them" that "they came to life." This reinforces the idea that breath is the animating principle that transitions a formed body into a living entity in these specific biblical descriptions.

Verses Describing the Unborn or Stillborn:

These verses describe the unborn or stillborn in terms of what they didn't experience, particularly seeing light or the sun, which is associated with life outside the womb.

  1. Job 3:16:

  • "Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, As infants that never saw light."

  • Job in his suffering wished he was like a hidden miscarriage or infants who "never saw light." This emphasizes the lack of conscious experience of the world. It explicitly denies a soul by focusing on the absence of lived, post-birth experience.  "Seeing light," is an event that occurs at or after birth.

  1. Psalms 58:8:

  • "Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the MISCARRIAGE of a woman which NEVER see the sun."

  • Similar to Job 3:16, the miscarriage is described as not seeing "the sun." This again points to birth as the entry into the world of light and experience.

  1. Ecclesiastes 6:3-4:

  • "[3]'Better the MISCARRIAGE than he, [4]for it comes in FUTILITY and goes into OBSCURITY; and its name is covered in obscurity.'"

  • The stillborn "comes in futility and goes into obscurity." This implies that its existence hadn't reached the stage of "meaningful life" or recognition that comes with birth and breath.

Verses Referencing Gestation and Divine Involvement:

These verses acknowledge God's role in formation within the womb but can be interpreted differently regarding when "soul life" begins.

  1. Job 10:9-12:

  • "[9]'Remember now, that You have made me as CLAY... [10]'Did You not pour me out like milk And CURDLE me like cheese; [11]Clothe me with skin and flesh, And KNIT me together with bones and sinews? [12]'You have GRANTED ME LIFE and lovingkindness; And Your care has preserved my spirit.'"

  • While verses 9-11 describe God's intricate work in forming the body in the womb, verse 12, "You have GRANTED ME LIFE," which occurs after formation is interpreted as referring to the life granted at birth, concurrent with the "breath of life."

  1. Psalms 139:16:

  • "Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet THERE WAS NOT ONE OF THEM."

  • God seeing the "unformed substance" (embryo/fetus) and ordaining its days before they exist shows divine foreknowledge and plan. The phrase "when as yet there was not one of them" (referring to the days, or the psalmist himself in a fully realized sense) is interpreted to mean that the individual, as a fully "living being" experiencing those days, had not yet come into existence, which would happen at birth.

  1. Hebrews 10:5:

  • "Therefore, WHEN HE COMES INTO THE WORLD, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a BODY You have PREPARED for Me;'"

  • "When He comes into the world" is understood as Christ's birth. The body was "prepared" (perfect tense, indicating a completed action with ongoing results) in the womb. This could align with the Genesis model: the body is fully prepared, and then the individual "comes into the world" (is born) and is a living, speaking being. The preparation of the body precedes the "coming into the world."

Verses on Conception and Divine Origin:

  1. Matthew 1:20:

  • "For THAT which is CONCEIVED in her is of the Holy Ghost." (Christ is in neuter tense in the Greek as a fetus. The next verse says he is born and named with a personal name.)

  • The use of the neuter "that which is conceived" for the fetus, followed by the personal name "Jesus" upon birth (Matthew 1:21, 25), is seen as marking a transition. While the origin is divine from conception, the recognized personhood, in terms of public identity and interaction as a human being, begins at birth. The divine origin makes the conception sacred, but "soul life" as a "living being" (like Adam) commenced with breath at birth.

Other Verses:

  1. Numbers 5 (Curse of Miscarriage):

  • This passage describes a ritual where a miscarriage can be a divinely imposed curse.

  • From the perspective that soul life begins at birth, this would mean the loss of a potential fully living being, which is still a grave matter but it's not a soul lest God ok the death of an innocent soul. The potential death of a fetus is not viewed as murder rather a punishment for infidelity.

  1. John 3:5-6:

  • "[5]Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is BORN OF WATER and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6]That which is BORN OF THE FLESH is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'"

  • This passage primarily deals with spiritual rebirth. "Born of the flesh" and “born of the water (amniotic fluid at birth) refers to physical birth. It establishes physical birth as the entry into physical human existence ("flesh"). This marks birth as the beginning of life in the flesh. One can not enter the future kingdom without being born and reborn. 

  1. "Vessel" Passages (1 Thessalonians 4:4, 2 Timothy 2:21, Revelation 2:27):

  • These verses use "vessel" metaphorically for a person's body or the person themselves.

  • Man was "formed" like a potter forms a vessel (Genesis 2:7). A vessel is complete when formed. However, in the Genesis account, the "vessel" of Adam's body only became a "living being" after receiving breath. So, these verses are seen as referring to people who are already born and breathing – living vessels.

Summary of How These Verses Indicate Soul Life Begins at Birth:

  • Primacy of Breath: Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37 explicitly link the impartation of breath to a formed body with the commencement of being a "living being" or "coming to life." Birth is when an infant takes its first independent breath.

  • Focus on Post-Natal Experience: Verses about miscarriages (Job 3:16, Psalms 58:8, Ecclesiastes 6:3-4).

highlight the lack of experience in the world (seeing light/sun), distinguishing them from those who have been born.

  • Sequential Nature: Some verses (Genesis 2:7, Hebrews 10:5, potentially the distinction in Matthew 1:20) can be read as implying a sequence where the body is formed first, and then, upon birth/breathing, full "living being" status or entry "into the world" is achieved.

  • Divine Plan and Formation: Verses showing God's involvement in the womb (Psalm 139, Job 10) describe the preparation of the physical body, which, according to this interpretation, awaits the breath of life at birth to become fully animated in the way Adam was.

Does this encourage abortion? Absolutely not. Mankind is to “be fruitful and multiply" ,Genesis 1:28. However millions have rejected this command.  I for one find hope that this horrible trend did not kill millions of “ensouled” beings.


Edits by Google Gemini 

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