When Does Life Begin?
The Bible is the lens through which we view the world. It is authoritative to Christians and considered holy. All beliefs that we hold should be downstream from principles we find in the Bible. One thing I’ve sought in the Bible is an answer to the question: “When does life begin?” The answer is not as clear as I was raised to believe. In fact, there’s a strong Biblical case to be made for life starting at breath, not conception. Before you go run off to point to Psalm 139:13 or Jeremiah 1:5 (the strongest Biblical cases for life at conception), hear me when I say that I fully respect and understand your interpretation. We will also take a look at these passages and consider all the evidence in context. I also found myself in the camp of life at conception for decades of my life. It was a belief that caused me strife as I knew myself to desire a comprehensive social support, protection for the immigrant, and care for the vulnerable from a place of Biblical love. But there was one idea that held me back: If life begins at conception, then I cannot support a party that supports abortion. There is no compromise that justifies murder. It was not until I decided to challenge what I had been told and seek out the case for this belief from the Bible itself that I was stunned to find it was not at all clear.
I remember the moment. I was visiting the church I grew up in, a classic American Baptist establishment, closer to the Reformed tradition, but solidly non-denominational. During the worship service, I walked to the back of the sanctuary and opened my Bible. Providentially, I opened to Ezekiel and began to read. With the worship music sounding around me, my excitement grew as I started to connect what I was reading with what I had been wrestling with for months! How could it be! I was reading with my own eyes the Bible clearly stating that “there was no breath in them.” Directly connecting breath and life. This was the onset of a furious research session. I looked into the Biblical case for the traditional view on abortion, but I was surprised to find that most of the cases I found online didn’t talk about the Bible much at all; actually, they went straight to science… something completely counterintuitive. How could a group that I had been part of for so long advocate for a view as Biblical when the case they make for that view is, in fact, non-Biblical? This led me to read the Bible for myself, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.
When deriving political conclusions from scripture, we must look at the evidence for all options represented in scripture and determine which interpretation has stronger evidence. When life at conception is held up to this standard, it pales in comparison to life at breath. I hope you’ll come to agree with me, reader, as we dive into the ideas of breath and soul, starting, naturally, with breath.
We must remember that we follow a religion that has primarily Jewish context, understood through a Western lens, so to understand how we should consider life, we should examine what the Jewish authors who wrote the bible had in mind. Across the Bible, the two major Hebrew words that are used across the Old Testament to refer to life are Ruach and Nephesh. They each represent different ideas. Ruach (used 377 times) is defined by Strong’s Concordance as wind, by resemblance breath, life, and by resemblance spirit. This word is used to describe Spirit, and is also used interchangeably as wind. For example, in Gen 1:2 it’s translated to ‘the Spirit’ of God, Ruach Elohim. Nephesh (used 754 times) is a more general term referring to anything that is alive, but specifically anything that is breathing. Strong’s Concordance defines Nephesh as a breathing creature. Both of these terms are used across the Old Testament in reference to life, consciousness, and being. This intrinsic connection between breath and life is clear when you study the ideas behind the Hebrew words used in the Bible. They are so connected, in fact, that you cannot even bring up the concept of life in Hebrew without also implying breath in some way.
Let’s move directly into Genesis 2:7 “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (ESV). This verse is the creation of man, the first human life in existence. The process is clear: form then breath. God creates the human body from dust, as far as we know, the heart could be beating, the blood pumping, but without breath the blood has no purpose. The heart’s moving blue blood. Both the heart and the blood serve as the method of transportation for what we bring in through breath. The heartbeat is miraculous, but it is not life. As we see in this passage, God creates the form fully, but man is not alive until he breathes. Skeptics will argue this is a one-off, not to be applied to anything after Adam, which might be a strong argument if there were not other cases of this process.
We see another example in Ezekiel 37:1–10:
The Lord bring Ezekiel to a valley full of bones and He asks Ezekiel v3 “Son of man, can these bones live?”, to which Ezekiel responds “O Lord God, you know.” The Lord then commands Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones, stating that the Lord will cause breath to enter them, sinew, and skin to cover them, and they shall live. That leads us into v7:
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. (ESV)
Once again, we see form, the bones coming together, flesh coming on them, fully formed, but a distinction between them having form and being alive with breath. The Lord specifically directs Ezekiel to prophesy breath over these lifeless forms. I think you can anticipate the words that are used in this passage. Each time breath is referenced in this passage, it is Ruach. Signaling the transition from flesh to Nephesh as the point at which a person possesses Ruach, wind, breath. The conclusion is that the unborn are not considered living by any Biblical status since they don’t have Ruach.
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Now, we are not bound by Old Testament law by any means, but we should allow the law to flavor our interpretations as it is still an expression of the Lord’s character. That being said, there’s an example in Exodus 21:22–24: “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life” (ESV). When an unborn child is harmed, the perpetrator is fined, but if the woman is also harmed, the death penalty is enacted. We see that in OT law, a distinction is made between the unborn and the nephesh. Different punishments for different crimes; it is not murder in OT law, but still a transgression. There is discussion on what ‘harm’ is in this passage, so take into consideration the nuance there as well.
Let’s take a look at the second and most common interpretation. This interpretation is that life begins before birth at some point in the womb. Some say heartbeat, some say the quickening (when the fetus begins to move in the womb), and most say conception. The reason for this is that once you move before breath, there’s no real cutoff point, so people tend to push it out to the extreme, conception. Why not when the liver develops? Or why not when any other major organ starts functioning independently? Culturally, we’re conditioned to connect heartbeat with life because health professionals check for it as a tactile way to determine the patient’s status; it’s a consequence of life, not the cause. Anyway, the Biblical case for this hinges on three passages: Psalm 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5, and Luke 1:41–44.
Psalm 139:13 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” (ESV). This verse is very meaningful, one that displays a deep, intimate understanding between God and creation; some interpret it to mean that we are alive because God knitted us together. Although it is a piece of poetry that is worshiping God for the miracle of creation in a very personal way. It does not assert personhood or imply anything about nephesh. Instead, it is a declaration of a real truth meant to exalt the Lord. He DID knit us together in our mother’s womb, just as he knit all things together. He HAS formed our inward parts, as he formed the shape of the earth. He IS the creator and sustainer of all things. Similarly, in Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (ESV). In this verse, we see God calling Jeremiah to ministry before conception. This is an assertion of a quality of God that all Christians agree with. His omnipotence and omniscience. If He knows all and has a plan for each of us, then as He was forming the earth in Genesis 1, He knew each of us. Of course, He knew that Jeremiah would do great things for the kingdom. He knows everything! But knowledge of something doesn’t assert existence, nor does it mean that the known thing is alive. Especially when the person doing the knowing is outside of time.
Finally, Luke 1:41–44 “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy’” (ESV). This is used by the life at conception crowd to point out that alive things don’t jump or act independently. Although, earlier in the chapter in v15 it says “he [John] will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (ESV). This verse gives us the context that John is a miraculous exception. We cannot simply wave this off as a fluke misunderstanding by Elizabeth, the mother of John. It was not a misidentified kick. It was as the scripture reads. To say otherwise would be to undermine the authority of scripture. But by that very authority, we should not consider this a regular occurrence. Yes, this is the same argument made about the creation of man: a miraculous exception rather than a routine understanding. But the lifeless form to living form with breath has no indication that it would be an exception in both Genesis and Ezekiel, unlike here. Additionally, there’s more than one instance indicating a recurring event.
I know that it can be hard to hear that a fellow Christian believes that abortion is not condemned in the Bible, especially if you consider it murder. There are many different related questions that I’m sure are bubbling up. I’ll try to answer them to add context as to why I’m comfortable with this belief.
First and foremost, if we are comfortable with the Biblical interpretation of life beginning at breath, then when exactly should the legal limit be for pregnancy termination? Personally, I do not wish for a world where third-trimester abortions are legal, but that’s not because the Bible condemns them as immoral. But rather, it’s one of the many things subject to what society decides in aggregate, subject to social contract theory. Our legal system operates as an aggregation of everyone’s preferences for what should and shouldn’t be allowed, and this is essential in a world where people hold different beliefs. Very few people are comfortable with third-trimester abortions, maybe even second-trimester, so they should remain prohibited. It’s society’s job to decide where that line should be drawn, and wherever it lands will be correct until it’s not. This is how we achieve the shared code that makes up the law.
Recognizing this, there is no condemnation for advocating for stricter abortion laws, but there is condemnation for considering it an inspired command from the Lord rather than a personal preference. The very fact that this doctrine is held through interpretation should add salt and nuance to this conversation. Much of the pro-life argument comes down to a scientific analysis that can be contested rather than a solid Biblical argument. We should not bring a moral case against abortion until it moves past breath. It is wrong to call doctors who perform abortions murderers.
Miscarriages are a profound tragedy because when a family is anticipating a child, the loss of hope is not unlike the loss of a known person. Just like when a friend or family member passes, mothers and fathers must grieve all the would have beens, future memories, and dreams. This is incredibly difficult for anyone, and my heart goes out to those who have experienced it. This essay is not discounting their experience, nor is it advocating for reducing any justice that these parents might choose to seek.
We need to act responsibly as Christians and hold ourselves accountable to the Bible. It is our moral guide and the inspired word of God, which makes it even more important to dig down into the interpretations and discern the heart of the Lord. The Bible does not condemn abortion, nor does it support life at conception. These are interpretations that are read in, interpretations that can be challenged. My hope is that you allow the Bible to speak for itself. It is a much stronger interpretation that life begins at first breath. I encourage you to look at the scripture yourself and see that there is no concrete doctrine, no holy directive, nor undeniable truth as an answer to the question of “when does life begin?” If we acknowledge that our preferences are largely a matter of interpretation, we must choose the most likely interpretation based on the evidence in the Bible and the character of God.
Originally published at https://sissonj.substack.com on August 14, 2026.
