Biblical reflection on Endeavor 2 is meaningful to the substantial portion of Americans who adhere to the teachings of Christianity. Please read the Endeavor 2 page, if you have not already, before continuing to read this page.

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Some Christian denominations proclaim that personhood begins in the womb at the moment of conception. Biblical scrutiny affirms the common understanding that a person’s life begins in the womb (Psalm 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5), however, nowhere in the Bible is it stated that conception (fertilization) is the exact moment when a person’s life begins. Nowhere in the Bible is it written that "a fertilized egg is a person," or that "an embryo is a person," or that "a person exists from the moment of conception." Therefore, any Christian would be wise to recognize all claims that "the Bible says a person's life begins at conception" as pseudo-Christian.

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Conception is the beginning of a new human body, but just because a body exists does not mean a soul exists in that body. The timing of ensoulment is not described with precision in the Bible. Throughout history, various Biblical scholars have proposed different suppositions for when ensoulment occurs while others proposed that ensoulment is a gradual process but that the timing of exactly when such a process begins and finishes remains a mystery.

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Through scientific observation, we know that between one-third to one-half of all embryos naturally fail to implant in the uterus. Following this, one-third of the implanted embryos naturally abort before the sixth month of gestation. After the sixth month, the rate of natural abortion (miscarriage) falls to less than 1%. In a Christian context, this means that God directly aborts roughly two-thirds of all new bodies before the sixth month. It is unlikely that God ensouls new bodies at conception only to then abort two-thirds of those souls before they are born. It is more likely, therefore, that God ensouls new bodies at some point after conception.

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In Ecclesiastes 3:20, it is written “all are from the dust, and to dust all return” (ESV). The Bible, therefore, is clear that bodies (“dust”) exist both before and after souls exist within them. Accordingly, "embryo" and later “fetus” are the proper terms to describe a body that exists before the baby. Likewise, “corpse” is the proper term to describe the body that exists after a person has died. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

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As for the timing of when a fetus becomes a baby in the womb, the best we can do as Christians is refer to the Bible. The Bible emphasizes "the sixth month," not once but twice, in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1, verse 26 and again in verse 36, and then in verses 39-45, it is in "those days" when Elizabeth's baby leaps for joy in her womb (ESV). To the spiritually inclined, it is no coincidence that the Bible emphasizes the sixth month and that the 23rd week gestation—when a new body gains a mind—is in the sixth month. 

 

All together, based on biblical reflection, rates of natural abortion, and knowledge of fetal brain development, it is more reasonable for a Christian to believe that a baby’s life begins within the sixth month of pregnancy than to believe that a baby's life begins at any other time.​​

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