[George]

Aloha Brandon,

Excellent response!

Just for clarification:

I do not believe that "The Breath of Life" is "physical" (air or otherwise). However, having stated that - there is something about the "air" that makes all life on earth possible. {Ours is the only known Planet in the Universe with an "atmosphere" amenable to "life", as we know it}

I do believe that "The Breath of Life" is "spiritual" (when one receives the "spirit" which is in all men).

I believe that "The Breath of The Almighty" is the Holy Spirit. [John 20:22; Acts 2:2]

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Notice: it is the Holy Spirit that makes us and it is His "breathe" {The Holy Spirit} that has given us "life" - when He imparts our "spirit" (our life) unto us with "the breath of life".

"The breath of life" is imparted to us through "The breath of the Almighty". They are not the same. The question still remains: do we receive it at "conception" (by inheritance from Adam?) or at birth?

The fact that some people may "lose" their noses doesn't negate the basic premise. The basic rule still stands - regardless of the exception.

Can you name an animal that breathes air that doesn't have nostrils? I cannot think of any - but there may be some.

An unborn child is not "dead" or considered a "non-entity" (as if it didn't exist). An unborn child within the womb is a "gift" from God - However, he/she is dependent upon the mother for life until he/she is born (their "life" is inextricably linked to the mother's life and they have no "life", for very long, apart from her), and has "life" within himself/herself. The question is: Does he/she possess a "spirit" and correspondingly - a soul?

The underwater "birth" does not negate the teaching. The baby has to come out of the water (real soon) or it will die - if it can't BREATH!

You stated:

"The Bible said God "breathed into" Adam. No one else has this said of them. Everyone else has the "breath of air" "given" to them or "caused" to come "into" them."

However, I never said "the breath of AIR" - I think that I was very careful to always say "the breath of LIFE", since I do not believe that "air" and "life" are the same.

Your last point is the most difficult to answer, and was very well put!

Here is my "feeble attempt" to answer it.
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

I believe that the "body" spoken of here is a "body" that has already been born (at some time) - not an unborn child.

As I have said: An unborn child's "life" is inextricably linked to the mother's "life" - without the mother's "life" a babe within the womb dies. Why is that? I believe it is because, although they are alive within the womb, that "life" is different than ours, since it is inextricably linked to the mother, and is totally dependent upon the mother to sustain his or her life (which we are not - we are dependent upon God to sustain us, and so is the mother also).

I have stated elsewhere that upon reviewing the nearly 500 verses with the word soul (souls) in them, I cannot find a single verse in reference to an unborn child - every place the word soul (souls) occurs it is speaking about a person (persons), already born, and which is living and breathing upon the earth (outside of the womb). and which possess a spirit, heart, mind, and conscience. Of course that doesn't preclude the possibility of of an unborn child possessing a spirit and a soul, but you would think that out of nearly 500 verses we could find at least one verse that would indicate that they do.

My wife has given birth to seven children (two in the car - on the way to the hospital! ) over a period of 20 years. She has had two "miscarriages" in the 47 years of our marriage. We would have had more children (we wanted more children), but I felt that having another child might endanger her health and/or life and correspondingly the health and/or life of the child, so we decided that 7 was enough (since 7 is a "perfect" number).

We now have 17 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Just because I hold this belief about the spirit and soul has not diminished my love for my children (within the womb or out). My belief has not diminished the awe and wonder of an unborn child, or his/her value or worth.

My belief has not diminished the disdain that I have for abortion. Abortion is a heinous crime! Abortion is a grievous sin! Abortion is an affront to Almighty God and His gifts. As a means of "birth control", abortion is a despicable practice - against God and nature. I do not know if it is "murder", it could very well be.

Sin is sin. Murder, Rape, Child Molesting, Incest, Sodomy (Homosexualism, Lesbianism), etc. are at the top of my list of "Sins". I consider abortion to be right up there in the top three or four.

Like I have said before: I don't have all the answers, and I could be wrong about this issue. I do know one thing though - this issue is far more "complex" than some people make it out to be, and I have sought answers from the Holy Scriptures and not from men, or my own private opinions.