When does life begin? Josiah Chesley

To those of average curiosity about the wonders of nature, it is likely that two great mysteries have stirred the imagination; and each concerns a birth. Who has not gazed into the heavens on the starlit night and wondered about the birth of the universe? And who has not been stimulated by the sight of the newly born baby, to marvel at the unseen events within the mother’s (womb) that have led to the birth of such a perfect creation (Liggins 2)? 

These words by Sir Graham Liggins address a critical issue in today’s world: society has forgotten when life begins. Western culture has increasingly distorted the truth about life under the guise of self-autonomy and freedom. To defend human life, one must understand that Scripture and science proclaim corresponding truths about the origin of life and human development. 

Biological life is not created every time a mother conceives a child. Rather, life began long ago at the creation of the universe. Understanding life’s ultimate origin clarifies why reproduction is not the creation of new life, but rather a continuation of the life God established. Failing to distinguish creation from continuation has allowed culture to redefine life as a human decision rather than a divine reality. Despite extensive efforts to prove that new life could be chemically produced, scientists Miller and Ulrey conducted hundreds of experiments that failed to prove that life’s building blocks could be created under “early-earth” conditions (Bergman 1). Their failures were due to the immense complexity of the simplest cell and the impossible feat of creating biological life from inert matter. While these men set out to prove that abiogenesis was possible, they ended up proving the opposite conclusion (Bergman 4). Colossians 1:16 offers an explanation for those who wonder why man is incapable of creating new life. Verse sixteen of Colossians declares that all things are created by God in heaven and on earth, affirming that life is not a human creation. George Johnson attests to this in his book The Living World which lists two of the major tenets of biology: “All (living) organisms are composed of one or more cells within which the processes of life occur,” and “cells arise only by division of previously existing cells” (Johnson 75). Although creationists and evolutionists disagree on the timing of life’s initial emergence, the scientific consensus is that life appeared once in the past and is continued through the life cycle (Jacobs 1). Understanding the origin of life lays the foundation for understanding when human development begins. 

A child’s development is initiated at conception when a sperm cell fertilizes an ovum. In his 1974 textbook, embryologist Keith Moore states that development is a continuous process that begins at fertilization and continues till death (Moore 1). Likewise, his later 2008 version reaffirms that development does not end at birth but continues beyond the latest stages of adulthood (Moore 3). Dr. C. Ward Kischer of Human Embryology at the University of Arizona School of Medicine showed his support for the fertilization view when he confirmed that “Every human embryologist, worldwide, states that the life of the new individual human being begins at fertilization (conception)” (Kischer 1). Even philosophers who do not assign full moral value to the one-cell stage acknowledge that development, in the biological sense, begins when the genetic material of a sperm and ovum unite to form a genetically unique cell (Eberl 135). 

While science describes the biological beginning of life, Scripture reveals the divine intentionality behind it. The Bible clarifies the intricacies of human creation in the passage Psalm 139:13-16. These verses in the Psalms explain how God “knits,” or forms, every person in the womb. Jeremiah 1:5 concurs with this by stating that God forms every person in the womb and “knows” them. These claims align with scientific testimony that human existence begins at conception–the first stage of development. Those who believe the Bible agree that God ordains the formation process, continuing the work He began at creation. 

Media narratives, political agendas, and even academic literature often portray early human development as a biological burden or unwanted growth, encouraging women to view pregnancy as an obstacle to personal achievement. Scripture presents a radically different perspective. When one looks at God’s Word, he will see that babies and children are not a curse, but a gift. Psalm 127:3 states, “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward.” The biblical worldview contrasts sharply with cultural messages that undervalue human life. If life is both biologically continuous and divinely intentional, then society bears a moral responsibility to protect it during the earliest and most vulnerable stages of its development. Scripture and scientific evidence are in agreement that human value begins at the moment of conception, not at a later stage of development. Regardless of secular claims, Christians find assurance in God’s intentional design and enduring love for every human being, even in the earliest moments of life. 

Works Cited 

American College of Pediatricians. “When Human Life Begins.” American College of Pediatricians, n.d., https://acpeds.org/when-human-life-begins/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025. 

Bergman, Jerry. “Why the Miller–Urey Research Argues Against Abiogenesis.” Creation.com, 30 Dec. 2016, https://creation.com/en/articles/why-the-miller-urey-research-argues-against-abiogenesis. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025. 

Eberl, Jason T. “The Beginning of Personhood: A Thomistic Biological Analysis.” Bioethics, vol. 14, no. 2, 2000, pp. 134–57. 

“Embryo: The Developing Individual Between the Union of the Germ Cells …” Fertility & Sterility Reports, 2022, https://www.fertstertreports.org/article/S2666-3341(22)00084-8/fulltext. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025. 

Jacobs, S. A. “The Scientific Consensus on When a Human’s Life Begins.” Issues in Law & Medicine, vol. 36, no. 2, 2021, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36629778/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025. 

Johnson, George B. The Living World. 2nd ed., McGraw Hill, 2000, p. 75. 

Kischer, C. Ward. “The Corruption of the Science of Human Embryology.” ABAC Quarterly, American Bioethics Advisory Commission, Fall 2002. 

Liggins, J. G. “The Fetal Origins Hypothesis — 10 Years On.” British Medical Journal, vol. 330, no. 7500, 2005, pp. 1096–97. PMC, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC557875/. 

Loseva, P. A. “The Beginning of Becoming a Human.” PMC, 2024, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7245522/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025. 

Moore, Keith L. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology. W.B. Saunders, 1974, p. 1. 

“Physics Research Article: (2024) — Frontiers in Physics.” Frontiers in Physics, 2024, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2024.1392578/full. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025. 

The Holy Bible: King James Version. Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/versions/King-James-Version-KJV-Bible/. 

“When Does the Sanctity of Life Begin?” Faith Pulpit, n.d., https://faith.edu/faith-pulpit/posts/when-does-the-sanctity-of-life-begin/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025. 

Josiah Chesley