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Copyright © 2020 Liming Chang All Rights Reserved. the Southern Copyright © 2020 Liming Chang All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. WHEN DOES PERSONHOOD BEGIN? __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Liming Chang December 2020 APPROVAL SHEET WHEN DOES PERSONHOOD BEGIN? Liming Chang Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Kenneth T. Magnuson (Chair) __________________________________________ Bruce A. Ware __________________________________________ Andrew Walker Date______________________________ For my parents, Daniel and Carol TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 Thesis ..................................................................................................................2 Background .........................................................................................................3 Personal Interest ......................................................................................... 3 History of Research ................................................................................... 6 Methodology .....................................................................................................12 2. THE BEGINNING OF LIFE: THE BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE .................15 Sperm-Ovum Binding and Embryonic Development .......................................15 The Biological Dimension of Human Personhood ...........................................17 Twinning, Fusion, and Embryonic Development .............................................23 “Pre-embryo”? ......................................................................................... 24 Accessory Tissues .................................................................................... 25 Identical Twinning ................................................................................... 26 Chimerization .......................................................................................... 27 Fertilization, Conception, and Pregnancy .........................................................29 3. PERSONHOOD AND THE SOUL .....................................................................32 The Historical Development of Personhood .....................................................33 Ancient Philosophical-Religious Background ......................................... 33 View of the Soul in Eastern Cultures ...................................................... 35 iv Chapter Page Influence of Judeo-Christian Theology .............................................................36 The Contribution of the Early Church Fathers ........................................ 36 Development in the Understanding of “Person” ...............................................37 The Western Latin Churches ................................................................... 38 The Eastern Greek Churches ................................................................... 39 Modern Philosophical Concept of Personhood .................................................40 The Composition of a Human Person: One, Two, or Three Parts? ........................................................................42 What is a Soul?..................................................................................................48 The Words in Scripture that Refer to the Soul ..................................................50 The Image of God .............................................................................................53 4. THE ORIGIN OF THE SOUL .............................................................................58 The Origin of the Soul and the Doctrine of Original Sin ..................................60 Original Sin .............................................................................................. 60 The Relation Between Adam’s Sin and Ours .......................................... 60 Creationism .......................................................................................................62 Biblical Evidence Supporting Creationism ............................................. 63 Critiques of Creationists’ Use of Biblical Data ....................................... 65 Theological Challenges Against Creationism ......................................... 67 Traducianism .....................................................................................................73 Biblical Evidence Supporting Traducianism ........................................... 73 The Meaning of the Sabbath .................................................................... 77 Summary of Traducianist Arguments ...................................................... 78 Theological Challenges Against Traducianism ....................................... 79 Other Points to Consider .......................................................................... 89 Conclusion ........................................................................................................92 v Chapter Page 5. WHEN DOES PERSONHOOD BEGIN? A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE .............................................................................94 An Infant is a Person .........................................................................................94 An Unborn Fetus is a Person .............................................................................95 John the Baptist: Filled with the Holy Spirit from His Mother’s Womb ............................................................... 95 Paul the Apostle ....................................................................................... 96 Jeremiah ................................................................................................... 98 The Servant in Isaiah’s Prophecy .......................................................... 100 Jacob, Esau, and Cain ............................................................................ 102 The Viable Premature Infant is a Person.........................................................104 Yasia ...................................................................................................... 105 Shikkel .................................................................................................... 105 Yeled ...................................................................................................... 105 Ason 106 A Quickened Fetus is a Person .......................................................................110 An Unformed Embryo is a Person ..................................................................111 Personhood Begins at the Moment of Conception ..........................................114 Samson ................................................................................................... 114 David ...................................................................................................... 116 Conclusion ......................................................................................................119 6. AN INTEGRATED RESPONSE: MEDICAL, BIOETHICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES .........................................................121 Viable Apart from the Womb (Around 23–24 Weeks Gestational Age) ..............................................................121 Quickening (Around 16–20 Weeks Gestational Age) ....................................124 “Unformed” Embryo (Around 7–8 Weeks Fetal Age) ...................................125 vi Chapter Page Embryo Develops a Heartbeat or Brainwaves (Around 3–6 Weeks Fetal Age) ..............................................................129 Heartbeat ................................................................................................ 129 Brainwaves ............................................................................................ 130 Primitive Streak Appears (Around 2 Weeks Fetal Age) .................................138 Primitivism ............................................................................................ 139 Arguments Against Primitivism ............................................................ 140 Implantation (About 7–10 Days After Conception)........................................143 A Medical Response to the Pre-Implantation Argument ....................... 144 A Philosophical Response to the Pre-Implantation Argument ........................................................... 147 Conclusion ......................................................................................................148 7. REFLECTIONS FROM A SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY PERSPECTIVE: PERSONAL ESCATOLOGY AND CHRISTOLOGY ......................................................................................149 A Theological Reflection on Embryonic and Fetal Deaths ............................150 The Eternal Destination of Miscarried and Stillborn Children ................................................................... 155 Christ Incarnated
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