Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy this weekend defended the unborn in a series of tweets, using Scripture, science and philosophy to argue that society should "focus on the baby" in the womb.
Dungy also urged his followers to "have conversations" on the issue without being divisive.
"God is placing life in the womb, and He is forming that life. Is it OK for us to decide to end it?" Dungy tweeted.
You can come to your own conclusions on when that moment is. But the point is that God is placing life in the womb and He is forming that life. Is it OK for us to decide to end it?
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 11, 2022
It wasn't the first time Dungy has engaged with his followers on the issue of abortion, although it is the first time he's commented on the subject on Twitter since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Dungy's string of tweets began as a response to a question from journalist Adam Davidson, who had implied there is no biblical case for the "idea that life begins at conception."
"It's a brand new idea, made up in the 1970s," Davidson tweeted. "In the bible and for nearly all of Xn history, life was thought to begin sometime in the 2nd trimester."
Davidson writes for The New Yorker and co-founded the NPR podcast Planet Money.
"Read Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13-16, and Genesis 25:23. Then see what you think," Dungy tweeted.
Read Jeremiah 1:5, psalm 139:13-16, and Genesis 25:23. Then see what you think.
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 10, 2022
The verses, Dungy said, "speak about God seeing us in the womb, working on us in the womb and knowing us in the womb."
God is sovereign, we are not. But these verses deal with more than just the foreknowledge of us. They speak about God seeing us in the womb, working on us in the womb and knowing us in the womb.
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 11, 2022
When someone asked why Dungy was siding with "people from 2000 years ago," Dungy replied, "I'm basing my opinion on what God said, not what people want to advocate."
No. I’m basing my opinion on what God said, not what people want to advocate.
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 11, 2022
Another person encouraged Dungy to "focus on the woman." To that, Dungy wrote, "Why not focus on the baby? Does that life mean anything?"
The question at the heart of the debate, Dungy argued, is whether the fetus in the womb is a life.
"If you don't believe it's a life, then it has no rights," he tweeted. "But…if you believe it's a life, then it has rights. 38 states have fetal homicide laws implying they think it is a life."
The question is does the baby have any rights. If you don’t believe it’s a life then it has no rights. But…if you believe it’s a life then it has rights. 38 states have fetal homicide laws implying they think it is a life.
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 11, 2022
"God formed the baby, not man," Dungy tweeted.
Yes God said He knew Jeremiah before He formed him. But Vs 5 says….I formed you in your mother’s womb. That says a lot right there. God formed the baby, not man. Did you read the other two passages?
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Dungy acknowledged other opinions on the issue.
"I think we can have conversations and even disagree without it being the end of the world," he tweeted. "I know that everyone won't look at things like I do, but I can still share what I believe and why I believe it."
Thank you. I think we can have conversations and even disagree without it being the end of the world. I know that everyone won’t look at things like I do but I can still share what I believe and why I believe it.
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 11, 2022
Related:
'I Am Serving the Lord': Dungy Defends Appearing with DeSantis at Fatherhood Event
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Mitchell Leff/Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
