Coming Soon: The Vision Begins
Last week there was another meeting of “The Oratory of St. Arnoldus“. This meant that Kevin and I visited a new bar, cracked open our copies of Coming Soon, and dug into the final book of the Bible, The Apocalypse…
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Knowing when to walk away from an argument
A while ago I saw an article on Facebook which reported that Fr. Bourgeois, a priest who for many years publicly opposed the Catholic teaching of a male-only priesthood, had been dismissed from the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.
A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook to the article with the comment “Those bastards in the vatican!!!!”.
My friend has links to the Catholic Church and we have Catholic friends in common, but when I saw the article on his Facebook Timeline I noticed that not a single person had offered a defense of the Church’s actions.
What is the difference between the born and unborn?
As I mentioned yesterday, to mark the March For Life, this week I’m going to be posting a series of articles exclusively on the subject of abortion.
Today I’d like to outlining the two main stages I pass through when discussing the subject of abortion with those who are pro-choice.
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Qur’an Cover-to-Cover: Day 15 (“The Ants”)
Today’s chapter, Surah 27, is quite an extraordinary chapter, focussing in particular on the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon:
Surah 27 – “The Ants” (An-Naml)
We open today’s reading with the affirmation mentioned in yesterday’s passage, that the Qur’an is “a clear Book”.
We have some general statements about prayer, giving and belief in “the Hereafter” (judgement, Paradise and Hell). Those who don’t believe in the Hereafter will receive “the worst of punishment” and will be “the greatest losers”.
The story of Moses and the Burning Bush is briefly recounted. One amusing detail in the Qur’anic version is that when Moses’ staff transforms into a snake, he freaks out and runs away! Another interesting point in this retelling is that the miracle of the staff and Moses’ hand will be “among the nine signs [you will take to Pharaoh]”. This number of signs doesn’t tally with anything we get in the Old Testament, but the number nine does have some signifance in Isalm. We’ll actually encounter it once more before the end of today’s chapter.
The focus now switches to King Solomon, who claims to “have been taught the language of birds”. This doesn’t appear just to be a poetic turn of phrase as events are recounted where he communicates with birds, as well as with an ant.
Sunday Lectionary: All you need is love
I’m going to start trying to make these Sunday Lectionary posts a little bit shorter, both so that I get more of my weekend back and also so more people read them!
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 23rd, 2011
The Readings this week focus around the “vertical” and “horizontal” dimensions of our faith, how we love God and how we love our neighbour. This finds its simplest and clearest expression in today’s Gospel passage when Jesus is asked which is the greatest of all the commandments…
“Therefore the first commandment teaches every kind of godliness. For to love God with the whole heart is the cause of every good.
The second commandment includes the righteous acts we do toward other people. The first commandment prepares the way for the second and in turn is established by the second. For the person who is grounded in the love of God clearly also loves his neighbor in all things himself.
The kind of person who fulfills these two commandments experiences all the commandments.”
– St. Cyril of Alexandria, Early Church Father, 5th Century
Abortion: Are you willing to bet?
Picking up from where we left off yesterday, I would like to continue my series of posts on the subject of abortion.
For many people, the fundamental question which must be answered in the abortion debate is this: when does human life begin? If the aborted child does, in fact, represent an innocent human life, then abortion must be recognized as immoral.
(Some would disagree with this last statement, but I’d suggest that such people are in the minority and I’ll address their position some other time).
So when does human life begin? Personally, I think it’s clear that life begins at conception. I think that this position can be defended both scientifically and philosophically since, from conception onward, you have a distinct, growing, human organism with its own unique DNA. However, for the sake of this post I’m going to set aside my own position…
Differing Pro-Choice Opinions
You see, not everyone holds to my opinion (I know, who’d have thought it?!). The thing is that among those who would identify themselves as “pro-choice”, there are a vast range of opinions as to when the unborn child can be considered a living human person worthy of protection.
Who’s understanding should we accept? For example, some say that the child is only human after certain organs have formed. Some people point to the moment when the heart starts to beat. Others say the child should only be considered worthy of protection once brainwaves are discernible, and still others withhold protection for the unborn until the child is viable outside of the womb. Still more readily admit that they just don’t know…
Given this cacophony of opinions, we can establish that, among those who identify themselves as pro-choice, there is no consensus as to the moment from which the unborn child should be recognized be a human person and be deemed worthy of protection.
I think the uncertainty on the side of pro-choice advocates is a powerful argument against the legalization of abortion. If one is not sure when life begins, then it must be admitted that there is, at least the possibility, that abortion results in the death of an innocent human person and is therefore immoral.
“But that’s not in the Bible!”
As a Catholic, I often hear from Protestants the exclamation of “But that’s not in the Bible!” during our discussion of Catholic doctrine and practice. Now, while I think that Catholicism can be more than adequately defended from the Bible, during these conversations I always feel that it’s necessary to point out some general issues with this objection. In today’s post I would like to outline the three main problems that can be highlighted…