Morality, Religion & Philosophy: October 2004 Archives

Robert used to be pro-choice but is now pro-life, and here's why. (HT: Donald Sensing... is he back?)

It feels a bit futile to just comment on Drudge links all morning, but here's another one that sticks in my craw, or raises my hackles, or something. The Vatican has decided that what's good theology for some is not good theology for all. I'm not a Catholic, but I think it's absurd the way the Vatican refuses to take a significant stand on the most critical issues of our age.

Balestrieri submitted a query to the Congregation several months ago, asking if someone who publicly supported abortion rights would be guilty of heresy and incur what the Church calls "automatic excommunication."

Di Noia, the Congregation's undersecretary, referred the request to Father Basil Cole, a canon lawyer in Washington.

Cole provided a response which said that if a Catholic "publicly and obstinately" supports the civil right to abortion despite knowledge of the Church's teaching, that person commits heresy and "is automatically excommunicated."

Balestrieri asserted that Cole's letter was proof that the Vatican was on his side. But Di Noia said: "His claim that the private letter he received from Father Basil Cole is a Vatican response has no merit whatsoever."

"I thought I was advising a student who was working on a project. I referred him to a reliable theologian on the matter. I was acting in my capacity as a theologian trying to be helpful to a young person," he told Reuters.

"I had no idea his aim was actually to build a heresy case against John Kerry or against anyone else. I feel that we have been instrumentalized," Di Noia told Reuters.

So... is Cole's theological position valid or invalid? Why does the motivation of the questioner matter in any way? He's only trying to establish doctrinal fact. If public support for abortion is heresy, wouldn't that cover prominent Catholics? Or do they get some sort of special indulgence for political reasons? I gladly defer to Martin Luther's position on that matter.

What is your perception of divorce? In response to my post about John Kerry's divorce, commenter Jill wrote:

Wake up....think....now do it again. Divorce is not a brand of dishonor, or a failure, or a smear or even a mistake. It is two people who make a smart decision to part ways once it is clear they don't like/love/care/whatever about each other any longer. Nobody knows what goes on between two friends, two married people, a child & a parent, etc. Don't base any judgements concerning a serious contemplation of who you want to be the next president on information you have no access to, nor should you. Further, the term "separation" means you live your life alone, date, and either return to your original marriage or remarry or remain single. It's just that simple.

If two people swear oaths to stay married and together for the rest of their lives and then don't do it, it is a fact that they have failed. Also, what's interesting and what most people may not realize is that marriage vows are not normally made to each other, but to God and to the assembled witnesses; thus, even if both husband and wife want to split, they don't have the authority to release each other from their vows. Breaking vows is dishonorable by definition.

In the Bible God does lay out a few circumstances in which he permits -- but does not encourage -- divorce, but the criteria is not "once it is clear they don't like/love/care/whatever about each other any longer", whatever that means. Marriage shouldn't be based on emotion, which is fleeting, but on love and committment that surpasses mere externalities.

Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Proverbs 11:12
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue.

Proverbs 17:28
Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Commenter jez points to an interesting article that describes recent abortion trends and claims that the recent economic troubles led to an increased number of abortions.

In total numbers, 7,869 more abortions were performed in these 16 states during Bush's second year in office than previously. If this trend reflects our nation, 24,000 more abortions were performed during Bush's second year in office than the year before (or three years before in the first three states). Had the previous trends continued, 28,000 fewer abortions should have occurred each year of the Bush era. All in all, probably 52,000 more abortions occurred in the United States in 2002 than expected from the earlier trends.

How could this be? I see three contributing factors: ...

What does this tell us? Economic policy and abortion are not separate issues; they form one moral imperative. Rhetoric is hollow, mere tinkling brass, without health care, health insurance, jobs, childcare, and a living wage. Pro-life in deed, not merely in word, means we need a president who will do something about jobs and insurance and support for prospective mothers.

Basically, Professor Lewis B. Smedes argues that we need to improve economic conditions to reduce the number of abortions, which sounds like a great idea to me. I obviously disagree with his prescription of government provided benefits, however, since such programs eventually lead to lower standards of living, not higher. And anyway, wouldn't an even better way to reduce abortion be to simply make it illegal? That would cut out 95% of abortions immediately. (Or hey, say 90% -- pick a number, it would be high.)

I'm not sure how much to believe, but this Mainichi Daily News article about abortion in Japan is enough to make me sick.

It is common knowledge that abortion has long been one of the most popular forms of birth control in Japan, largely because it's such an enormous money-spinner for those who perform the procedure that they have fought tooth-and-nail to prevent proliferation of alternative means. ...

With abortion so common, there's a thriving business in the disposal of the trade's waste products, not to mention the fabulous amounts of money spent on buying absolutions or offering prayers at the numerous temples devoted to mizuko, the name the Japanese give to aborted babies that translates literally as "water children." ...

Also suspected of making a packet out of aborted fetuses are uglier elements of the beauty business, according to Tokudane Saizensen.

Placenta beauty treatments are hot in Japan for their purported beneficial effects in combating the effects of aging and menopause.

I won't even quote the worst parts of the article, it's just too disturbing. Is this the future of America envisioned by abortion "rights" activists?

The parents of Gordie Bailey are understandably upset that their 18-year-old son died from alcohol poisoning during a fraternity "initial function", but who bears the most responsibility?

On the evening of Sept. 16, Gordie Bailey and 26 other Chi Psi pledges were blindfolded and left in the woods near Gold Hill. They were told to drink vast amounts of Ten High whiskey and Carlo Rossi wine, according to police.

By the time the pledges were driven back to the Boulder fraternity house, police said, Bailey was "sick and visibly intoxicated."

By 11 p.m., fraternity members carried him to a couch and gave him a metal bucket. ...

Shortly before 9 a.m., Bailey was found face down on the floor next to the couch and could not be revived. An autopsy shows that he died from alcohol poisoning with a blood-alcohol level of 0.328 percent.

In my opinion, Gordie Bailey is solely responsible for his own death. Unless someone used force or the threat of force against him, mere peer pressure is not nearly enough to shift blame away from the drinker. I have no doubt whatsoever that the members of the Chi Psi fraternity are pathetic, low-life scum, but Bailey was an adult and knew exactly what he was getting himself into the whole way down the line. You don't drink that much by accident, you do it to impress your newfound "friends" and to get as drunk as possible.

The family has not yet decided whom to name in their suit, Berg said, but are considering the fraternity, the individuals involved and the university.

"We still don't see leadership from the university," said Lanahan, Bailey's stepfather. "They have not proposed any change in the system - but the system is killing our kids."

Your kids are killing themselves. Wake up to reality.

Lanahan said he hopes the fraternity will release the results of its investigation into his son's death. So far, Chi Psi has said it will not release the records.

"If these things remain secret," Lanahan said, "then Gordie's death meant nothing at all."

I'm sorry to say so, Mr. Lanahan, but Gordie's death was meaningless.

I think that killing someone for monetary gain or for the sake of convenience is an abhorent practice. I am opposed to the strong killing the weak on a whim, and I'm strongly in favor of finding alternatives to such violence. But I think sending a killer or his hitman to jail is the wrong remedy.

As a citizen and a lifelong member of the Christian faith, I will do everything in my power to persuade others that convenience-killing is wrong because I am firmly convinced that persuasion, not legal action, is the only proper and the only truly effective way to limit such killing.

I am unalterably opposed to killing on demand. This is a battle over human life. It must be won the only way it can ever be won, by persuading people who are considering killing others that the taking of human life is terribly wrong. Although I am personally opposed to killing, I reject the idea that killing can successfully be outlawed entirely -- but I believe it must be made rare by persuasion rather than by trying to impose criminal penalties.

Or something like that.

Consider this passage on idolatry.

Isaiah 44:12-20

12 The blacksmith takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.
13 The carpenter measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in the form of man,
of man in all his glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
15 It is man's fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
"Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
"Save me; you are my god."
18 They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
"Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"
20 He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
"Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"

Shall I bow down to a block of wood? Sounds like a ridiculous proposition, doesn't it? Few modern Americans practice this type of explicit idolatry, but we certainly worship all sorts of other things that we've created -- jobs, families, relationships, wealth, power, fame, recognition, and so forth. Many people live and die for these, but are they much different than blocks of wood?

Many block-worshippers will be quick to argue that the Christian concept of God is no different, that we've created an intangible God in the shape we prefer to suit our own purposes. This is an interesting argument, but it doesn't account for the fact that the God of the Bible commands us to do things that are often against our best interests, individually and corporately. Still, it could be said that Christianity commands behavior that promotes the survival of Christianity, which is why it has been so successful.

One who views God as an artificial construct generally reverts to worshipping the only thing he has that he didn't create: himself. In the end, all the other blocks of wood I listed above come down to a love of self. No wonder so many people are so unhappy and frustrated in life... if your god is yourself, you're bound to be constantly disappointed.

God is more concerned with making me righteous than with making me happy. Righteousness comes from a right standing with God; happiness -- as most people think of it -- comes from being surrounded by pleasant circumstances. Interestingly, even though God never promises us pleasant circumstances, many people seem to feel that they are owed happiness by God despite the suffering endured by the most Godly men and women throughout history (see Hebrews 11, particularly the end).

A happiness-centered worldview is really a self-centered world view, and it naturally prevents us from having a right standing before God, which requires humility. Even Jesus, God himself, suffered for the cause of righteousness, so why should we expect any less? In fact, James wrote that it is precisely this suffering that God uses to create within us the righteous, Christ-like qualities that he values more than happiness.

James 1:2-12

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

A person who is spiritually mature will have a greater passion for personal righteousness than for personal happiness, and will consequently obtain both righteousness and happiness -- a happiness that comes not from mere circumstances, but from the joy of having a right relationship with God.