Christian and Jewish clergy who, if you ask me, are closer to priests of Moloch, were active recently in Schenectady. From the Not Making This Up file:
At Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Rev. Larry Phillips of Schenectady's Emmanuel-Friedens Church declared the ground "sacred and holy ... where women's voices and stories are welcomed, valued and affirmed; sacred ground where women are treated with dignity, supported in their role as moral decision-makers ... sacred ground where the violent voices of hatred and oppression are quelled."The minister has been affiliated with Planned Parenthood going back more than 30 years, Scharf said. About three dozen people gathered at the facility, known as the Evelyn & David Sencer Center, to offer prayers during the half-hour ceremony.
The Rev. Abby Norton-Levering led the group in prayers for the center's doctors and staff. "We pray that you will make this a place of safety and give a sense of sanctuary," she said.
Rabbi Matt Cutler of Temple Gates of Heaven blew the shofar as "a renewal of commitment to keep reproductive rights in the hands of women."
The Rev. Bill Levering, senior pastor of First Reformed Church of Schenectady, said the right to privacy is endowed by God.
"There are some decisions that are left to the individual. Even God respects the right of privacy. We make women into children when we say they cannot control their own bodies," Levering said.
Phillips led everyone outside where they laid their hands on the brick and limestone as the minister declared, "This is sacred ground."
I can understand -- not approve of, but understand -- wanting to keep abortion legal, for practical reasons. A necessary evil. But calling down God's blessing on an abortion clinic?! Sick, sick, sick. Behold, the transvaluation of all values.
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"Whether an embryo is a person is another question of which there is no scientific consensus."
Don't ya just love it? Basically, this quote says that it MAY be a human individual, but since some don't believe it's a human individual, let's go ahead and kill it!
Weeeeeee...throw caution to the wind! Freedom is POWER! Weeeeee....
Yeah, I believe it was Daneil in an earlier post that couldn't distinguish between executing a serial killer and dismembering a innocent child. He then went on to display Bush Derangement Syndrome with talk about unjust war etc etc blah blah blah.
Definitely a Peace & Love (id est, sex) Cafeteria Catholic.
I don't often post on abortion-related threads, mainly because I'm not 100% confident of my pro-life position (rape?, incest?, 11-year-olds?, morning-after pill?, etc.).
However, what I think important is that the case against abortion is not primarily religious, but is based on science and basic morality. I really think the pro-life position has little connection to Christianity, because
(i) The Bible is clearly pro-abortion at the one point it is mentioned (Numbers 5), and Judaism permits abortion.
(ii) My understanding is that the Catholic church only extended full personhood to the foetus in the 19th century, as the result of embryological knowledge, and that Aquinas, for example, only extended personhood to the moment of quickening. Earlier Christian writers (the Didache??) condemned abortion on the grounds of it being a way of covering up adultery, rather than because it involved killing a human. Look, I might be wrong about this, and I'd be happy to accept correction as long as it is honest rather than bombastic.
There are some influential ancient texts that do condemn abortion, such as the Hippocratic Oath, and some Hindu and Buddhist writings. However, it seems to me that people would do better basing pro-life positions on basically Enlightenment ideas about human rights.
I also feel uncomfortable about the way that pro-life is sold as part of a package, with conservative Christianity, neoliberal economics, trad sexual morality, etc. For example; there is no logical reason why one should not be pro-life and also in favour of gay marriage, yet very few people are. I don't think the pro-life movement is going to get anywhere when it acts like a members-only club. Also, there are important issues to debate about whether access to contraception and health education actually increases unwanted pregnancy, but this debate ought not to be seen entirely through the lens of Christian sexual morality.
"Unfortunately, I know your kind of American Catholic all too well."
And, sadly, I know yours. We all do.
"And, sadly, I know yours. We all do."
Yeah, their called Catholics.
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