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JaneGrey
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I agree. I come from a mostly Catholic family (which is why the religion will always be important to me) but became interested in Buddhism for similar reasons as yourself.
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philialeaf
Guest
I have seen many touching TV ads about the pro life cause, and heard radio ads as well. Usually around election time we see more of them. I agree that we should not care about kittens and puppies more than about babies and moms, but that doesn’t mean we should stop caring about the kittens and puppies!! They are all God’s creatures and we have a responsibility to them as well.
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Shredderbeam
Guest
It’s probably because they view animals as having a greater capacity to suffer.
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The_Otaku
Guest
That’s not what I was implying at all and he misunderstood me when he quoted me, and now you’re consequently doing the same by quoting him in reference to me. Standing up for the animals is wonderful and God bless them for it. What I was saying was that these worthy causes can oftentimes distract people, not because they are designed to, but because they are meant to seem more manageable than say abortion, and any good standing Catholic who is on the sidelines on abortion, but stands up right away for animal rights, for example, may very well have part of that decision motivated by commercials such as these because these commercials are so moving for the animals, but we have yet to see a similar commercial for abortion (to my knowledge anyways). The enemy can take advantage of this in his own way.
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severus68
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I don’t disagree with you. However there are some use of animals I am against for example horse racing where horses bred with too thin legs are raced too young. Many of them go to the glue factory or for dog food when their use is over. By the way, sorry for my wrong spelling of “differ”, typed in the dark.
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severus68
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) who will give and do more this year for “animal rights” than they will give and do for the many pro-life apostolates that are asking for their support and whose work is frankly more important.}
Excuse me, but I refuse to take “blame” for anything that I didn’t do, or for something that I neglected to do after somebody with a judgmental penchant decided I should have done. I definitely offer more support to animal-care-based organizations than to pro-life causes. I have good, valid, loving personal reasons for doing so. We can judge each other forever because we don’t support each other’s favorite causes. But I think we’re negating a lot of Christianity when we do so. There’s nothing in the Caholic catechism that says we have to support one cause more than another. We each have only so much in the way of resources. How dare you tell me where I should put mine to use.
You do not have to justify how you spend your money and you are right about such non Christian attitudes.
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Newbie2
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Non-human animals? Are there any other kind? I sense a very large red flag here in the use of that term.
Um…the horses are not bred with “too thin legs”. The problem, as you said, is that they are being raced too young. Not much horse racing going on nowadays, in any case. Fortunately, more and more ex-racehorses are finding careers as hunter-jumper or pleasure horses.
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Charlotte408
Guest
wait a minute…is it a LAW or something that anti abortion commercials cant be aired on TV??? why ARENT there any?? there should be…i’d donate to something for one…
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Bluegoat
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Humans are animals as well as rational creatures. It’s not an un-Catholic position. It helps remind people who might forget that we have a real connection to the animal part of creation, something that some need to be reminded of. People in the Enlightenment forgot that and some terrible things resulted - live vivisection for example, since animals weren’t human and so couldn’t feel pain in the same way.
I don’t think anyone actually thinks animals are more important than babies. Some people find abuse of animals particularly emotionally distressing, but that is not an intellectual position, it’s just the emotional reaction that person seems to have, and that’s likely just how they were made. There are some people who think a fetus or embryo ISN’T a baby, which I would say is clearly wrong, but it is not quite the same thing as saying animals are more important. There are some who think that the legalities of abortion are a lot more complicated than the issues around animal abuse, which does seem to have some truth to it. (Writing good abortion legislation is much more complicated than animal rights legislation.) There are some who say that all life is equal, which is still not saying animals are more important.
And more than that, we don’t ignore one kind of sin/abuse or suffering because there are other, worse types. If we followed that to it’s logical conclusion, the result would be very bad indeed. And people are called to different kinds of service, and that is the way it has always been.
Abortion is a difficult issue - many people feel a little helpless when faced with what they might do about it. As a political issue, it is very hard to make any progress at all, and the population is really quite divided, so people don’t know what to do. Sometimes I think they are hesitant to give money or time to an organization they feel is ineffective.
I also get really ticked off when someone presents a terrible instance of animal abuse - let’s say industrial hog farming or puppy mills - and people say - why do you care about that, we still have legal abortion! This seems to happen all the time. As if it is ok to support immoral enterprises because there are other horrible things? As if the Church can only focus on one type of behavior at a time? Cruelty and detachment from the majesty and holiness of creation is a root cause of both of these kinds of sin. Trying to convince people that abortion is wrong while allowing institutionalized cruelty to animals won’t work, nor vice versa. Both teach people to separate themselves metally from pain and suffering they can’t directly see, and to put a low value on life, and the dignity of creation and how it works.
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Clevelander
Guest
I came across a flyer this morning which contained the following old man’s testimony. It speaks to us all, and in a particular way to those who may be discouraged into feeling helpless, divided, confused, or ineffective in regard to abortion.
“I lived in Germany during the Nazi holocaust. I considered myself a Christian. I attended church since I was a boy. We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews, but like most people today in this country, we tried to distance ourselves from it. After all, what could we do to stop it? A railroad track ran behind our small church. Each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we noticed cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews. They were like cattle in those cars! Week after week that train whistle blew. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry out to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing! We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly what time that whistle would blow, and we decided that to keep from being so disturbed by the cries we would start singing our hymns. By the time the train came rumbling past our church, we were singing at the top of our voices. If some of the screams reached our ears, we would just sing a little louder until we couldn’t hear them. Years have passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying out for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing. Now so many years later, I see it happening all over again in America. God forgive you as Americans for blocking out the screams of millions of your own children. The holocaust is here. The response is the same as it was in my country–Silence!”
The flyer then went on to remind us that everyone can do at least something:
"If the Christians in the old man’s church had done something, they probably would have been killed. That is not the case with us today. We don’t even have that excuse for our silence.
What can I do?
“I lived in Germany during the Nazi holocaust. I considered myself a Christian. I attended church since I was a boy. We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews, but like most people today in this country, we tried to distance ourselves from it. After all, what could we do to stop it? A railroad track ran behind our small church. Each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we noticed cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews. They were like cattle in those cars! Week after week that train whistle blew. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry out to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing! We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly what time that whistle would blow, and we decided that to keep from being so disturbed by the cries we would start singing our hymns. By the time the train came rumbling past our church, we were singing at the top of our voices. If some of the screams reached our ears, we would just sing a little louder until we couldn’t hear them. Years have passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying out for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing. Now so many years later, I see it happening all over again in America. God forgive you as Americans for blocking out the screams of millions of your own children. The holocaust is here. The response is the same as it was in my country–Silence!”
The flyer then went on to remind us that everyone can do at least something:
"If the Christians in the old man’s church had done something, they probably would have been killed. That is not the case with us today. We don’t even have that excuse for our silence.
What can I do?
- Pray for an end to abortion.
- Wear the “Precious Feet” pin. It is the exact size and shape of an unborn baby’s feet at 10 weeks.
- Volunteer your time with Pro-Life groups or Pregnancy Care Centers and support them financially.
- Start a Pro-Life group at your church.
- Share your convictions with your children and grandchildren.
- Donate Pro-Life books, videos or fetal models to local libraries and schools.
- Participate in Pro-Life events being held in your community."
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Newbie2
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They’re around.
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severus68
Guest
I have done some research and the legs are too thin for some tracks. It is also the age of course. I have also witnessed first hand the ill treatment of former race horses. There is still quite a lot of horse racing I have to say.Non-human animals? Are there any other kind? I sense a very large red flag here in the use of that term.
Um…the horses are not bred with “too thin legs”. The problem, as you said, is that they are being raced too young. Not much horse racing going on nowadays, in any case. Fortunately, more and more ex-racehorses are finding careers as hunter-jumper or pleasure horses.
Sorry? That term was not used purposefully with any agenda. I have always used it,
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Garland
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Clevelander, your post #30 WOW. God bless you and thank you. Garland
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Marfran
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This is a fabulous post!!! I am in total agreement!!!
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severus68
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I am not sure of the law in the US but in many countries, such adverts can not be aired without approval. It may be that it would be traumatic for people especially children. Adverts on animal abuse are not seen in the same way. Some churches do show videos of aborted foetuses.
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severus68
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I must agree with Marfran, a great post. By the way have you read C.S Lewis’ essay on vivisection?
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rpp
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Proof that animal rights wackos are inherently pro-abortion. Thank you for clearing this up.
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JaneGrey
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Marfran
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Here is the quote. I believe it implies that ALL of life is to be valued and that God loves ALL of His creation, but that humans are special in the eyes of God.
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6 & 7.
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Marfran
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There have been many pro-life ads for many years now (in the US). And I don’t know if there is a way to measure this, but I think that they probably do have a big impact. They bring awareness to women considering abortion, and I’m sure that many women who have seen these ads have chosen against abortion after seeing the graphic nature of these ads. I’m surprised that you haven’t seen any.
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