Can someone help explain why abortion is much worse than the Iraqi War?

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If you read a previous post of mine, I gave what I felt to be a very good example of when abortion is a complex issue. Also some examples from a text that many Christians take to be objectively true, on God’s supposedly ‘pro-life’ stance. I notice no-one has yet responded to that post.

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Actauly all you gave was a good example of the convoluted “logic” one must engage in to try and justify killing the unborn. its not complex at all-the unborn have just as much a right to life as you do-their mothers have no more right to kill them than your mother does you.
 
War is always something to avoid at all costs if possible, but sometimes war must be waged. There are approx. 4000 abortions performed in America everyday. Innocent American lives ended at the whim of their own mothers. The sheer numbers of abortion casualties compared to war casualties should be sobering. An entire generation of citizens deprived of the right to life, liberty, etc. Millions of people who won’t be there to do the work that keeps the country strong and vital. This is one reason so many foreign workers come here to fill the vacuum created by the death of so many citizens. Sadam asked for this war when he refused to abide by the terms of his surrender for over 10 yrs. What have the babies done that was wrong or cruel or unjust? Pax Christi
 
If you read a previous post of mine, I gave what I felt to be a very good example of when abortion is a complex issue. Also some examples from a text that many Christians take to be objectively true, on God’s supposedly ‘pro-life’ stance. I notice no-one has yet responded to that post.

That sounds a little like Anselm’s ‘proof’ of the existence of God. The issue is not so much whether there is an objective moral truth, as whether that truth is knowable, and whether we as humans have any claim to know it. You might notice that philosphers have debated the nature of truth for centuries. And there is a vast gulf between saying that objective truth is a matter of circumstance, experience and observation, and saying that it doesn’t exist so anyone can just do what they like. Again, I throw complex issues out for comment, and get simplistic responses.
John18:37-40 No one has the right to do what is wrong"Abraham Lincoln"
 
I gave what I felt to be a very good example of when abortion is a complex issue.
Rape accounts for perhaps one percent of all abortions; can you explain what makes the other 99 percent complex?
The issue is not so much whether there is an objective moral truth, as whether that truth is knowable …
If it cannot be known then for all practical purposes it cannot be said to exist.
… and whether we as humans have any claim to know it.
Here’s the rub and I have yet to hear your answer. Where do you stand on this question?
And there is a vast gulf between saying that objective truth is a matter of circumstance, experience and observation, and saying that it doesn’t exist so anyone can just do what they like.
In the struggle to decide how to act in response to a particular situation, the time comes when a decision must be made. It seems to me that there are two possibilities for deciding: either the individual is the final arbiter of right and wrong or he is not. If he is not then he has the obligation to discover who - or what - is and to follow the guidelines presented to him.
Again, I throw complex issues out for comment, and get simplistic responses.
That you find these issues complex does not mean they actually are. If you believe that right and wrong are determined by you then I can understand your dilemma: everything is complex because you have no independent standard with which to measure actions. You believe that right and wrong change with circumstance so you have to delve into all the circumstances, addressing one what-if after another. For those of us who believe that God is the arbiter of right and wrong and that the Church correctly interprets his word, a great deal of the difficulty has been removed.

It is not a matter of shutting off our minds and simply doing as we are told as we still have to apply the moral teachings of the Church, but she supplies the rules which, if we correctly apply them, will lead us to the moral choice. Regarding abortion the rule is simple: it is always wrong regardless of circumstances.

Ender
 
Rape accounts for perhaps one percent of all abortions; can you explain what makes the other 99 percent complex?
Ender
Abortions because of rape or incest account for less than 4,000 abortions a year. Abortion apologists always want to concentrate on this minuscule number of abortions because they think it gives them the moral high ground My response is always okay lets ban the other 1,996,000 abortions and see if we come to an agreement on the rest. Most abortion apologists will not even agree to this.
 
If you read a previous post of mine, I gave what I felt to be a very good example of when abortion is a complex issue. Also some examples from a text that many Christians take to be objectively true, on God’s supposedly ‘pro-life’ stance. I notice no-one has yet responded to that post.
There is a reason why no one is responding to your statements.
 
There is a reason why no one is responding to your statements.
Wow, this is the weakest response of them all. So, if there’s this big reason, what is it? It’s no argument to make a blanket, unexplained statement like that, and frankly it makes me wonder if the real reason is that no-one has yet decided how to reconcile the violent, judgemental, jealous God of the Old Testament - who is happy for unborn babies to die as long as they’re not Israelites - with the loving God of the New Testament. Presuming, as you all seem to do, that God is a perfect being, why the need for such a sweeping change?

But that’s a subject for an entirely different thread, so I’ll leave it there.
 
For those of us who believe that God is the arbiter of right and wrong and that the Church correctly interprets his word, a great deal of the difficulty has been removed.
And to a humanist like myself, that means a great deal of moral responsibility has also been removed. Self is not necessarily the final arbiter in a moral decision - there must be consideration for the needs of others who are affected by your choice. Beings who are capable of suffering are entitled to be spared unnecessary suffering. Scientific research indicates that a foetus (not a euphemism, but a scientifically correct and accurate term) is incapable of processing pain during the first trimester, when the vast majority of abortions are performed. Late-term abortions, which are more likely to cause pain to the foetus, are, like cases resulting from rape, comparatively very rare, and usually performed for very pressing reasons, often to do with the health of the mother.

On the other hand, the woman in whose body the foetus resides is very capable of suffering. She is also entitled to see the foetus as part of her body, since it is incapable of idependent survival before about 24 weeks’ gestation. Natural law in fact favours the survival of the mother over the foetus - this is why miscarriages (spontaneous abortions) occur, both in humans and other animals.
It is not a matter of shutting off our minds and simply doing as we are told as we still have to apply the moral teachings of the Church, but she supplies the rules which, if we correctly apply them, will lead us to the moral choice. Regarding abortion the rule is simple: it is always wrong regardless of circumstances.

Ender
The rule is never that simple, unless you are content to just be told what to do. Everything is connected. Those of you who bluster about the “millions” of abortions performed every year in the United States alone - have you stopped to think of the impact it would have on the planet had all those babies been born? Especially if they were to grow up to expect the kind of relative affluence many Americans take for granted? Humanist morality is never a matter of just making self the highest good. Other people, and other creatures, and the world in general, matter, and all are affected in one way or another by the issue of abortion. That’s what makes it complex.

As this thread seems to have grown far beyond the initial poster’s query, I’ll try to rein it in with a closing comment, as this will be my final contribution (I think I’ve made my perspective clear enough to those who care to consider it). My personal feeling is that it does no good to debate the relative moral reprehensibility of war and abortion. As I’ve commented before, both are complex issues, and both have the ability to be the source of suffering. Every instance of war or of abortion must be considered as a separate issue, for circumstances are always different. Reasons must be weighed, and the decision made on the basis of whether the harm caused is worth the overall outcome. If you want a general persective, here it is - I would consider that the impact of war on a community and the level of immediate, intense suffering caused by it are of a degree far greater than that caused by hygenic, legally available abortions, performed under the care of doctors and counsellors. From a humanist perspective, that would tend to make war the greater evil.
 
And to a humanist like myself, that means a great deal of moral responsibility has also been removed. Self is not necessarily the final arbiter in a moral decision - --]- I would consider that the impact of war on a community and the level of immediate, intense suffering caused by it are of a degree far greater than that caused by hygenic, legally available abortions, performed under the care of doctors and counsellors. From a humanist perspective, that would tend to make war the greater evil.
Your conclusion just destroyed your introduction.
 
Your conclusion just destroyed your introduction.
😦 To Sair,Children of Hammas youtube.com/watch?=eTGbP55HGi8 Nancy you need to type in children of hammas and hit search click on thr first movie.This world is at it’s final hour and satan know children are a gift of God weather they be in the womb or out side of it satan wants to destroy,and only God can give and take we have no rights as people of God if we truly are. Think about it!
 
Self is not necessarily the final arbiter in a moral decision - there must be consideration for the needs of others who are affected by your choice.
You misunderstand the point. After all the consequences, circumstances, and considerations are weighed and measured, you claim to be the final arbiter of the morality of your choices. I never said you ignored everyone but yourself; I said essentially that you recognize no higher moral authority than yourself.
The rule is never that simple, unless you are content to just be told what to do.
I really have little patience for this argument. It is constantly thrown out by those who believe there is something complicated in inventing their own rules and something mindlessly simple in applying natural laws. To be frank, making up your own rules is no more complex than deciding that you prefer Mozart to heavy metal or vice versa.
Humanist morality is never a matter of just making self the highest good.
Humanist morality is an oxymoron - and I mean that as a fact, not an insult. I would like to see a humanist proof of your statement that: “Beings who are capable of suffering are entitled to be spared unnecessary suffering.”

Ender
 
😦 To Sair,Children of Hammas youtube.com/watch?=eTGbP55HGi8 Nancy you need to type in children of hammas and hit search click on thr first movie.This world is at it’s final hour and satan know children are a gift of God weather they be in the womb or out side of it satan wants to destroy,and only God can give and take we have no rights as people of God if we truly are. Think about it!
Wow that is powerful and accurate. Where is Ban Ki Moon and the U.N. while HAMAS brainwashes and destroys children?

If nothing else did, that video should convince everyone with a brain that HAMAS is evil.
 
The rule is never that simple, unless you are content to just be told what to do. Everything is connected. Those of you who bluster about the “millions” of abortions performed every year in the United States alone - have you stopped to think of the impact it would have on the planet had all those babies been born?
The world would be a better place. I marvel that people find people to be the real problem.

I,also, marvel that people who see every single moral act as shades of gray refuse to admit that is simply a cover for holding an unprincipled position.
 
You misunderstand the point. After all the consequences, circumstances, and considerations are weighed and measured, you claim to be the final arbiter of the morality of your choices. I never said you ignored everyone but yourself; I said essentially that you recognize no higher moral authority than yourself.

I really have little patience for this argument. It is constantly thrown out by those who believe there is something complicated in inventing their own rules and something mindlessly simple in applying natural laws. To be frank, making up your own rules is no more complex than deciding that you prefer Mozart to heavy metal or vice versa.
Humanist morality is an oxymoron - and I mean that as a fact, not an insult. I would like to see a humanist proof of your statement that: “Beings who are capable of suffering are entitled to be spared unnecessary suffering.”

Ender
I know I said my previous post would be my last, but I felt this required a response.

You’re right - I did misunderstand your argument. However, that doesn’t invalidate my argument about moral decisions. Ultimately, every person is the final arbiter of their moral decisions, whether they make them in reference to God or to other considerations. To me, you seemed to be arguing that humanism was equated with selfishness, and that’s not the case at all. It’s your choice whether you follow Christian rules or not, unless you prefer to abdicate responsibility and say you don’t have a choice.

I would refer you to any number of humanist websites to find evidence that humanists have a practical basis for moral choices such as the right of sentient creatures to be spared unnecessary suffering. Do a Google search - you’ll find plenty. I would like to see your evidence for your completely unsubstantiated claim that humanist morality is an oxymoron. Just because you can’t conceive of the possibility that one can be good without God, you can’t claim your own perceptions as irrefutable fact.
 
It’s your choice whether you follow Christian rules or not, unless you prefer to abdicate responsibility and say you don’t have a choice.
Virtually ever action we perform is a choice; if there were no choice involved there could be no sin for choosing wrongly.
I would like to see your evidence for your completely unsubstantiated claim that humanist morality is an oxymoron.
Morality without God is an oxymoron. If humanists are right and God does not exist then neither they nor anyone else can behave morally as morality itself could not exist. If God does exist, however, then one behaves morally when one acts in accordance with his laws whether one believes in him or not.
Just because you can’t conceive of the possibility that one can be good without God, you can’t claim your own perceptions as irrefutable fact.
I cannot conceive of such a possibility and have asked you to explain the ultimate source of your moral views. Don’t send me on a fishing expedition; tell us what you believe.

Ender
 
I know I said my previous post would be my last, but I felt this required a response.

You’re right - I did misunderstand your argument. However, that doesn’t invalidate my argument about moral decisions. Ultimately, every person is the final arbiter of their moral decisions, whether they make them in reference to God or to other considerations. To me, you seemed to be arguing that humanism was equated with selfishness, and that’s not the case at all. It’s your choice whether you follow Christian rules or not, unless you prefer to abdicate responsibility and say you don’t have a choice.

I would refer you to any number of humanist websites to find evidence that humanists have a practical basis for moral choices such as the right of sentient creatures to be spared unnecessary suffering. Do a Google search - you’ll find plenty. I would like to see your evidence for your completely unsubstantiated claim that humanist morality is an oxymoron. Just because you can’t conceive of the possibility that one can be good without God, you can’t claim your own perceptions as irrefutable fact.
Maybe one could be “good” without God, (although HE’S still there in your soul) but one will NEVER get to Heaven without God.
There is more to life than this life and thats what we Christians are striving for, with GOD’S help.
 
Virtually ever action we perform is a choice; if there were no choice involved there could be no sin for choosing wrongly.

Morality without God is an oxymoron. If humanists are right and God does not exist then neither they nor anyone else can behave morally as morality itself could not exist. If God does exist, however, then one behaves morally when one acts in accordance with his laws whether one believes in him or not.

I cannot conceive of such a possibility and have asked you to explain the ultimate source of your moral views. Don’t send me on a fishing expedition; tell us what you believe.

Ender
😦 SAIR,you may be able to be good without God But you cannot be Saved without Him! Nancy
 
nancy dalrymple:
you may be able to be good without God …
I was not picking on Sair when I made my comment, I was addressing the issue of whether good and evil can exist in a godless universe. If either of you believe that it can I would like to hear an explanation. How would you define good and evil in any way other than that which appears useful? What would be the source of “goodness”?

Ender
 
The world would be a better place. I marvel that people find people to be the real problem.

I,also, marvel that people who see every single moral act as shades of gray refuse to admit that is simply a cover for holding an unprincipled position.
Well said.
 
This off topic for this thread, but as there are a couple of posters who have asked for an expansion of my views on morality, here goes.

For an introduction to humanist values and morality, I have provided links to a few sites that expand upon the notion that it is possible to be a good person without reference to God or to any organised religion. As for my personal beliefs, my feeling is that every person is a free agent with free will to act in whatever way they see fit. Some people choose to act in accordance with the set of principles set down for them by their religion. I have no doubt that this makes it possible to be a good person. I have seen plenty of people who do good works in the world in the name of Christianity. However, I have also seen many people do good works without the aid of Christian belief, without the structure of church teachings, and without reference to anything other than their observation of a need for those works to be done by someone.

Humanism bases its morality upon values that are broadly recognised as ‘good’ - such as compassion, honesty, natural justice, etc. Altruism - the ability to care for one’s fellow creatures - was a feature of human societies long before the Bible was written, and it is also a feature of some animal societies. Whether you choose to believe that this quality came to humans through the agency of God, or whether it was a product of human social evolution, the fact is that the idea of ‘goodness’ is strongly imprinted upon the collective human psyche.

To humanists, defining goodness and morality entirely in reference to God is also problematic because the biblical conception of God very often departs from those values that define what we call ‘goodness’. If God, the wellspring of all goodness, can engage in acts of violence, jealously, injustice and vengeance (through human instruments), where does that leave us in our search for a defining measure of goodness?

So much for my opinions. Here are a few others if you want to explore further:

iheu.org/adamdecl.htm
home.alphalink.com.au/~jperkins/humoral.htm
exchristian.net/exchristian/2006/10/good-without-god-secular-humanism-and.html
 
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