Human Dignity

  • Thread starter Thread starter Geremia
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Geremia

Guest
I read an article from OneNewsNow on abortion, and it said
American Catholic bishops have made it clear that Catholic political leaders must defend the dignity of every human person, including the unborn.
Click to expand...
It made me ask:

  1. *]What is “human dignity” from a non-secular, religious, Catholic perspective?
    *]Is defending “human dignity” really why we Catholics oppose abortion?
    *]In reality, we oppose abortion because it violates God’s commandment against killing, right?
    *]Why does it seem “human dignity” has been stressed more than obeying God’s commands?
 
Geremia said:
I read an article from OneNewsNow on abortion, and it said

It made me ask:

  1. *]What is “human dignity” from a non-secular, religious, Catholic perspective?
    *]Is defending “human dignity” really why we Catholics oppose abortion?
    *]In reality, we oppose abortion because it violates God’s commandment against killing, right?
    *]Why does it seem “human dignity” has been stressed more than obeying God’s commands?
Click to expand...

  1. There have been books written on human dignity, but I’ll throw out a few things.

    Pro-abortionists will argue that an embryo isn’t a person, so it doesn’t posess any human dignity so “killing” it isn’t really killing a person but like a wart or a tumor.

    Since we believe that the embryo is infused with a soul at the time of conception, it posesses that human dignity and taking it away through killing it is wrong.

    I think the reason why it seems that human dignity is stressed more than obeying God’s commands is that it fits a moral argument more so than an theological one.

    I guess saying that religion doesn’t have exclusive rights to discussing human dignity is a fair way of stating it.
 
I think it is because we have human dignity that God commands us not to kill each other. We can’t kill people because they have human dignity and we are supposed to respect that. They have this dignity because, like the excerpt from the Catechism that Ruthie linked to said, every person is made in the image of God.

We say a person has human dignity from the moment of conception. If this is true, abortion is murder. Those who are pro-choice say that a person does not have human dignity from the moment of conception so abortion is not really murder.

So defending the dignity of every human person really has obeying the command not to kill in mind I think. I hope I make some sense…
 
It’s not just human dignity that we’re defending. It’s the simple fact that another’s life doesn’t belong to us, but to that person, however tiny. I always feel great indignation when someone takes the life of another or ruins it. That gift of life wasn’t theirs to take or to ruin. The gift of life is to the precious individual. What right has anyone to steal that once in a lifetime, once in a universe, gift or to spoil it!
 
Geremia said:
I read an article from OneNewsNow on abortion, and it said

It made me ask:

  1. *]What is “human dignity” from a non-secular, religious, Catholic perspective?
    *]Is defending “human dignity” really why we Catholics oppose abortion?
    *]In reality, we oppose abortion because it violates God’s commandment against killing, right?
    *]Why does it seem “human dignity” has been stressed more than obeying God’s commands?
Click to expand...

  1. **“Human dignity” from a Catholic perspective means that we are made in the image and likeness of God with an immortal soul.

    We oppose abortion because it is the murder of a human being. We oppose abortion because it negates the Will of God in our cooperation to bring forth life where God incarnates an immortal soul within each human being.

    Human dignity refers to a state of righteousness, integrity, or virtue in human beings. The term dignity is defined as “the state of being worthy of honour or respect” according to The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, New York, Clarendon Press, 1991, p. 403 . It signifies that all human beings possess intrinsic worthiness and deserve unconditional respect, regardless of age, sex, health status, social or ethnic origin, political ideas, religion, or criminal history. In Catholic theology, this intrinsic worthiness is mandated by God Himself.
 
Geremia said:
I read an article from OneNewsNow on abortion, and it said

It made me ask:

  1. *]What is “human dignity” from a non-secular, religious, Catholic perspective?
    *]Is defending “human dignity” really why we Catholics oppose abortion?
    *]In reality, we oppose abortion because it violates God’s commandment against killing, right?
    *]Why does it seem “human dignity” has been stressed more than obeying God’s commands?
Click to expand...

  1. Code: 
     I would point you to ' Humanae Vitae' on the dignity of the human person.

 It has become painfully apparent to me that ingrattitude is the root of all violations of human dignity. I know this sounds a little offputting, but just think about it.
 
  If I am not grateful that my wife becomes pregnant, I may try to talk her into aborting the child, thus interupting the dignity of motherhood and the dignity of life.
  If I am not grateful for my customers, I  may sell them an inferior product or cut corners on workmanship, minimizing the right of personal property for another and asserting that our dignity is not equal.
  If I am not grateful for what I possess, I may attempt to possess what another has, again a negation of equal dignity, putting my human wants first.
  A murder is not grateful for that unique human life that was extinguished.
  The rapist is ungrateful of the human will that was opposed.

 The only true equality we possess is in our humanity and our dignity, and anything done, that is an affront to this human dignity, is a violation of God's cammands.
 
tobias said:
I would point you to ’ Humanae Vitae’ on the dignity of the human person.
Code: 
 It has become painfully apparent to me that ingrattitude is the root of all violations of human dignity. I know this sounds a little offputting, but just think about it.
 
  If I am not grateful that my wife becomes pregnant, I may try to talk her into aborting the child, thus interupting the dignity of motherhood and the dignity of life.
  If I am not grateful for my customers, I  may sell them an inferior product or cut corners on workmanship, minimizing the right of personal property for another and asserting that our dignity is not equal.
  If I am not grateful for what I possess, I may attempt to possess what another has, again a negation of equal dignity, putting my human wants first.
  A murder is not grateful for that unique human life that was extinguished.
  The rapist is ungrateful of the human will that was opposed.

 The only true equality we possess is in our humanity and our dignity, and anything done, that is an affront to this human dignity, is a violation of God's cammands.
Click to expand...
Good post. Gratitude is the key to happiness.
 
Ruthie said:
See CCC 356-8 for the reasoning behind human dignity.

Ruthie
Click to expand...
excellent referral. The CCC has a lot of answers in it. While the CCC doesn’t rely on scripture alone, but uses encyclicals and other biblical documents to clear any confusion. The CCC is the best tool outside the Bible
 
The Catholic doctrine on human dignity is one of the very best elaborations of dogma. Maybe the highest in a practical sense.

Our commandment to recognize human dignity applies not just to abortion, but to how we treat every person we encounter in our lives.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top