Secular Arguments on moral issues

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What are some of the best, secular ways to defend our Catholic stance on modern issues such as homosexuality and abortion? Using Catholic responses or anything that directly involves God immediately shuts off a non believer, so I’m looking for arguments that they will be able to understand. Thanks.
 
While it’s fine to use analogies to help explain our points, we must always keep our Blessed Lord front and centre in our attempts to evangelize. This means never straying from the Truth laid out by the Catholic Church’s infallible teachings.

The problem with secularism is that it is fundamentally built on lies and heresies. To argue our points from a “secular perspective” is to assume that some of these lies and heresies are correct and if we do this then we lose all hold on the truth.

For example, never concede that God isn’t real or that the Catholic Church wasn’t established by Jesus Christ. That’s not to say that you have to speak in theological terms all the time (everyday analogies are excellent things to use), but always keep your arguments rooted in Christ and your purpose for debating to do our Blessed Lord’s will by helping to save souls!

God bless!
 
I suggest looking at scientific literature for any psychological harm, trauma, that the pursuits of homosexuality and the effects of abortion may have.
 
What are some of the best, secular ways to defend our Catholic stance on modern issues such as homosexuality and abortion? Using Catholic responses or anything that directly involves God immediately shuts off a non believer, so I’m looking for arguments that they will be able to understand. Thanks.
I am always on the lookout for arguments based upon reason and rationality. However, recently I was told, that the catholic morality is not based upon “pure reason”, rather on revelation.
 
I am always on the lookout for arguments based upon reason and rationality. However, recently I was told, that the catholic morality is not based upon “pure reason”, rather on revelation.
You are misrepresenting what was stated. All Catholic moral teaching can be shown through logical arguments. Some of them depend on divinely revealed axioms.
 
I am always on the lookout for arguments based upon reason and rationality. However, recently I was told, that the catholic morality is not based upon “pure reason”, rather on revelation.
What is pure reason? Catholic morality is based on observable facts, and divine revelation. However, the public, in general, has been lied to. And false statements are taught to otherwise intelligent individuals at Universities by instructors who are not interested in some facts, but who accept the information they are given without examining it in too many cases.
  1. Abortion.
A) What is being aborted?

Once the sperm unites with the egg, the genetic information of the male and female combine to create a genetically unique human being.

A human embryo is a human embryo. It is a person.

naapc.org/why-life-begins-at-conception

Why argue with any of this? It would shut down money-making operations like abortion clinics. It would criminalize abortion. And it would cause, we are told, an increase in crime rates, and incarceration costs. Abortion is a money-saving tool for society, especially for poor, minority women - who live in poverty if the baby is born. And where are the fathers?

"The effect of married fathers on child outcomes can be quite pronounced. For example, examination of families with the same race and same parental education shows that, when compared to intact married families, children from single-parent homes are:
Code:
"More than twice as likely to be arrested for a juvenile crime;[20]
Twice as likely to be treated for emotional and behavioral problems;[21]
Roughly twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school;[22] and
A third more likely to drop out before completing high school.[23]
Source: heritage.org/research/reports/2012/09/marriage-americas-greatest-weapon-against-child-poverty

While the media is pushing for non-committal sexual relationships, they are increasing the poverty rate for women who have their babies with no father, or the death rate for the unborn. The conclusion is that relationships are no longer a goal, just sexual pleasure.

With the man bearing no responsibility, he is leaving the woman with three choices:
  1. Abort the baby.
  2. Have the baby but put it up for adoption.
  3. Have the baby and live in poverty with a child that deserves a father, not some irresponsible individual who shares the responsibility of bringing him into the world or killing him.
Peace,
Ed
 
Once the sperm unites with the egg, the genetic information of the male and female combine to create a genetically unique human being.

A human embryo is a human embryo. It is a person.
Abortion is a relately simple problem. There are very good, secular arguments against abortions after the brain develops. That is the time when one can argue that the conglomerate of the cells “deserves” the name of “person”. Not before that.

The arguments before the brain develops can only be theological, by brining up ideas like “immoratal soul”. None of those can be rationally established, therefore they are irrational.

By the way, the media is not “pushing” anything. The media is a business, and it sells what the population wants to read and see. And it is a fact that the society is moving toward a secular arrangement. The influence of all the different religions is in decline. I know you don’t like it, but the facts are there.

Can you establish a good, purely secular argument against masturbation or birth control? (It has been refuted that masturbation causes blindness or will grow hair on the palms. :))
 
By the way, the media is not “pushing” anything. The media is a business, and it sells what the population wants to read and see. And it is a fact that the society is moving toward a secular arrangement. The influence of all the different religions is in decline. I know you don’t like it, but the facts are there.
Who owns the media? Who funds education boards? Who wants to reduce the world population by 95%? Who supports Mathusian philosophy? Who funds environmentalism and pushes for woman’s rights and contraceptives? How is the banking system set up to give these people total control?

You don’t think that if the media is owned by the same people who want to reduce the population of the world that the media will be pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia? If you point out Margaret Sander’s “N**** project” they will say “How dare you accuse us of genocide?” without even discussing the issue.
 
Who owns the media? Who funds education boards? Who wants to reduce the world population by 95%? Who supports Mathusian philosophy? Who funds environmentalism and pushes for woman’s rights and contraceptives? How is the banking system set up to give these people total control?
I cannot answer those hysterical “questions”, except one of them.

Who funds environmentalism and pushes for woman’s rights and contraceptives?
Answer: All those people who reject the concept that the place of the women is “barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen!”
 
Abortion is a relately simple problem. There are very good, secular arguments against abortions after the brain develops. That is the time when one can argue that the conglomerate of the cells “deserves” the name of “person”. Not before that.

The arguments before the brain develops can only be theological, by brining up ideas like “immoratal soul”. None of those can be rationally established, therefore they are irrational.

By the way, the media is not “pushing” anything. The media is a business, and it sells what the population wants to read and see. And it is a fact that the society is moving toward a secular arrangement. The influence of all the different religions is in decline. I know you don’t like it, but the facts are there.

Can you establish a good, purely secular argument against masturbation or birth control? (It has been refuted that masturbation causes blindness or will grow hair on the palms. :))
okay your argument could not be more wrong. I have a degree from Griffith university in pharmacy. Going back for my masters of pharmacy here in a few months. So let me educate you. (just for fun give me the benefit of the doubt) O’Rahilly and Muller are the gentlemen who (from the Carnegie laboratories) did the most recent update to the Carnegie Stages of Early childhood development. It has been updated every 5-7 years since WWII and is mandated by international agreement to be in EVERY embryology textbook in the WORLD. In this work Muller says quite literally “the word egg should be reserved exclusively for a nutritional item often found on a breakfast table because it has nothing to do with embryology.” He says this because his findings were that the human “organism” comes into existence when the flagella is still hanging out of the oocyte. Organism is the highest level of tissue development and constitutes a separate distinct life. (bacterial organisms may live in your stomach but they are not a part of you) human life literally according to the best science of the day comes into existence at the moment of fertilization. of course we know that many sellers of contraceptives tell convenient fairy tails to women that this won’t allow you to become pregnant. In my first year anatomy and physiology class I was told point blank in lecture “every single hormonal contraceptive is an abortifacient”. (by a women no less)

So no sir the best prolife argument for the 0-12 week old EMBRYO (read human person according to Muller) is the science of Embryology. This is why the prochoice argument revolves around choice because when you start talking about science prolife people will make prochoice look incredibly silly every time. I have watched it happen more than once. I have watched prochoice people tell me to my face in front of witnesses they are not going to argue the merits of biology. Not one of them has ever been able to explain why the fact that it is a human person that should have human rights is not a relevant fact. OR point blank “Why is this not murder or manslaughter.” no answer.

The prochoice argument revolves around the right to choose (to kill a kid). Its essentially an emotional argument.
 
Tyrion;10277401 said:
Masturbation and birth control that is easy!!

masturbation changes the entire world view of a person other people quickly become objects of self gratification people have no real value in and of themselves. It is a very tragic inward collapsing spiral that is very addictive and self destructive which goes hand in hand with porn…dah. Porn the ultimate expression of the objectification of women. Never mind the whole argument of increased violent crime, violent behaviour, and the complete emasculation of young men.

Birth control is masturbation only now instead of imagining some fake women and deleting or storing the image for later when you are done. you are using a real person now and throwing her(him) away when you are done with them. Leading to the objectification of women, followed by there blatant abuse. It does not take a genius to figure this out just read “on human life” by the Pope who called this all before it happened.
 
I cannot answer those hysterical “questions”, except one of them.

Who funds environmentalism and pushes for woman’s rights and contraceptives?
Answer: All those people who reject the concept that the place of the women is “barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen!”
Nope. People in high and mighty places, like the Rockefeller’s, who also fund universities. Funny how until after Mathus woman’s rights did not get picked up by the educated. These sexual rights only became a big deal after the really wealthy started talking about overpopulation. And most people now think that abortion and birth control will save us from overpopulation.

discoverthenetworks.org/funderprofile.asp?fndid=5208&category=79
 
masturbation changes the entire world view of a person other people quickly become objects of self gratification people have no real value in and of themselves. It is a very tragic inward collapsing spiral that is very addictive and self destructive which goes hand in hand with porn…dah. Porn the ultimate expression of the objectification of women. Never mind the whole argument of increased violent crime, violent behaviour, and the complete emasculation of young men.
Both physiologically and psychologically it is proven that masturbation is a healthy endeavor… however the prohibition of it causes very serious psychological probelms as displayed by those poor teens who suffer from their guilt. I suggest you stick with the “hairy palm” hypothesis. It is MUCH better established.
Birth control is masturbation only now instead of imagining some fake women and deleting or storing the image for later when you are done. you are using a real person now and throwing her(him) away when you are done with them. Leading to the objectification of women, followed by there blatant abuse. It does not take a genius to figure this out just read “on human life” by the Pope who called this all before it happened.
No, one does not USE the partner. They agree to concentrate on each other, to give and receive as much pleasure as possible. Besides, the pope hardly qualifies as a secular expert.
 
People in high and mighty places, like the Rockefeller’s, who also fund universities. Funny how until after Mathus woman’s rights did not get picked up by the educated. These sexual rights only became a big deal after the really wealthy started talking about overpopulation. And most people now think that abortion and birth control will save us from overpopulation.
Decent people of all strata of the population reject the concept that women should be simply “breeding machines”. That is the reason of supporting women’s rights to self-determination and to give them control over their own bodies. The population does not need to be controlled by anyone. As the technology allows that fewer people will be needed of the farms, and the standard of living will increase, the unfettered breeding will stop by itself - as it is currently happening in the developed countries.
 
Both physiologically and psychologically it is proven that masturbation is a healthy endeavor… however the prohibition of it causes very serious psychological probelms as displayed by those poor teens who suffer from their guilt. I suggest you stick with the “hairy palm” hypothesis. It is MUCH better established.
Irrational. Based on an unproven assumption.
No, one does not USE the partner. They agree to concentrate on each other, to give and receive as much pleasure as possible. Besides, the pope hardly qualifies as a secular expert.
Based on what?
 
Decent people of all strata of the population reject the concept that women should be simply “breeding machines”. That is the reason of supporting women’s rights to self-determination and to give them control over their own bodies. The population does not need to be controlled by anyone. As the technology allows that fewer people will be needed of the farms, and the standard of living will increase, the unfettered breeding will stop by itself - as it is currently happening in the developed countries.
Tyrion, I hope by women’s rights you do not mean equal pay and the right to vote. Those I am sure are accepted by everyone on this thread. Where we contrast in view is whether choosing to kill the infant in their womb is a right. You didn’t address one of the posts above, which is deeply based in science and reason. Even the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins agrees that the fetus in the womb is alive and a human being. He just focuses on the amount of pain the infant suffers while being killed, and puts it at close to 0. So in short, Dawkins knows a human being is being killed, just that it isn’t that painful, so it is okay. Is that reasonable? It seems like reason and science are only used when they benefit your side of the argument.
 
Both physiologically and psychologically it is proven that masturbation is a healthy endeavor… however the prohibition of it causes very serious psychological probelms as displayed by those poor teens who suffer from their guilt. I suggest you stick with the “hairy palm” hypothesis. It is MUCH better established.

No, one does not USE the partner. They agree to concentrate on each other, to give and receive as much pleasure as possible. Besides, the pope hardly qualifies as a secular expert.
oh and we will just take your word that the Pope is a fool in secular matters, but you are a genius. You could not even follow a logical argument just now or be bothered to make a logical argument to back up your claims. I did site a source the document called Humanae Vitae unless I am mistaken that would be Paul the VI who had the courage and wisdom to see clearly all the problems we are facing.

The rest of your post is so ridiculous unless you can show actual sources from official documents of the mentioned psychological and physiological calibre I see no reason to dignify it with a response. Seeings how I am a trained health care professional I shall wait on your documented response. I can’t wait to read these earth shattering studies.🤷
 
Both physiologically and psychologically it is proven that masturbation is a healthy endeavor… however the prohibition of it causes very serious psychological probelms as displayed by those poor teens who suffer from their guilt. I suggest you stick with the “hairy palm” hypothesis. It is MUCH better established.

No, one does not USE the partner. They agree to concentrate on each other, to give and receive as much pleasure as possible. Besides, the pope hardly qualifies as a secular expert.
Just one more interesting point. I notice you drop the anti-embryo argument. I am glad you concede the point as it is really an answered question anyway. Thank you for proving you actually did read my post.
 
Tyrion, I hope by women’s rights you do not mean equal pay and the right to vote. Those I am sure are accepted by everyone on this thread. Where we contrast in view is whether choosing to kill the infant in their womb is a right. You didn’t address one of the posts above, which is deeply based in science and reason. Even the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins agrees that the fetus in the womb is alive and a human being. He just focuses on the amount of pain the infant suffers while being killed, and puts it at close to 0. So in short, Dawkins knows a human being is being killed, just that it isn’t that painful, so it is okay. Is that reasonable? It seems like reason and science are only used when they benefit your side of the argument.
Please read post #8 and my answer in post #9. The right to self-determination, the right to prevent unwanted pregnancies via birth control is the question here. The problem of what to do when the attempted prevention fails is a different question, which must be discussed separately.

I already explained that when the fetus develops a brain, then the terminology of “person” becomes acceptable. A bunch of cells without a brain cannot be called a person. Just like a dish of scrambled eggs cannot be called a “fried chicken”, even if the rooster had a short, but fun time with the hen, and the egg now contains the full DNA of a “chicken”.

Personally, I wish that no abortion would ever take place. It would be nice if conception would only happen if and when both parties explicitly want it to happen. Unfortunately this is not the case, even though this ideal state of affairs could be approximated by judiciosly selected prevention methods. If the church would push for close to 100% effective prevention methods, then the stance against abortion would be embraced with open arms, even by the non-religious. 🤷
 
I already explained that when the fetus develops a brain, then the terminology of “person” becomes acceptable. A bunch of cells without a brain cannot be called a person. Just like a dish of scrambled eggs cannot be called a “fried chicken”, even if the rooster had a short, but fun time with the hen, and the egg now contains the full DNA of a “chicken”.

Personally, I wish that no abortion would ever take place. It would be nice if conception would only happen if and when both parties explicitly want it to happen. Unfortunately this is not the case, even though this ideal state of affairs could be approximated by judiciosly selected prevention methods. If the church would push for close to 100% effective prevention methods, then the stance against abortion would be embraced with open arms, even by the non-religious. 🤷
and we got your word on that right? you are your own source on when a person comes into being? I have already pointed out Muller and O’Rahilly and the Carnage institute which are the definitive scientific work on the matter which clearly state in embryology there is no such thing as a fertilized egg. According to Muller an embryo IS a person. Unless you have done some world shattering research in the last 24 hours that the rest of the scientific community does not know about you have no case to make these statements and no source from the science of embryology. Therefore you are wrong.

Just a side note the church is ‘pushing’ for the only method I (as a medical professional in pharmacy) know of that is even close to 100%. The plain fact is 54% of all abortions come from failed contraceptives. This is a Planned Parenthood statistic (guttmacher institute) and they know it. They announced it publicly 2 years ago at the international abortion convention and nobody even questioned it.

“54 percent of women who have abortions had used a contraceptive method *usually condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant.” These figures are similar to those of a report in Spain showing abortions doubling despite increased family planning promotion.

lifenews.com/2011/01/11/report-shows-contraception-failure-54-used-before-abortion/

its reporting from there own study. that is why they want the contraceptive mandate. Because more contraceptives = more abortions directly without question.

But I forgot we have you to tell us all this new scientific information. Your degree is in? You do research with who again?

I notice the new member sign so perhaps this is less than charitable of me. Allow me to explain. Most people around here expect you to foot note or source the information you are giving out to some kind of authority. I see a lot of talk but no foot notes.
 
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