Why do we as Catholics believe that life begins at conception?

[petra22]

Only someone like the Christ gets to decide (or knows) the truth regarding such an issue. He will be returning very soon (probably in a couple of years). So it is best not to try to impose your own beliefs on someone else

If he is coming soon, and I also believe he is, wouldn’t you want to err on the side of life? One of the commandments says, “thou shall not kill…”

 

[petra22]

I can say he or she will or will not go Hell all I want but that means absolutely nothing. There is no way one person and decide another’s soul fate.

What about the babies in neonatal wards of hospitals? Please explain to me the difference of a baby that is two maybe three months pre-mature being loved and cared for by nurses, doctors, mothers and fathers in a neonatal unit of a hospital and a baby the exact same age, weight and development that is only separated from the world by a thin layer of fat and muscle.

These tiny little babies in neonatal units feel pain and hunger. Can you imagine the horror of the parents and society if a crazed mad man came into the ward, pouring a strong saline solution over these babies thereby burning them to death and then cutting off their arms, legs and heads. Or do I am I imposing my belief on this man when I am horrified by his behavior.

This is exactly what I see happening by abortionists.

Helen Rose, you certainly bring a different experience to this thread. The visual you described is horrific for the pre-mature infants and draws a striking similarity to pre-born infants… WOW! Thank you for the eye-opener! God Bless you!

 

[petra22]

I thought I already explained this. A fetus is not a human being. So you are not ‘snuffing out’ a human life.

A human being is a person who has a human soul. The fetus does not acquire a human soul until much later. Definitely not at conception. Merely because you believe it has soul does not make it so.

In reverse, just because you say it doesn’t have a soul does not make that true. You yourself said nobody knows…! God knows and he is watching what we do with his creation…

 

[openmind77]

If he is coming soon, and I also believe he is, wouldn’t you want to err on the side of life? One of the commandments says, “thou shall not kill…”

If you want to err on the side of life, then don’t get an abortion yourself. But mind your own business where other people are concerned.

Those who interfere with other people’s lives and deny them their rights or make others suffer (in this case, the woman with the unwanted pregnancy) will also be judged by Christ when he Returns. There are no rewards for making other people miserable.

 

[openmind77]

In reverse, just because you say it doesn’t have a soul does not make that true. You yourself said nobody knows…! God knows and he is watching what we do with his creation…

You are absolutely right. Nobody knows for sure. But the majority of the world agrees with me that a fetus does not acquire a soul upon conception. To us it is strange that anybody would think that one single cell or a few hundred cells even if they are living, would be considered a human being.

You are also right that God is watching - there is judgment and punishment for those who interfere with other peoples lives, deny them their rights or make their lives miserable - making them suffer unnecessarily. Nobody who makes other people suffer (in this case the woman with an unwanted pregnancy) will get off scot free - God is definitely watching and the final judge will be here soon.

 

[jilly4ski]

If you want to err on the side of life, then don’t get an abortion yourself. But mind your own business where other people are concerned.

Those who interfere with other people’s lives and deny them their rights or make others suffer (in this case, the woman with the unwanted pregnancy) will also be judged by Christ when he Returns. There are no rewards for making other people miserable.

If you want to err on the side that those with dark skin are human beings, don’t own slaves yourself. But mind your own business where other people are concerned.

Is that really what you wanted to say? There are two humans involved. You have not determined that there is a “right” to kill another human life.

You are very loose with terminology. In your last post you say that people shouldn’t interfere with others “lives,” But by definition the human organism growing inside the womb, is alive and therefore has a life. By killing it before it can be born, is therefore interfering with someone’s life.

 

[openmind77]

If you want to err on the side that those with dark skin are human beings, don’t own slaves yourself. But mind your own business where other people are concerned.

You are confusing a fetus with something about which there is no dispute that all people regardless of skin color are equal. On the other hand a majority of the world does not believe a fetus is a human being at conception. And your belief does not count more than theirs and also is in a minority

… But by definition the human organism growing inside the womb, is alive and therefore has a life. By killing it before it can be born, is therefore interfering with someone’s life.

The fetus may be alive, just as all cells within the pregnant woman are alive, that does not make it a human being. Everybody does not agree with your ‘definition’.

You can explain your reasoning to the Christ when he returns, about why you felt obliged to interfere with the pregnant woman’s life and try to make it miserable. I am sure he will listen to you.

 

[Brendan]

You are absolutely right. Nobody knows for sure. .

OK, lets say that I ran a company that does building demolition. I am about to blow up a building ( legal action).

But one of the workers is missing. He could have gone to the store to get a Coke and forgot to tell anyone, or he could still be inside the building. No one knows for sure.

Should I push the plunger knowing that it might kill a human being, or is the possibility that the building contains no human be sufficient ?

 

[Brendan]

You are confusing a fetus with something about which there is no dispute that all people regardless of skin color are equal. .

There are quite a number of people in the world would disagree on that point. There are Klansmen, white supremicists, Neo-Nazis etc…

They would claim that those of other skin colors are NOT equal.

So yes, there IS dispute. There are members of those groups who would find no moral wrong in lynching a black.

Since there IS dispute, do we all them to exercise their beliefs? Or are you content in forcing your concept of what constitutes a human person on them, overriding their personal beliefs on that matter?

 

[estesbob]

You are confusing a fetus with something about which there is no dispute that all people regardless of skin color are equal. On the other hand a majority of the world does not believe a fetus is a human being at conception. And your belief does not count more than theirs and also is in a minority

The fetus may be alive, just as all cells within the pregnant woman are alive, that does not make it a human being. Everybody does not agree with your ‘definition’.

You can explain your reasoning to the Christ when he returns, about why you felt obliged to interfere with the pregnant woman’s life and try to make it miserable. I am sure he will listen to you.

Actually we know what Christ says about this. Fortunately he left us his Church and its Magestrium to guide us. The Church does now and always has held that life begins at conception.

 

[clem456]

OK, lets say that I ran a company that does building demolition. I am about to blow up a building ( legal action).

But one of the workers is missing. He could have gone to the store to get a Coke and forgot to tell anyone, or he could still be inside the building. No one knows for sure.

Should I push the plunger knowing that it might kill a human being, or is the possibility that the building contains no human be sufficient ?

According to the logic you are debating you should push the plunger because human beings are subjects of what St John Paul 2 calls a “preoccupation with efficiency”.
The human being is subject to the inconvenience of others.

 

[estesbob]

You are confusing a fetus with something about which there is no dispute that all people regardless of skin color are equal. On the other hand a majority of the world does not believe a fetus is a human being at conception. And your belief does not count more than theirs and also is in a minority

The fetus may be alive, just as all cells within the pregnant woman are alive, that does not make it a human being. Everybody does not agree with your ‘definition’.

You can explain your reasoning to the Christ when he returns, about why you felt obliged to interfere with the pregnant woman’s life and try to make it miserable. I am sure he will listen to you.

You are the one who is confused-you have set up a totally subjective determination of when life begins. As we have see throughout History such a stance has always led to death and misery

 

[clem456]

You are the one who is confused-you have set up a totally subjective determination of when life begins. As we have see throughout History such a stance has always led to death and misery

And those who ignore history’s mistakes are destined to repeat them.

 

[openmind77]

Actually we know what Christ says about this. Fortunately he left us his Church and its Magestrium to guide us. The Church does now and always has held that life begins at conception.

You may believe that, but I don’t. As far as I know the Christ has not said anything about this issue.

In any case, he will be here very soon - in less than two years, maybe even this year. Then we will know for sure up to what point abortion is OK. Those who interfere with other people’s lives will definitely be judged accordingly by him. Until that time it is best to stay with what is legal. You should not be that sure that the Christ will agree with everything that the Church has to say.

 

[estesbob]

You may believe that, but I don’t. As far as I know the Christ has not said anything about this issue.

In any case, he will be here very soon - in less than two years, maybe even this year. Then we will know for sure up to what point abortion is OK. Those who interfere with other people’s lives will definitely be judged accordingly by him. Until that time it is best to stay with what is legal. You should not be that sure that the Christ will agree with everything that the Church has to say.

And you cant interfere more with another person life more than killing them. I dont have to wait for the second coming of Christ to know his will .

 

[estesbob]

And those who ignore history’s mistakes are destined to repeat them.

We are seeing i happen in this country as the Culture of death become more ingrained. Already some states are allowing assisted suicide which invariably leads to euthanasia for those deemed unfit to live. This , coupled with Govt mandated religious beliefs in areas of commerce and employment, and we are far down the slope towards totalitarianism

 

[openmind77]

And you cant interfere more with another person life more than killing them. I dont have to wait for the second coming of Christ to know his will .

You can explain that to the Christ when he returns. I am sure he will be happy to hear that you already know what he will say. But don’t expect that he will support all your dogmas, otherwise it will come as a bad surprise, if not a shock.

 

[Brendan]

Open,

I really would like to hear your take on this

OK, lets say that I ran a company that does building demolition. I am about to blow up a building ( legal action).

But one of the workers is missing. He could have gone to the store to get a Coke and forgot to tell anyone, or he could still be inside the building. No one knows for sure.

Should I push the plunger knowing that it might kill a human being, or is the possibility that the building contains no human be sufficient ?

Let even add to that, lets say we all took a vote and the majority of the people standing by believe that the worker went to the store, but no one has any proof, no one saw him leave the construction site. So the majority believe and thus no human would be killed if the building blew up, but a few others have significant doubts, and some others claim, (but have no proof), that he is still inside the building.

let’s also say that that the Chief of Police was expected, and you knew you would have to explain your decision to him.

I handed you the plunger.

Would you push the plunger? Yes or no?

 

[Galnextdoor]

God said to Jeremiah:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;…”

Jeremiah 1:5

I love this quote.

 

[JimG]

You are absolutely right. Nobody knows for sure. But the majority of the world agrees with me that a fetus does not acquire a soul upon conception. To us it is strange that anybody would think that one single cell or a few hundred cells even if they are living, would be considered a human being.

What a strange thing to say. Anyone who has studied even a little embryology knows when a new human being begins. It is at conception. At conception begins a new and distinct individual of the human species. It’s the beginning point for every one of us.

The idea of “ensoulment” is not relevant. But from a philosophical standpoint, the soul is the animating principle of the body. A new human being can not even be alive without a soul. The new human being is obviously alive and growing as a distinct individual, from conception.

Whether from a biological or a philosophical standpoint. A new human being begins at conception.