Ethics- Pagan vs. Christian

Posted on by metroupe

This is one of the most thought provoking articles I have read in a while. It has that effect of putting into words, with citations, the things you were suspecting. The author is not a Christian, and I don’t even agree with the whole thing. Yet, it is still very important to read and reflect on this. This makes me want to read her book “The Case Against The Sexual Revolution.”

Here is a taste:

“There’s a very short and very brutal poem by the Scottish poet Hollie McNish, written in 2019 and titled “Conversation with an archaeologist”:

he said they’d found a brothel
on the dig he did last night
I asked him how they know
he sighed:
a pit of babies’ bones
a pit of newborn babies’ bones was how to spot a brothel

“It’s true, you know,” said the writer and lawyer Helen Dale when we had lunch in London last year and I mentioned this poem, which I chose as one of the epigraphs to my book The Case Against the Sexual Revolution.Helen was a classicist before she was a lawyer, and as a younger woman she had taken part in archaeological excavations of ancient Roman sites. “First you find the erotic statuary,” she went on, “and then you dig a bit more and you find the male infant skeletons.” Male, of course, because the males were of no use to the keepers of Roman brothels, whereas the female infants born to prostituted women were raised into prostitution themselves.”

The idea that all humans have value because of their humanity, regardless of their status or strength is rare in the history of the world, and it is distinctly Christian.

The Abortion Lie Detector

Posted on by metroupe

What do you call a failed abortion? 

A child. 

And why wouldn’t we want to protect the lives of all children? Because if we had to provide medical care for these particular children, it would be a public acknowledgement that abortion is a deliberate act to take the life of innocent and helpless human beings.

Yesterday, All but 3 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted against a bill to require medical care for babies born alive after a failed abortion. This is horrific but not surprising because this has been the track record of pro-abortion politicians for years.

Several things are worth noting. This approach challenges the sincerity of the the way abortion is typically justified. Are we really serious in our conversations about “when life begins” or about the bodily rights of women as the foundation for abortion rights? In the case of an infant born alive after an abortion procedure, the child is no longer inside the body of the pregnant woman, thus there are no bodily rights. She is no longer “hooked up to the violinist.” Further, the baby is outside the womb, alive. Under what moral principal would anyone attempt to justify denying lifesaving measures to a living human infant? The woman is no longer pregnant, wasn’t that the goal?

The response to this law shows that we are currently protecting (and funding, and celebrating) the right, not simply to avoid pregnancy, or protect the rights of women. We are protecting the right to kill distinct living human beings. Even after they are viable. Even after they are outside the woman’s body. Even after our failed attempts to kill them.

What other conclusion can we come to? The only acceptable outcome of abortion is a dead child? And the fact that numerous children have survived after failed abortions is a mirror to show what we are trying to hide behind all of the casuistry and euphemisms. 

When Friendly Fire is Revealing

Posted on by metroupe

I have been shocked by the amount of slander against Christians in the last few days that is coming from other professed Christians. The decision of the Supreme Court to overturn Roe V. Wade has brought a torrent of invective from politically progressive believers. The accusations range from the mean spirited to the fantastical. If you are a Christian and attempting to support abortion, especially in Jesus name, you should know that this is contrary to the beliefs of almost all Christians throughout history, from the very beginning until recently. It is contrary to every stream of Christian tradition in the church. Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant believers have all, practically universally, written and spoken against it. The ethical foundation of this is the fundamental virtue of the Christian faith: Love. We are to love our neighbors, and that includes infants, before and after they are born. If you are supporting abortion, you are embracing an ethical stance that is completely foreign to Christianity throughout the ages. 

The article below summarizes the content of a larger book by scholar Michael J Gorman. One of the interesting points he makes is that early Christians rumored to be doing bad things. “We are accused of observing a holy rite in which we kill a little child and then eat it.” The apologist Tertullian (160-240) wrote in response to these accusations and he explains that Christians are forbidden from such conduct.  “In our case, murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth….”

Read more here

Abortion and Forgiveness

Posted on by metroupe

Today is likely a painful day for many with regard to abortion. The Supreme Court released its decision to overturn the precedent of Roe vs. Wade in the Dobbs case. The conversation around the supreme court decision is a reminder to the conscience about what abortion actually is.  I have multiple friends and family members that have had abortions. Some have had multiple abortions. There are many men and women in our church that have had or participated in an abortion.  Most of them regret it deeply. Most of them wish they had made a different decision and wonder about the life that was extinguished. Many of them now have feelings that are similar to those that have experienced a miscarriage, except they know that the life was ended by a choice they made. And most of them went along with abortion because they believed the lie that friends or parents or the culture was telling them. But they have come to know it was a lie. And it was a 2 sided lie.  They believed the presence of a child would destroy their own life and happiness, and they believed that having an abortion would fix their problems.  

And now many continue to feel regret, even while abortion extremists want to celebrate or shout the virtues of abortion, they know deep down they cannot celebrate it. They have seen preemies in the NICU. They have seen and rejoiced over the photos of ultrasounds. They know what was growing inside them. When faced with this guilt, the natural impulse is to search for some kind of excuse. We want a reason, we want to convince ourselves that our decision was justified. But the real path to healing is not in rationalizations or excuses. The best way to heal is to embrace and admit the evil of abortion, to become angry at the lies that led us to abortion and renounce them.  We are invited to realize the power of forgiveness and love that are offered through Jesus Christ.  His life is the opposite of abortion. In Jesus, we have radical self sacrifice for the sake of others. Abortion says “this is my body, you must die for my life.” But Jesus says of his own flesh and blood, “this is my body which I sacrifice for you.”

The forgiveness that comes through Jesus is beyond description. It is full and free, and is exemplified in his prayer to forgive the very people that crucified him on the cross. It is available to all those that confess their sins and turn to Jesus for mercy.  Here are some of the great expressions of grace that attempt to convince our guilty hearts of the magnitude of his forgiveness:

Psalm 103:10-11 “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

Micah 7:19 “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Psalm 51 “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!… Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Isa 1:18 ““Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool…”

I John 1:9-10 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

Feminists Have Succeeded in Becoming The Men They Hated

Posted on by metroupe

Wow.

I am not a Catholic but have appreciated some of the observations I find at “First Things.”  The author of this article, “If Women Ran The World,” eloquently describes some of the most destructive elements of feminism today.  And she does it by sharing their own words.  The whole article is worth reading.

From time to time when I comment on feminist ideas, someone reminds me that that the particular view in question doesn’t represent all feminists.  Fair enough. But there are too many permutations for me to keep it straight. So I won’t dare suggest that this represents all feminists.

Here is what is clear to me. First, many of the most prominent feminist voices in journalism and politics today (like the one quoted below) represent destructive ideas that do not represent mainstream thinking. Second, they do not represent the ideas of feminists from a previous age. They wanted respect and equality. They condemned the bad behavior of men in a specific way. But they didn’t want to imitate it.

Elizabeth Scalia quotes a significant feminist voice:

“Writing for The Atlantic in September of 2012, Hanna Rosin argued that the “hookup culture” so prevalent on college campuses and in the lives of young adults is “an engine of female progress—one being harnessed and driven by women themselves.” She wrote:

‘To put it crudely, feminist progress right now largely depends on the existence of the hookup culture. And to a surprising degree, it is women not men—who are perpetuating the culture, especially in school, cannily manipulating it to make space for their success, always keeping their own ends in mind. For college girls these days, an overly serious suitor fills the same role an accidental pregnancy did in the 19th century: a danger to be avoided at all costs, lest it get in the way of a promising future.’

In other words, women have succeeded in becoming the men they hated.”

Source: If Women Ran the World | Elizabeth Scalia | First Things

Why Don’t Prochoice Authors Argue For Infanticide?

Posted on by metroupe

Here are shocking bits from an article in The Atlantic:

“What are the shades of moral difference between terminating a fetus that could not survive outside the womb vs. one that can, even if, as in this case, it would suffer from significant disabilities? What’s the difference between those decisions and the decision to kill such a child after it has been born, or let it die? That last question, about infanticide, is particularly charged, not least because of the common-sense “disgust” factor. As Jeff McMahan, a former Rutgers professor who’s now at Oxford, wrote in 2007:

‘Although philosophers have conducted a wide-ranging debate about the morality of abortion for more than thirty years, generating in the process an extensive literature on the topic, they have, with very few exceptions, shrunk from extending the debate to include a discussion of infanticide. I know from discussions with prominent writers on ethics that some have been deterred from writing on the subject by fear of possible consequences for their reputations, careers and even physical security … My own experience is much more limited, but tends to confirm that discussing infanticide is not the best way to win friends or secure admiring book reviews.'”

What does this mean? It means that the logic of abortion should lead pro-choice people to accept and advocate infanticide. But hardly any will take that step.  Why? Not from some high moral principal, but because to do so would be bad for one’s work and social life. I suppose this is one time to be thankful for cowardice.

Source: Personal Stories of Abortion Made Public – The Atlantic

Another Dark Chapter In The History of Free Sex

Posted on by metroupe

captain-cook-entertained-by-the-natives-of-tahiti

The section below is from the book, “The Age of Wonder” which is an award winning volume that chronicles the connection between scientific discovery and the ideals of the Romantic Age. In the first Chapter the author writes about the history of Captain Cook’s voyage of discovery. Here he gives ample attention to the time Cook and his crew spent in Tahiti.

I am posting a lengthy section below, and it is worth reading all 4 paragraphs. This narrative is largely taken from the diary of James Banks who documented their experience. As I read this I was struck with more than a bit of Deja Vu. There is something familiar operating here.  What they witnessed in Tahiti fits the appetites of our generation for a mythical paradise of free and open sex.  But, he also narrated the suffering that grows from this kind of selfishness. What am I talking about? Infanticide and more. It is tempting to view native cultures as pure and innocent, uncorrupted by the ideas of western culture. However, the truth is different.  Every society has it’s own virtues and vices. Attempts to  portray any one culture or age as a eutopia usually exaggerate the virtues and ignore the vices.

This snapshot from history is not unique. It has been repeated many times in cultures ancient and modern.  The American generation that started the sexual revolution forgot to study history.  So now we are stuck in the painful double loop of both repeating and failing to learn from the sins of the past.  In spite of our most prurient longings there is no such thing as sex without consequences.

Here are a few things I took away from this passage:

  • This level of sexual debauchery often starts early. Young girls were taught to engage in lewd dances before they reached puberty.
  • There is no sexual sin without grave consequences to others.  We seem to believe that as long as we do not transgress the one sexual absolute of consent that everything will be just fine. But the way we wield the weapon of sex leaves deep wounds. Every culture that lives this way ends up damaging the weak and vulnerable, even if they once offered their consent. The rest of the account describe the horrible consequences of the plague of sexually transmitted diseases among the natives and sailors.
  • There is always a double standard in the world of free sex. In Tahiti men were allowed to get away with adultery while a woman would be beaten for it.  Part of this is because of that natural strength advantage that men have. The other is the fact that in reproduction the woman’s body is designed to carry the child. This is the way we are and it has implications, even in our sin. And the answer to this double standard is NOT that women should be able to be just as bad as men.
  • Banks spoke with several couples that had previously murdered 2 or 3 children and THEY EXPERIENCED NO REGRET. This is the long term effect of cultural sin. The fact that some people can commit horrible acts without empathy doesn’t make those acts virtuous. Just because some cultures engage in certain practices doesn’t mean they ought to.
  • The decision to kill an infant was driven by the men. When a man wanted free sex but was unwilling to take responsibility for the child, then that child would be killed, even against the wishes of the woman. The way that men manage their strength and leadership is often a driver in this kind of depravity.
  • The status of motherhood was despised. Once a woman had born a child, she was viewed with some degree of contempt.  High views of motherhood  are not compatible with a free-sex culture.

“The idea of sexual innocence proved more complicated for a European to accept: ‘All privacy is banished even from those actions which the decency of Europeans keep most secret: this no doubt is the reason why both sexes express the most indecent ideas in conversation without the least emotion; in this their language is very copious and they delight in such conversation beyond any other. Chastity indeed is but little valued especially among the middling people; if a wife is found guilty of a breach of it her only punishment is a beating from her husband. Notwithstanding this some of the Eares or chiefs are I believe perfectly virtuous.’

“What later came to be regarded as the most scandalous of all Tahitian customs, the young women’s seductive courtship dance, or ‘timorodee’, Banks describes with calm detachment and a certain amused appreciation: ‘Besides this they dance, especially the young girls whenever they can collect 8 or 10 together, singing most indecent words using most indecent actions and setting their mouths askew in a most extraordinary manner, in the practise of which they are brought up from their earlyest childhood. In doing this they keep time to a surprizing nicety, I might almost say as true as any dancers I have seen in Europe, tho their time is certainly much more simple. This excercise is however left off as soon as they arrive at Years of maturity. For as soon as ever they have formed a connection with a man they are expected to leave of Dancing Timorodee-as it is called.’

“The only Tahitian practice that Banks found totally alien and repulsive was that of infanticide, which was used with regularity and without compunction as a form of birth control by couples who were not yet ready to support children. Banks could scarcely believe this, until he questioned several couples who freely admitted to destroying two or three children, showing not the slightest apparent guilt or regret. This was a different kind of innocence, one far harder to accept. Banks pursued the question, and found that the custom originated in the formation of communal groups in which sexual favours were freely exchanged between different partners: ‘They are called Arreoy and have meetings among themselves where the men amuse themselves with wrestling &c. and the women with dancing the indecent dances before mentioned, in the course of which they give full liberty to their desires.’

“He also found that the Arreoy, and the custom of infanticide, owed their existence ‘chiefly to the men’. ‘A Woman howsoever fond she may be of the name of Arreoy, and the liberty attending it before she conceives, generally desires much to forfeit that title for the preservation of her child.’ But in this decision he thought that the women had not the smallest influence. ‘If she cannot find a man who will own it, she must of course destroy it; and if she can, with him alone it lies whether or not it shall be preserv’d.’ In that case both the man and the woman forfeited their place in the Arreoy, and the sexual freedoms associated with it. Moreover, the woman became known by the term ‘Whannownow’, or bearer of children. This was, as Banks indignantly exclaimed, ‘a title as disgracefull among these people, as it ought to be honourable in every good and well governed society.”

Holmes, Richard. The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science. Print. p. 37

The Insanity of Using the Rights of Future Generations as An Argument For Abortion

Posted on by metroupe

 

I recently saw Planned Parenthood ReTweet this article (linked below) and I stared in disbelief.

PP insanity

Did they really just say that? That has to be someone pretending to be prochoice in order to make them look illogical…

Nope, they said it.

This is part of the insanity of abortion, that someone would try to make an argument for abortion by talking about the rights of children yet to be born.  Future generations must have the right to abort their children, even if they don’t have the right to exist. In this mindset, the right not to be pregnant trumps the right not to be killed.

But evidently we do have some responsibility to future generations? Are we responsible to them? We need to protect their rights?  On what basis? Which rights? If we don’t protect their rights, what happens?

“Will our daughters, sons and young neighbors have the same reproductive rights we have? Only if advocates of chosen childbearing tap the deep moral roots and emotions beneath abortion care.

“Picture a future in which children come into the world by design rather than by default. In this future, young women and men pursue their dreams and form the families of their choosing without the ever-present risk of a surprise pregnancy that plagues young lives today. Contraceptives almost never fail, and most pregnancies are healthy thanks to “preconception care” and prenatal care.” (emphasis mine)

She also writes about an imagined pro-choice future:“In this future, young women and men pursue their dreams and form the families of their choosing without the ever-present risk of a surprise pregnancy that plagues young lives today. Contraceptives almost never fail, and most pregnancies are healthy thanks to “preconception care” and prenatal care.” (emphasis mine)

Again, note the argument. We should be able to terminate a life in order to make sure that other lives are healthy.  It sounds caring, but it is diabolical. Can you imagine if this ethic was applied to any other element of healthcare? If you’re not healthy, we’ll put you down like a dog at the vet.  (Which by the way, we should note that dogs have more rights than unborn children. You cannot inflict any pain on an animal while euthanizing it. Not so with children.)  That ethic may work for animals, but not for humans. This sounds like a soft expression of eugenics to me. Taking the life of sick people in order to improve the lives of everyone else is BAD MEDICINE.

As always, the defense of abortion is shrouded in deceptive mask of euphemisms about our dreams and prosperity. Absolute insanity

Insanity abortion

Source: Claiming Abortion Care as a Positive Social Good—Four Steps to Change the Conversation and Win

When Did Leaders In The West Know About the Holocaust?

Posted on by metroupe

This article chronicles the investigation of an important question from history.  Exactly when did the leaders outside Germany have reliable knowledge that the Nazi’s intended, and indeed were in the process of exterminating the Jews?  It obviously contains the kind of details that you would have to include to do reliable detective work of this nature. The answer is this: it seems that a lot of people knew an awful lot, and did nothing.

What strikes me is that this contains an example of what it means to be “on the wrong side of history.”  That term has been bandied around a lot recently.  In the case of the Shoa, there are examples of many leaders, politicians, journalists, and relief workers who knew what was going on, but they did nothing. They failed to speak up. They failed even to acknowledge that this evil was taking place. They failed to take even simple, low-risk actions to save lives.  History is not looking kindly on them, to say nothing of God’s perspective.

“After the war the ICRC [International Committee of The Red Cross] came under much criticism for its unwillingness to make public, however cautiously, the known facts about the murder of the Jews… Eventually, more than fifty years after the event, the ICRC through the head of its archive (not the president of the International Red Cross) admitted that the activities of the organization (or rather their absence) had been less than honorable.” (emphasis mine)

Are there any modern examples of atrocities happening beneath the indifferent eyes of the watchers?  Are there situations where politicians and leaders refuse to acknowledge that bad things are even happening? Where they refuse to speak up, or even watch the videos? Where they refuse to take action to save lives? Where news agencies refuse to cover solid stories of millions of dollars made in exchange for innocent lives?

Ignoring facts is what you do when you want to keep your blood money and maintain plausible deniability.  Investigating the facts and responding courageously is what you do when you care more about doing the right thing than about keeping your job.  I wonder what history will say about our modern-day indifference?

Source: When and How Did Authentic Information About the Shoah First Become Known? – Tablet Magazine

14 Reasons why I am attending the Protest at Planned Parenthood Tomorrow

Posted on by metroupe

14

I have many reasons for my position on abortion. I am going to list a few here, and try to do it in a way will encourage you to act.  IF YOU ARE PROLIFE, YOU SHOULD JOIN A PEACEFUL PROTEST TOMORROW.  It is a national event.

One conviction that I have is that even if you are prochoice, you should be outraged by what Planned Parenthood is doing.

I am attending the peaceful demonstration in Fresno tomorrow. You can find more info here.

You can also learn more about other events here.

  1. If we care about creating a just society, we need to protect the value of every human being. I read a statement once that makes a lot of sense: “Everyone matters, or no one matters.” We can’t act like people have value and “human rights” and then turn around and deny those rights to other humans like me. It doesn’t make any sense. We have to ask the question regarding the fetus, “what is that?” And the answer can’t depend on how we feel about it. As ardent prochoice advocate Mary Elizabeth Williams said, the unborn “don’t qualify as human life only if they’re intended to be born.” It is crazy to rejoice with pregnant friends, grieve with couples that have had a miscarriage, and then ignore what abortion does to children. Everyone matters or no one matters.
  2. I need to take a stand for the lives of children. As a man I feel responsible to stand up for the weak and helpless. The most helpless human beings in the world are unborn children. If I never take a stand, then I can’t respect myself or expect others to respect me.
  3. So few are willing to take a stand on this issue. There are many Americans, maybe even a majority, that believe abortion is wrong. But the group that is willing to take a stand on this issue is much smaller. I don’t want to have hidden convictions.
  4. I hope to encourage some other people that are struggling or on the fence on this issue. I hope that when they see me, hear my reasons, see the other things I do for children and the poor they will be able to dismiss all the nonsense they hear about the prolife movement.
  5. I believe that God created children and loves them. I believe that they are made in his image and should be valued. I can’t pretend to love God and then be indifferent when his image is desecrated.
  6. The recent release of videos has brought the horrors of abortion to the front of the American conscience like never before. This is the biggest event in the abortion arena since 1973. We may not see another event like this any time soon. I want to see real change. I don’t want to waste this open door.
  7. I want to support and partner with the leaders in the prolife community that have taken risks and made sacrifices for the lives of babies. I know what it is like to feel like you are all alone. I want to support them. I am happy to stand with them on this issue.
  8. I want to use my anger and frustration in constructive ways. I think that changing the abortion laws and the abortion industry in our country is one of the best things that can happen for the unborn, and it will also be a good for women. I have watched all the videos. I have cried. I have been distracted. But I don’t want that to be fruitless.  I want good to come of this!
  9. I believe in the power of forgiveness and grace. Many women and men are suffering from guilt and shame from their involvement in abortion. Some of them knew what they were doing, some didn’t. The vast majority had no idea of the consequences they would face. I believe in the power of the grace of Jesus Christ to bring healing and restoration to people in need. But this can only happen when we face the reality of our dark choices. I want people suffering in secret to have an opportunity to experience healing and grace.
  10. If Planned Parenthood was doing this to puppies or kittens they would have been arrested long ago. You can’t dismember an animal or cut them into little pieces while they are still alive without anesthesia. We actually dissected “fresh” rats in my anatomy class years ago. They had to be euthanized with Ether before the process, and animal rights groups checked on them.   Unborn children shouldn’t be treated worse than animals. Why should the unborn be treated differently? Because to treat them chemically would be to render their tissues unfit for resale.
  11. Planned Parenthood has shown that it is manipulating our government contract system by making political donations to candidates that support them (here one article of many on this topic. Here is another). This is a conflict of interest and a clear example of corruption.
  12. Many media outlets have intentionally ignored the stories attached to the recent videos. And the PR firm that was hired by PP sent letters to various outlets encouraging them not to cover the story. And it isn’t that they have alternate evidence, they are ignoring it. The white House press secretary said that they haven’t even seen the videos. With such staggering violations of human ethics at stake, isn’t it warranted to even look.
  13. I do NOT want to tell my grandchildren that I was silent during this time. Most likely I will have some grandchildren in the coming decades. I also think that we will talk about history and the value of life. When they ask me if I remember when the undercover Planned Parenthood videos came out, and what I did about it, I don’t want to have to change the subject. I want to tell them that I prayed, and wrote, and loved, and spoke up for the lives of the innocent.
  14. I don’t want to be a coward. It is clear that following Jesus involves a cost. I also know that many pastors and friends don’t speak up on abortion, even though they think they should because they are afraid. They are afraid of many things. I am convinced that Christ is greater than all my fears. The words of Rev 21:8 are sober: “8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Those ruled by fear cannot be ruled by faith. I am often frightened. I am going to trust God and step out in faith.