Here is what the Catholic Church says about abortion:
It is evident that the determination of what is right or wrong in human
conduct belongs to the science of ethics and the teaching of religious authority. Both of these declare the Divine law, "Thou shalt not kill". The embryonic child, as seen above, has a human soul; and therefore is a man from the time of its conception; therefore it has an equal right to its life with its mother; therefore neither the mother, nor medical practitioner, nor any human being whatever can lawfully take that life away.
Refer to the stances Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Baha'is and other Christian sects respectively hold:
"Hinduism teaches that abortion, like any other act of violence, thwarts a
soul in its progress toward God.
Under the first of the five Buddhist precepts--to refrain from taking life,
from insects on up the evolutionary ladder--abortion is proscribed. Life is
deemed to begin as soon as consciousness arises, and fetuses are seen as having
consciousness. The Buddha's rules for his community of monks also forbade anyone
from recommending abortion. Some practitioners of Japanese Zen who have had a
miscarriage or abortion honor or make an offering to the deity Jizo, the god of lost
travelers and children. It is believed that Jizo will steward the child until it is reborn in another incarnation.
Muslims consider a fertilized ovum that is attached to the womb a living
being that has the potential of reaching its full formation. A developed fetus
is considered a human life and is subject to the laws of inheritance to the
extent that if the mother is sentenced to capital punishment, her life should be
preserved because she is carrying another human life.
And just as any person may not voluntarily do harm to his or her body, a
woman may not voluntarily abort a fetus.
"Baha'is believe the soul becomes associated with the body at conception, and the deliberate taking of human life is generally not permitted. Baha'i writings clearly state that abortion merely to prevent the birth of an unwanted child is
forbidden.
The Orthodox Church teaches that abortion is the killing of a child. Grave
questions like these are settled by the Holy Spirit's guidance, which is found pre-eminently in Scripture, and other writings and community decisions must be consistent with Scripture. From the earliest years, Christian writings have instructed "Do not murder a child by abortion or kill one who has been born" (The Didache, c. 70-80 C.E.).
According to the Southern Baptist Convention's official statement, "At the
moment of conception, a new being enters the universe, a human being, a being
created in God's image. This human being deserves our protection, whatever the
circumstances of conception."
Now that the beliefs of the world's major religions have been established, although briefly, maybe politicians everywhere can refer to them instead of yanking the electorate's collective chain.
2 comments:
Well, Mr. Obama has done the strategic thing in getting himself a silver-haired, white male for a running mate. The thinking is obviously along the lines of "We don't want to freak ou the American public TOO MUCH," despite all of Obama's empty rhetoric about "change." They need the votes after all, don't they?
Mr. Biden's remark;
"There are elements within the church who say that if you are at odds with any of the teachings of the church, you are at odds with the church. I think the church is bigger than that."
How a Vice Presidential candidate can possibly NOT GET IT that one can not be pro-abortion and be Catholic is truly out there. It is not a secondary, or side issue and it never has been such. It's like saying "I don't believe in Jesus Christ, or even God, but I AM Catholic. We are free to debate and question the stance of the Church on some issues. I believe in Muhammad, or David Koresh instead, but I AM Catholic.
Your post captures an inescapable fact very well; NONE OF THE WORLD'S MAJOR BELIEF SYSTEMS (or most of the minor ones) hold that killing unborn babies is OK - except for the likes of Communism, Nazism, Fascism.
The extreme left and their lack of moderation and common sense fall into a similar category to those political systems I just mentioned. It only SEEMS less threatening because it comes w/o a machine gun in hand, having gone from coming in bell-bottomed jeans and flowered shirts to coming in the same business attire as the conservative. Liberals are disgusting.
Yeah, smells like someone's pants are on fire.
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