tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239997.post3709248149115043937..comments2023-05-21T21:45:14.899+08:00Comments on Growing in Patience: Even When Conceptions are not Immaculate...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06076972307299752414noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8239997.post-38617551955394426852006-12-20T04:17:00.000+08:002006-12-20T04:17:00.000+08:00I would like to point out a possible error in your...I would like to point out a possible error in your post. The idea that Mary was exempt from the Original Sin was merely crafted by the Catholic Church in response to the questions against St. Augustine’s theology. His theology asserted that the virgin birth is necessary for salvation. This is because since the Original Sin entails passing this from one generation to generation, for Jesus to be the Lamb of God, Jesus had to be free of this inherited blemish. But in Augustine’s time, women were not believed to be genetic and material contributors to the birth of a child. It was believed that women merely nurtured the male’s “seed” to maturity. But when the woman’s role as a genetic contributor was understood, Augustine’s theology came into question. The Catholic Church handled this by asserting that Mary, too, was sinless by “Divine Intervention”. A convenient way to assure the theology of salvation through Jesus Christ.<br /><br />Also, while I do understand your sentiments regarding abortion, I seem to fail to see your argument regarding your opposition to taking a life to save another life. You indicated that the “eggs” are taken from aborted fetuses. So if these are aborted, surely it means that they are dead already, right? So there really is no taking of life in this case. You seem to be equating the immorality of abortion to the immorality of Embryonic Stem Cell. These have separate moral issues.<br /><br />Perhaps you are merely opposed to utilizing the “eggs” coming from an aborted (dead) fetus for medical purposes. If so, then are you also opposed to giving the internal organs of newly deceased humans to patients in desperate need of such to live? How about those who donate one of their kidneys to save the life of a loved one or even those who give blood? Are such acts immoral? <br /><br />Now you may say that the fundamental difference here is that the fetuses did not have a choice whether their bodies may be donated for medical purposes or not, unlike mature human organ donors. But if denial or disrespect of choice is the determinant to gauge morality then wouldn’t this make God’s act of giving His only Begotten Son to us to be beaten, flogged, and killed – immoral? Even if we assume that God had indeed sacrificed His Son to wash our sins away neither you nor I consented to it. We had no say in it. It was solely His decision. We did not even ask for it. Yet given the powers we have attributed to this deity, it is ludicrous that one who has the capacity to create the universe and everything in it had to take on a human form, get a flogging and be crucified. But more than this it is scandalous to harbor the idea that the collective transgressions of a species had to be expiated through human sacrifice. Now this is smacking of the end justifying the means, which you claim to oppose as well.<br /><br />Anyway, while your intentions may be good, I think it would be worthwhile to critically analyze your position. Merely going by what your religious beliefs tell you would be quite a sin to your intellect. As Gautama Buddha once said:<br /><br />“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”<br /><br />Take care and God Bless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com