Let me finish this subject quickly and briefly, as I often have more of an interest in the details of a subject than many people do. When Christians debate ethics, they do not often think about how they look upon God’s rules. In the United States, it is quite common among many to assume that […]
Bishops and ethics
I said yesterday that the basis that the bishops use to make at least some of their moral judgments is hierarchical ethics. What does that mean? Well, actually, the terms that I used yesterday are an oversimplification. Let me show you a more complex chart. DESCRIPTION STRENGTH/WEAKNESS EXAMPLE ETHICAL RELATIVISM – No principles are universally […]
Fetal cells, child safety, and Roman Catholic bishops
Okay, but what about the second part of the bishop’s statement? (If this is your first time here, you need to dial back to the 26th of April and begin reading forwards to this day. Many in the pro-birth movement have taken the attitude that if the vaccine is made from fetal cells from an […]
Fetal cells, vaccines, and Roman Catholic bishops
It is important that you read the posts from yesterday and the day before to come up to speed on this post. So, the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a carefully nuanced, but very strong, statement on the use fetal cells from elective abortions and on vaccination of your children. […]
Fetal cells, pro-life, and Roman Catholic bishops
So, what does the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops have to say about vaccines cultured on fetal cells? Well, the following statement is found on their website: 1. Should a government agency or private company use tissue from induced abortions for vaccine development or other research? The Catholic bishops have answered in the negative. […]
Fetal cells, pro-life, and vaccines
I was asked yesterday: I am wondering if you can write more about vaccines, many of which are cultured on fetal cells. Many people may not be aware that several vaccines are cultured on human fetal cell lines. Some are from aborted fetuses and some are not (natural miscarriage, freely donated by the mother, died […]
Bridegroom service and the meaning of hypocrisy
Yesterday’s Gospel reading for the Holy Week Bridegroom Services included the following passage from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew: Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do […]
Roman Catholic bishops, healthcare, and pro-life
Yesterday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a statement to go along with the signing of the new healthcare bill by President Obama. I posted the statement yesterday on this blog, but it can also be found here. It, and the letter to Congress that I also posted yesterday, are important statements, both […]
Down’s syndrome and the Virgin Mary
From Beliefnet: A Philadelphia reader passes along this deeply moving essay by a Catholic mother of a Down syndrome child, responding to some vandals who stole photos of Down children from a website, and reposted them making fun of the kids and their condition. Excerpt: This attack was also painful because of the callous lack […]
Limitations of science
On a recent post about science, one of the persons commenting brought up some reasonable points about science. But demonstrating bias highlights other problems in modern American discourse – i.e., the false conclusiveness we give to science, and the false distinction we ascribe to it. Science demands repeatable observation to correct bias, but it can’t […]
