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Showing posts from August, 2011

"Another Christian Idiot"

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Earlier this week, I discovered a fallacy-laden blog piece railing against Christianity Today and Christians in general who oppose abortion. Unable to respond to all of the assertions made within the article, I chose to discuss the old "acorn vs oak tree" argument. The author writes, "A human embryo is not a person in the same way an acorn is not an oak tree. One is ‘potential’. The other is ‘actual’. Destroying an acorn is not the same as destroying an oak tree." My brief response elicited this comment: "What Seth said is an acorn is an oak tree. I hate to think of the fate of the next generation that cannot distinguish an acorn from an oak tree or an embryo from a person." Seeing I'd been misunderstood, I clarified with another response . And then I received this gem from another user (not the author): "Seth: Another christian idiot I’m sure. A fetus can not get up and walk to the fridge for a glass of milk. Now I’ll ask you si

Midnight Musings

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It’s 4:00 a.m. The 97-year-old man in the bed in front of me is dying. His family has gone home to get some much-needed rest, and I have been here at his bedside for almost three hours, providing comfort care and pain relief to him. I recite Psalm 139 to him from memory. The rich meaning of the words has made it a longtime favorite of mine: “When I was made in the secret place, Your eyes saw my unformed body… All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” I don’t know if he can hear me anymore, but I tell the dying man that he is known and loved by God. I tell him that it is not too late to receive forgiveness and eternal life. I tell him how to do so. His breathing is shallow, and he begins to hiccup rhythmically. A moment later, the baby in my womb gets the hiccups, too. The poignancy of the moment startles me. Tonight I am witness to one life that is ending and home to another that is just beginning. Both are immeasurably valuab