"But a man with a machine and inadequate culture—such as I was when I made my pond—is a pestilence. He shakes more than he can hold." — Wendell Berry, "Damage" in What Are People For?
In what ways do we have too much power and too little knowledge?
This week marked the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Its a touchy issue to say the least. I came across these "truths" for consideration. They seem compelling. What do you think?
1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother's womb (except in the case of abortion).
2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.
3. Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.
4. Living on its own is not the criterion of human personhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.
5. Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.
6. Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three-month-old babies.
7. Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic make up.
8. Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.
9. Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.
10. Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.
11. Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.
12. The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.
13. What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.
14. There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.
15. Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.
Wow. I have been really wracking my brain for a few months on a few different issues of how our culture affects our view of life, what is good, and ultimately what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. JP Moreland hit one out of the park for me in this two part series (which you can download here: part 1 - part 2) on what it means to really "know" something. For those of you headed to college, those who want to be thoughtful followers of Jesus, and those who want to engage culture in a constructive way, this is a very helpful subject.
I have been wanting to read Morleland's recent book, Kingdom Triangle, but just haven't been able to really set aside time to do so. He refers to it, and I have heard some great reviews, and love the free content on his blog. Worth checking out for sure.
In 1992 an amazing little movie came out, Army of Darkness. I have only seen it on the small screen, but tonight it makes a return to the big screen at the local Century 25. Bruce Campbell as hero Ashley "Ash" J. Williams is a classic character. No one can beat the "I lost my hand so attached a chain saw for a weapon against the evil dead, and then was transported back to Medieval Times."
Turns out I may not have been completely honest about my TV addiction. The truth is there is another show which I watch almost religiously. The Soup (formerly Talk Soup).
Now, I initially began watching this 30-minute weekly entertainment show because it was good research for pop culture and entertainment news, and was remotely humorous. I enjoy staying on top of these things since it helps me understand the influences of pop culture on the students I work with, and makes for humorous references during teachings at our weekly gathering. I must warn you, since it often has some questionable content. But I have to confess it's grown on me.
Joel McHale's personality, humor, and near apathy for his job have endeared me to the show. While I do watch to stay on top of current events, I have become more interested in Joel's journey as he has gained some success and notoriety and has appeared on Iron Chef America and Thank God You're Here. The guy is sort of a sad character (real person) and I am rooting for him!
It's time for me to express my commitment and love for PTI. This daily TV show is really the only TV I feel I am addicted to. The rest of TV I can leave behind, but don't take away Tony and Mike!
ESPN's Pardon the Interruption gives you an overview of sports stories. Tony Kornhesier (Wikipedia/Washington Post) and Mike Wilbon (Wikipedia/Washington Post) give their commentary on the events, the culture, and the implications of sports news. It is far more insightful than you might think, though sometimes it does stoop to the glitz and glam of entertainment news.
Rebecca, my wife, says that Tony and Mike just yell at each other. I say you can turn down the TV if you think they are yelling.
I have been reading some N.T. Wright lately. I came across his lecture, "Where is God in 'The War on Terror,'" about the role of politics in terror and how to actually begin to pursue healing. Glad to see some thoughtful insights from a Christian perspective . . .
On Volume 83 of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal (an excellent assessment of contemporary culture, including movies, books, the arts, psychology, philosophy, ethics, etc, from a Christian perspective) there was an interview with Dick Keyes about cynicism.
Keyes placed cynicism (which he defined as the confidence that you can unmask the positive surface of people, institutions, and God in order to see the less than flattering motivations of greed, pride, lust, power, etc.) on the opposing side of a continuum as sentimentality. Both are to be avoided because they are a false response to a broken world, where cynicism says that brokenness is the last word, and sentimentality says it wants to be naive and be caught up in happiness. Cynicism is a danger for relationships and spirituality for it is impossible to recognize love when one suspects that everyone, including God, is into their own power and wants you to be a support of their power. A cynic is unable to love and be loved because one is forced to manage their image and presented self since they assume everyone else is doing the same thing. Keyes' conclusion is that one does not even want to find a middle ground on this spectrum, but rather transcend it. The means by which to do so were the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. These are backed by "biblical suspicions," where Jesus teaches us to have a controlled sense of suspicion . . . unfortunately this point was not explored very deeply. So I am left wanting to go out and purchase Keyes' book Seeing Through Cynicism: A Reconsideration of the Power of Suspicion (and the other book recommended, The Culture of Cynicism).
