Guest Opinion/Commentary*
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Speaker the Candidate and the Windbag
Elections piece by
Guest:
Marsha West
Serious questions have been raised about when life begins. Some say life begins at the moment of conception. Others question that a new life is created at the very moment of conception, but they can set no definite time between conception and birth as the point when life begins. If you’re not sure when a human person is formed, why not err on the side of life? “To err is human, to repent divine; to persist devilish,” wrote Benjamin Franklin. According to Dictionary.com “devilish” means, amoung other things, “showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil; devilish schemes; the cold calculation and diabolic art of some statesmen.”
The last definition of devilish brings to mind Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent appearance on “Meet the Press” when she was asked by Tom Brokaw what she would tell Sen. Obama if he were to come to her and say, “Help me out here, Madame Speaker. When does life begin?” His reason for raising the question was that Pastor Rick Warren asked Presidential hopeful Barack Obama when life begins. “It is above my pay grade,” said the artful dodger. What Warren should have asked Obama is “Why do you condone the deliberate killing of unborn babies who miraculously survive abortions?” It would have been a fair question. When Obama was an Illinois state senator, “he spoke against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act legislation in 2001 and 2002 and single-handedly defeated it in committee in 2003.” [1]
Pelosi’s replied to Brokaw’s query with more than 6 words:
“I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator–St. Augustine said at three months. We don’t know. The point is, is that it shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose.” (Entire transcript here…footnote 2)
Pelosi’s comments elicited statements from Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine:
”In the course of a ‘Meet the Press’ interview on abortion and other public issues on August 24, 2008, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.
”The Church has always taught that human life deserves respect from its very beginning and that procured abortion is a grave moral evil. In the Middle Ages, uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology led some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church’s moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.
”These mistaken biological theories became obsolete over 150 years ago when scientists discovered that a new human individual comes into being from the union of sperm and egg at fertilization. In keeping with this modern understanding, the Church has long taught that from the time of conception (fertilization), each member of the human species must be given the full respect due to a human person, beginning with respect for the fundamental right to life.”[3]
Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl issued a statement of his own. He said that since the first century the Church has decried the moral evil of abortion. The Church’s teaching “has not changed and remains unchangeable,” said Wuerl.
Bottom line: The Catholic Church holds that human life begins upon fertilization. Moreover, abortion is morally evil as it is the taking of a human life. The Catholic Church’s teaching has not and will not change. Nancy Pelosi knows what her Church believes, and she chose to lie to the public about it.
When Sen. Joe Biden appeared on “Meet the Press,” Tom Brokaw addressed the issue of when life begins with him. He prefaced his question by reiterating what advice the Speaker offered Obama. He then read a portion of Edward Cardinal Egan of New York’s harsh words regarding Pelosi’s comments. “Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being ‘chooses’ to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name.” Brokaw then asked Biden, another ardent, practicing Roman Catholic: “If Sen. Obama comes to you and asks when life begins, what would you say to him?” Biden came up with this problematic response:
“I’d say, ‘Look, I know when it begins.’ It’s a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I’m prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But let me tell you. There are an awful lot of people of great confessional faiths, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others, who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They’re intensely as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life--I’m prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society. And I know you get the push back, “Well, what about fascism?” Everybody, you know, you going to say fascism’s all right? Fascism isn’t a matter of faith. No decent religious person thinks fascism is a good idea.” (See video clip here…footnote 4)
Before I comment on Sen. Biden’s answer, look at the statement Tom Brokaw took Cardinal Egan’s quote from. In it Eagan slams Pelosi for deliberately misinforming the public regarding the Roman Catholic Church’s official stance on abortion:
“Like many other citizens of this nation, I was shocked to learn that the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America would make the kind of statements that were made to Mr. Tom Brokaw of NBC-TV on Sunday, August 24, 2008. What the Speaker had to say about theologians and their positions regarding abortion was not only misinformed; it was also, and especially, utterly incredible in this day and age.
“We are blessed in the 21st century with crystal-clear photographs and action films of the living realities within their pregnant mothers. No one with the slightest measure of integrity or honor could fail to know what these marvelous being s manifestly, clearly, and obviously are, as they smile and wave into the world outside the womb. In simplest terms, they are human beings with an inalienable right to live, a right that the Speaker of the House of Representatives is bound to defend at all costs for the most basic of ethical reasons. They are not parts of their mothers, and what they are depends not at all upon the opinions of theologians of any faith. Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being “chooses” to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name.” [5]
Now to Sen. Biden’s reply to Brokaw’s question. First he found it necessary to emphasize that as a Roman Catholic he believes life begins at the moment of conception. However, we live in a pluralistic society and since many Americans offer differing opinions on when life begins, he feels he cannot impose his personal beliefs on those who disagree with him. Let me get this straight. On the one hand, he personally believes human life begins at conception. To him the result of fertilization is not a blob of tissue, as some liberals like to pretend—“it” is a minuscule person with an eternal soul. This is what Joe Biden believes, or so he says.
On the other hand Roe v. Wade is the law of the land. Hence, as a representative of the people, Biden feels he must support a “woman’s right to choose,” even though his personal beliefs conflict.
Do you see the problem here? Biden admitted that the abortion procedure terminates a new human life. So how can he, in good conscience, defend a “woman’s right to choose” to kill her unborn child? We’re talking murder here! And we’re talking a large number of murders. Approximately 1.3 million abortions are performed in the U.S. each year and only about 1-2 percent is for the “hard cases”: rape, incest, life of the mother. According to the Guttmacher Institute: “Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.” This is the inconvenient truth about why a large number of women have abortions!
Every politician to include Joe Biden is well aware of these startling statistics. Why isn’t he outraged? As a legislator he should be doing everything in his power to pass laws to put a stop to infanticide! If Joe is a serious Catholic, as he claims, he had better stop worrying about a woman’s “right” to terminate a life and start worrying about what the Creator of all life thinks about statesman (and anyone else) who supports this barbarian practice.
How can Sen. Biden live with this? asks Albert Mohler:
“There are significant questions about the extent to which some matters can properly be legislated. But there is no question that the government—any government—must take a stand on the question of human life. This is why the abortion issue simply will not and cannot go away. The government takes a side on this question, like it or not.
“I believe Sen. Biden to be a serious man, and that is what is most frightening about this. Can a morally serious man really say that he believes that unborn babies are human beings, but that it should be a protected right to kill them?” [6]
By his own admission, Sen. Biden is not a morally serious man.
Most liberals know the truth about when human life begins. The scientific evidence is irrefutable. Birth does not give life; life begins in the womb. You say, “But there are Christians who are pro-choice.” Professing Christians who support “choice” have heard the truth but they fail to accept it. God fully intended to be understood when He said, “It is I who bring both death and life” (Deut. 32:39).
The fact of the matter is that most pro-abort “Christians” are liberals. This includes Obama, Pelosi and Biden. Nowadays liberals refer to themselves as “progressives,” hence the term “Progressive Christian” (PC). Most PCs do not believe the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant word of God. Consequently, they have no reluctance in carrying out a radical redefinition of Christianity. For PCs the Bible is a means to an end, not an end in itself. PCs take the words of Jesus Christ and the Apostles out of context to impart their unorthodox view of Christianity. This is not surprising, as Jesus repeatedly warned that His words would be misunderstood.
A person’s worldview can be very telling, so it is essential for the mature believer to explore a self-professed Christian’s worldview to find out if it is sacred or secular.
Having spiritual discernment is the key to recognizing a counterfeit. Only the Holy Spirit can give the Christian discernment between good and evil. As I wrote in my article, “Christians, Think Twice Before Voting Democratic”:
“When it comes to the pressing social issues of our time a large number of professing Christians have no clue what Jesus would have them do. Could the reason be that they’re not spirit-filled? In Paul’s words, ‘The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned’ (1 Cor. 2:14). The Holy Spirit indwells those who have trusted in Jesus Christ alone, repented of their sins, and are following Him.
“The man without the spirit lacks discernment. This explains why such a large number of ‘Christians’ are influenced by all the propaganda fed to them via Hollywood, the biased media elite, liberal educators in our government-run schools and universities, radical feminists, extremists homosexual groups and even ‘Progressive Christian’ leaders. What amazes me is that followers of Jesus Christ not only admire but also emulate people who embrace an anti-Christian worldview that runs the gamut from Secular Humanism to New Age spirituality. To me that’s incomprehensible!” [7]
I also find it incomprehensible that a woman who cannot say with certainty when human life begins would choose to have an abortion. Why not err on the side of life?
“Yahweh called me when I was in the womb, before my birth he had pronounced my name.” --Isaiah 49:1
Footnotes:
[1] Obama Blocked Born Alive Infant Protection Act, By Jill Stanek
http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm
[2] ‘Meet the Press’ transcript for August 24, 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26377338/page/3/
[3] Cardinal Justin F. Rigali and Bishop William E. Lori statement on Speaker Pelosi
http://wicatholicmusings.blogspot.com/2008/08/cardinal-justin-f-rigali-and-bishop.html
[4] ‘Meet the Press’ video – Tom Brokaw interview with Sen. Joe Biden
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26591154#26591154
[5] Cardinal Egan on Pelosi
http://papafamilias.stblogs.org/archives/2008/08/cardinal-egan-o.html
[6] A Private Conviction About Murder?, By Albert Mohler
http://albertmohler.com/blog_print.php?id=2383
[7] Christians, Think Twice Before Voting Democratic, By Marsha West
http://newswithviews.com/West/marsha62.htm
Check out:
Inside the Womb – Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101021111/womb/flash.html
Copyright by Marsha West, 2008. All rights reserved.
Marsha West is the Founder and Editor of Email Brigade News Report, an online news service for conservative people of faith. Marsha is a freelance writer whose main focus is on religious and cultural issues. She is a regular contributor to NewsWithViews; TheConservativeVoice; RenewAmerica; ChristianWorldviewNetwork; WebCommentary and other popular websites. Her writings have also appeared on WorldnetDaily; CanadaFreepress; AmericanDaily and several Christian periodicals. Marsha loves to write fiction for the younger generation. She is currently writing a series of books about a Christian family and the cultural issues they face. Her books equip kids to defend their faith and live for Christ. Marsha can be reached through her website, Email Brigade News Report: http://www.emailbrigade.com/
Posted by Guest: Marsha West on 9/15/08 at 01:15 AM
[Email Article To Someone.]
(
Permalink)
Print This Page
HowardWasRight 
more...
more... 
