One of the most useful myths in the “pro-choice” arsenal is the assertion that any effort to curb abortion is mere religious overreach. CNN trotted it out a few weeks after the Dobbs verdict—in an article penned by senior writer Eliott C. McLaughlin. His essential complaint was that Justice Samuel Alito—writing for the majority—replaced
Test. I'm just testing to see if I can post on this Substack. Okay, now I'm going to type my comment.
I was struck by the remark “erases whole groups of people who have different religious beliefs". That's certainly something that I believe. I am also struck by the fact that you (the author) seem to think that the beginnings of life are settled, which they are not. Let me tell you what I think.
I am not a Christian or Jew or Muslim. None of the ancient religions interest me. I take my views from metaphysical sources. The best of those sources has proven to be surprisingly believable and specific. It is called the Seth Material. Seth was a soul or spirit who was channeled by a trance medium named Jane Roberts from 1963 to 1984, when she died. Before you laugh at this, you should read up on it. What I find laughable are the ancient religions like Christianity which reflect nothing more than the ramblings and prejudices of some ancient people, like the Israelites. Here is what I believe, based primarily on the Seth readings, but also on the Edgar Cayce readings:
Seth said we all reincarnate. Unlike the Buddhists, though, he said that our incarnations are more modest in number -- he gave ten as an average. The incoming soul, then, has lived prior to the current life. Seth said the soul will not occupy the fetus if the mother is considering an abortion. But he also said that (in most cases) the soul will not occupy the fetus until shortly before, during or after birth -- which is long after an abortion would have taken place. So what this means is that the fetus is just part of the mother's body until a soul occupies it.
Before I continue, let me point out that Christians also believe in souls. Otherwise, what is it that goes to either Heaven or Hell?
Let's say for the sake of argument that the soul DOES occupy the fetus beginning at conception. Since the soul is essentially independent of the fetus, if the fetus is aborted, the soul would reincarnate once again -- i.e., go in search of another mother. But Seth said that is very rare. Usually the incoming soul and the mother have known each other in past lives, and they have karma (either positive or negative) to settle between them. Both of them are aware of this (in the mother's case, on an unconscious level), and so the mother is likely to bring the pregnancy to term.
So you see, there ARE religions out there that say that a soul does not occupy the fetus during the months when it might be aborted. Even in Hinduism and Buddhism, which are not so specific as the Seth Material, the soul is not destroyed by abortion, but simply reincarnates.
So:
Yes, Christians do not honor the beliefs of other religions, and
No, it is NOT clear when the soul is created, not clear at all.
Your problem is that you can't see past your Christian views, and that limits your arguments.
Did you know that until the 1970's, evangelicals did not have uniform opinions about abortion? Many of them thought that abortion was perfectly fine. It was only the Catholics who thought it was murder. The evangelicals, given to extremism, then adopted the Catholic view.
Do you know that the Bible says NOTHING AT ALL about abortion, or when a fetus becomes an independent human being?
You see, you have nothing to stand on but your own religion and common sense, and in this case they are failing you.
Your purported criticism wholly supports the main point I’m making. All of the arguments in favor of abortion, including your own, are metaphysical in nature. It is not religious belief that condemns abortion, it is basic biology.
But you are a Christian, aren't you? It seems to me that you are trying to argue the issue from every standpoint -- but to do that shows you have no integrity. Let me tell you something: If biology rules, that means we have no soul that survives death. If we don't survive death, then LIFE HAS NO MEANING. If life has no meaning, then it doesn't matter when we die. Whether we die as a fetus or an 80-year-old makes no difference. Life only has meaning if we survive death. So is that what you are, an atheist?
I am a Christian, and you could fairly argue that my opposition to murder is rooted in the Ten Commandments. But virtually all non-Christians share this same view. Atheists may struggle to find an empirical basis for their position, but they still hold that murder is wrong. It’s one of the vestiges of a Christ-haunted culture—as Flannery O'Connor puts it. And anyone who holds that it is wrong to kill an innocent human being already has the necessary moral framework to condemn abortion, no matter what their religious convictions. That’s because abortion kills a tiny human being. Unequivocally. To state that human life begins at conception is not to take a religious position. It’s to affirm a biological reality.
You know, the irony here is that Christianity as a whole is more tolerant of abortion than most religions, even the ones that teach reincarnation. Christians are essentially permitted to make up their own minds as to whether abortion is murder. Some denominations are against it, and some are for it. As I pointed out before, early Evangelicals were mostly agnostic on the issue -- i.e., until their natural extremism led them to adopt the Catholic view, which is very extreme. The Bible is silent on the matter.
Only God knows if abortion is murder. Your problem as a Christian is that the early Christian god is portrayed as an immature, egotistical, narcissistic dictator (similar to Trump, which is why you all love Trump so much). That dictator-god presides over an illogical universe in which humans live one life and then go to heaven or hell for an eternity based on the choices made in that life.
Regarding the positions of various religions, the truth is that abortion is mostly tolerated in over-populated areas, and not tolerated in areas which need more population. It is now legal in India up to 24 weeks. Ultimately, religion really has nothing to do with it. Right now the world is badly over-populated, which is why abortion is needed.
Now, if your point of view is biological, then (as I said before) human life has no meaning, and it doesn't matter when we die. Our lives have meaning only if we survive death and take the lessons of our lives with us into the next realm.
You say that abortion kills a tiny human being, but you have no proof or evidence of that. I say that a fetus is not a human being because the soul hasn't entered the fetus yet, and won't until birth approaches. It seems to me that we are at loggerheads. One thing is for sure: You don't have any facts on your side, just your opinions (the same is true for me). I will continue to fight for abortion until I die. As for you, you Christians need to stop pushing your religion on the rest of the world. The rest of the world isn't interested.
Test. I'm just testing to see if I can post on this Substack. Okay, now I'm going to type my comment.
I was struck by the remark “erases whole groups of people who have different religious beliefs". That's certainly something that I believe. I am also struck by the fact that you (the author) seem to think that the beginnings of life are settled, which they are not. Let me tell you what I think.
I am not a Christian or Jew or Muslim. None of the ancient religions interest me. I take my views from metaphysical sources. The best of those sources has proven to be surprisingly believable and specific. It is called the Seth Material. Seth was a soul or spirit who was channeled by a trance medium named Jane Roberts from 1963 to 1984, when she died. Before you laugh at this, you should read up on it. What I find laughable are the ancient religions like Christianity which reflect nothing more than the ramblings and prejudices of some ancient people, like the Israelites. Here is what I believe, based primarily on the Seth readings, but also on the Edgar Cayce readings:
Seth said we all reincarnate. Unlike the Buddhists, though, he said that our incarnations are more modest in number -- he gave ten as an average. The incoming soul, then, has lived prior to the current life. Seth said the soul will not occupy the fetus if the mother is considering an abortion. But he also said that (in most cases) the soul will not occupy the fetus until shortly before, during or after birth -- which is long after an abortion would have taken place. So what this means is that the fetus is just part of the mother's body until a soul occupies it.
Before I continue, let me point out that Christians also believe in souls. Otherwise, what is it that goes to either Heaven or Hell?
Let's say for the sake of argument that the soul DOES occupy the fetus beginning at conception. Since the soul is essentially independent of the fetus, if the fetus is aborted, the soul would reincarnate once again -- i.e., go in search of another mother. But Seth said that is very rare. Usually the incoming soul and the mother have known each other in past lives, and they have karma (either positive or negative) to settle between them. Both of them are aware of this (in the mother's case, on an unconscious level), and so the mother is likely to bring the pregnancy to term.
So you see, there ARE religions out there that say that a soul does not occupy the fetus during the months when it might be aborted. Even in Hinduism and Buddhism, which are not so specific as the Seth Material, the soul is not destroyed by abortion, but simply reincarnates.
So:
Yes, Christians do not honor the beliefs of other religions, and
No, it is NOT clear when the soul is created, not clear at all.
Your problem is that you can't see past your Christian views, and that limits your arguments.
Did you know that until the 1970's, evangelicals did not have uniform opinions about abortion? Many of them thought that abortion was perfectly fine. It was only the Catholics who thought it was murder. The evangelicals, given to extremism, then adopted the Catholic view.
Do you know that the Bible says NOTHING AT ALL about abortion, or when a fetus becomes an independent human being?
You see, you have nothing to stand on but your own religion and common sense, and in this case they are failing you.
Your purported criticism wholly supports the main point I’m making. All of the arguments in favor of abortion, including your own, are metaphysical in nature. It is not religious belief that condemns abortion, it is basic biology.
But you are a Christian, aren't you? It seems to me that you are trying to argue the issue from every standpoint -- but to do that shows you have no integrity. Let me tell you something: If biology rules, that means we have no soul that survives death. If we don't survive death, then LIFE HAS NO MEANING. If life has no meaning, then it doesn't matter when we die. Whether we die as a fetus or an 80-year-old makes no difference. Life only has meaning if we survive death. So is that what you are, an atheist?
I am a Christian, and you could fairly argue that my opposition to murder is rooted in the Ten Commandments. But virtually all non-Christians share this same view. Atheists may struggle to find an empirical basis for their position, but they still hold that murder is wrong. It’s one of the vestiges of a Christ-haunted culture—as Flannery O'Connor puts it. And anyone who holds that it is wrong to kill an innocent human being already has the necessary moral framework to condemn abortion, no matter what their religious convictions. That’s because abortion kills a tiny human being. Unequivocally. To state that human life begins at conception is not to take a religious position. It’s to affirm a biological reality.
You know, the irony here is that Christianity as a whole is more tolerant of abortion than most religions, even the ones that teach reincarnation. Christians are essentially permitted to make up their own minds as to whether abortion is murder. Some denominations are against it, and some are for it. As I pointed out before, early Evangelicals were mostly agnostic on the issue -- i.e., until their natural extremism led them to adopt the Catholic view, which is very extreme. The Bible is silent on the matter.
Only God knows if abortion is murder. Your problem as a Christian is that the early Christian god is portrayed as an immature, egotistical, narcissistic dictator (similar to Trump, which is why you all love Trump so much). That dictator-god presides over an illogical universe in which humans live one life and then go to heaven or hell for an eternity based on the choices made in that life.
Regarding the positions of various religions, the truth is that abortion is mostly tolerated in over-populated areas, and not tolerated in areas which need more population. It is now legal in India up to 24 weeks. Ultimately, religion really has nothing to do with it. Right now the world is badly over-populated, which is why abortion is needed.
Now, if your point of view is biological, then (as I said before) human life has no meaning, and it doesn't matter when we die. Our lives have meaning only if we survive death and take the lessons of our lives with us into the next realm.
You say that abortion kills a tiny human being, but you have no proof or evidence of that. I say that a fetus is not a human being because the soul hasn't entered the fetus yet, and won't until birth approaches. It seems to me that we are at loggerheads. One thing is for sure: You don't have any facts on your side, just your opinions (the same is true for me). I will continue to fight for abortion until I die. As for you, you Christians need to stop pushing your religion on the rest of the world. The rest of the world isn't interested.