So the following was occasioned by Donald Trump beclowning himself on the abortion issue, but it is not about that particularly. He said, remember, that women who get abortions should, were the practice to become illegal, receive some sort of punishment. He held to that position for about ten minutes, but it was long enough …
Trump as Corduroy Pillow
Trump is a regular corduroy pillow — always making headlines. Yesterday he did it by manufacturing part of his pro-life position on the spot under questioning from Chris Matthews. Under pressure, he said that there would have to be “some form” of punishment for a woman who procured an abortion. Confident of his ability to …
The Moral Tradition and War
So then, it is now time to follow up on my post on pro-life rhetoric and warfare. I am happy with what I said, but more certainly needs to be said. I made a distinction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello. The first has to do with the reasons for going to war, …
Pro-Life Rhetoric and War
One of the problems that arises out of pro-life phrases like “sanctity of human life” is that it makes human life the standard. But God’s law is the standard, not human life. We should rather speak of the sanctity of God’s law, and the resultant dignity of human life. Neglect of this principle is why …
A Question That Requires More Traction
At the beginning of February, I presented this set of questions as questions needing to be asked of the Republican candidates. The paragraph below is the conclusion to this post. In addition, every candidate for president needs to be pressed on this same question. We are now in the midst of primary season, which means …
Rhymes With Bruise
I want to begin what I say here by honoring the memory of Justice Antonin Scalia. He was a man who understood himself, who understood the Constitution, and who understood the enemies of constitutional liberty — whose name unfortunately is Legion. Here is Scalia on the reason for this. “God assumed from the beginning that …
Ipso Pronto
This last summer, the pro-abortion world was rocked by the release of a series of sting videos that showed Planned Parenthood illegally serving as merchants of baby parts. I hesitate in using that word illegally because their practices are ghoulish and appalling long before they become illegal. What they do is manifestly illegal, but that …
Presidential Pardon in a World Gone Mad
So let us begin with the “world gone mad” part. David Daleiden, the man behind the Planned Parenthood sting videos, has been indicted by a grand jury in Texas. He made the mistake of gathering secret footage of Planned Parenthood doing appalling things with the bodies of little boys and girls. If he had only …
The Dignity of Human Life
Today is “sanctity of human life Sunday,” a day that that pro-life Christians mark in protest of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. We add our voices to that protest, rejoicing that a generation of bloodshed has not been able to shut down the conscience of the church. We lament that our protests have not …
Pro-Life Basics
Introduction Faithful Christians are necessarily pro-life, by definition. But having an instinctive knowledge that God’s gift of life should be respected is not necessarily the same thing as being equipped to explain from the Bible why this is so, or being able to answer some of the standard objections that may be raised. 1. What …