tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19411997.post115512857839993723..comments2023-07-21T07:01:10.447-04:00Comments on A Jolly Company: More thoughts on AmandaNathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288330419297657142noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19411997.post-1155632001699729212006-08-15T04:53:00.000-04:002006-08-15T04:53:00.000-04:00I'm an Orthodox Christian, and as I understand it,...I'm an Orthodox Christian, and as I understand it, the attitude of Orthodox Christians to abortion is similar to their attitude to soldi8ers killing in war. In Orthodox theology there is no such thing as a just war. A soldier who kills in battle, no matter what the circumstances, needs to confess that as a sin. It cannot ever be justified. It is always a sin. <BR/><BR/>But we live in a sinful world, and sometimes such sins as killing in battle or abortion cannot be avoided. But there is also no sin so bad that it cannot be forgiven. It is not our business to be perpetually condemning others who commit these or any other sins, but rather to being sure that we repent of our own.<BR/><BR/>But I also believe we should not too easily accept political <I>policies</I> that are either based on, or propagate the assumptions that these sins are not sins, but that they can be justified. I cannot believe that the wholesale killing of children, either in abortion clinics or in the cities and towns of Lebanon is OK.Steve Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19411997.post-1155146764992857652006-08-09T14:06:00.000-04:002006-08-09T14:06:00.000-04:00Nathan, Thank you for the clarification. You succi...Nathan, Thank you for the clarification. You succintly explained some issues that I get all muddled trying to explain.thebelovedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00168410603812442780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19411997.post-1155132256379822742006-08-09T10:04:00.000-04:002006-08-09T10:04:00.000-04:00Nathan, I think you're correct. My use of the "agg...Nathan,<BR/> I think you're correct. My use of the "aggregation of cells that cannot live on its own" does introduce a lot of grey area with regard to survival and independence. I was merely trying to provide a possible explanation to mrstandfast for why the right to make decisions goes to the mother. My personal belief is that the fetus is an extension of the body of the mother because it depends on her to stay alive. Thus, she should have control and not be forced into being a glorified incubator with no right to make decisions about her own body. Until a babe is born, the fetus and the mother are linked and part of her body and she can do with her body what she wants (although of course I would encourage her to do things with her body that are in the best interest of her health). <BR/><BR/>There are a lot of women doing long-term harm to the fetuses by treating their bodies badly and I think perhaps society should focus on ensuring that those babies that are born are healthy and taken care of before attacking women for having terminations because they knew they were unable to care for a child or a pregnancy. <BR/><BR/>I know that my views are radical by many people's standards, but I can appreciate where all of you are coming from as well.medstudentitishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09740144837675438466noreply@blogger.com