Friday, June 12, 2009

Correction

A headline today:

"Congress sent legislation to the White House Friday granting the federal government unprecedented authority to regulate and restrict cigarettes, the single largest cause of preventable death."

The single largest cause of preventable death?

I beg to differ.

400,000 tobacco-related deaths per year in the USA.
1,300,000 abortions per year in the USA.

-G

20 comments:

  1. Gabriel,

    When does life begin; at conception?

    Cheers,

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matt,

    Yes. But note:

    I can sense the route this debate would take, and the stalemate at which it would surely arrive. I think that, oddly enough, for a lot of people it makes them feel "enlightened" to be stoic about this subject. The same people that might be outraged at something like, for example, cruelty to animals.

    And please note: I am not saying that YOU are in favor of abortion; I am speaking about abortion proponents in general.

    I can tell you one thing for certain. When somebody chooses to have an abortion, they decide to end the life of the baby that is inside of them.

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  3. Gabriel,

    I'm not trying to get into an abortion debate with you, more a human development debate.

    If life begins at conception; what are sperm and eggs before conception? Are they dead? If they're alive are they half a person each? Is it wrong to kill sperm?

    Leaving aside actual abortion, there's a whole gamut of weird stuff that goes on in human reproduction - let's talk about that!

    PS. do you agree with Ray Comfort's position that males have nipples for aesthetic purposes?


    Cheers,

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Matt,

    "PS. do you agree with Ray Comfort's position that males have nipples for aesthetic purposes?"

    I don't agree with that, I think God chose to use the female blueprint for all mankind. Maybe Adam didn't have nipples? LOL.

    Hope you don't mind me butting in on your discution! Let me know if I am :) and I will buzz off.

    Catchya guys

    DB

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  5. Yeah, Da Bomb, get the heck outta here! Who do you think you are?? Matt - we've got a blogosphere vigilante here!

    Of course, I am only kidding! That's why we blog, to share ideas. I'm delighted & flattered that you've decided to join us.

    Matt - I can tell you EXACTLY why men have nipples.

    No, I really can't. I was kidding. I would say, "Because that's how God made us", but judging from a previous conversation, you might not like that!

    I will add that to my list of questions that I'm going to ask the Lord, once I'm in His presence.

    Your "sperms & eggs" question... That's hard to answer. Are they "alive" before conception? Are they "living beings"? Hmmm. My reasoning leads me to believe that they are not. But, I can't say for sure. I hate to cop out on you here, but I just don't know the answer. Once they come together and make a human, though, that human is just as much a life if he/she were you or me. I can tell you that much.

    There's a blogger named John Acuff that I read every day. He's frickin' hilarious. Today's post contained the phrase, "Drive-By Witnessing", which I heard first from you, so I immediately thought of you. I thought you might get a kick out of his post today:

    http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/ --- By the way, depending on what day you read this, the post I'm referring to is for today, Thursday, June 18, titled #563, "Keeping At Least One Non Believer Friend Around Strictly For Witnessing Purposes".

    Enjoy!

    -G

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ha! That link does sound funny - just from the title alone; I'll check it out, thanks.


    You said;

    "I hate to cop out on you here, but I just don't know the answer".

    This is often the best answer, particularly if you actually don't know. Ray annoys me because he frequently doesn't know things but makes stuff up to make it sound like he does (see aesthetic nipples)

    Da Bomb,

    As I understand it, you're dead-on. The female form is the default embryo for huand it takes a certain hormone at a certain phase of development for the embryo to develop into a male. The timing of this hormones release has many impacts, one of which is claimed to be the person's eventual sexuality.

    In a way, it makes sense for the embryo to start off female because, aside from the sperm, everything that goes into making the cells of the fetus is coming from the mother.

    Cheers,

    ReplyDelete
  7. Here's a good one for you, Matt: Why?

    When the sperm & egg come together and the egg is fertilized, why does it create a human?

    Or, at that specific time in the development of the unborn baby, WHY does he/she become male or female? We might be able to point to it and say, "Yup, this is when it happens. And this is how it happens." But...why?

    We can explain how; we can't explain why. Well, science can't explain why. I can.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Garbriel,

    "We can explain how; we can't explain why. Well, science can't explain why. I can".

    Well, I could make up and explanation as to 'why', it doesn't mean it would be right though. Just because you have an explanation that you believe, doesn't mean it's the correct one.

    Besides, if your explanation is little more than 'God wills it thus' then that's no explanation at all. Why does God make it so?

    You're right, of course, science isn't in the business of discovering metaphysical meaning in the natural world - that's just not what it does. For the 'why', people turn to philosophy/religion to tell them; a tool for every task...

    ReplyDelete
  9. But, my friend, "Why?" is the most important of all the questions. And honestly, God's will is the answer to "Why?". He wills it so.

    Atheists like to compare Christianity to, like you said, something "made up". Like the spaghetti monster, or whatever. As if believing in Christ and the Bible is the same as just saying, "Oh, this purple mouse wills it, so that's the reason why". And I understand that sarcasm, stoicism, and criticism are a big part of the atheist experience; I was an atheist for years.

    But, let's be honest here. You know as well as I do that there is a legitimate scientific & logical case to be made for belief in Christ & the accuracy of the Bible.

    Of course, you don't think it's as legitimate a case as the one you subscribe to; that's why you subscribe to it. But still, it's a case, and it's much more than something "made up".

    Ever read anything about Biblical prophecy?

    It's always interesting to see where our conversations lead us!

    -G

    ReplyDelete
  10. Garbriel,

    I think you misunderstand the purpose of 'made-up' deities (such as the FSM, Invosible Pink Unicorn etc,). It's not that 'anyone can make up a god'. The point is that, if you invoke the supernatural as an explanation for something then any supernatural explanation is just as likely because we have no way of testing, observing or repeating any supernatural event and so can not verify it's source.

    The purpose of the FSM was to show that if Biblical Creationism was to be taught in schools then any faith-based creation explanation could be taught in schools - there is no evidence for either so they are both just as valid.

    Saying 'God wills it' as a 'Why' explanation is an assertion. It cannot be demonstrated why God wills it that way without further assertion, and you end up with no real explanation at all.

    If you assume God (any god or belief system, for that matter) then your 'why' questions are quite neatly taken care of; [insert deity/philosophy of choice] wills it, therefore it is so. But, again, just because you have an answer doesn't make it the right one.


    It would also dispute that there is a reasonable scientific case to be made for a belief in Christ and/or the accuracy of the Bible. There is definately a logical case to be made for the existence of a creator-god, but I'm not sure about that science and logic backs up belief in Christ. Care to expand on that thought?

    I've heard bits and pieces of Biblical Prophecy; I got into it with Wayne Dawg for a while about what prophecies are actually indicative of the 'End Times' and I find around 3 of them to be rather compelling - the rest are applicable to any point in history.

    So, what are your 3 favourite prophecies?

    Cheers,

    ReplyDelete
  11. Again, it is NOT valid to conjure any comparison between any made-up monster, unicorn, etc., and the Living God of the Bible. My point is, simply, there is an acute logical & scientific case pointing to the legitimacy of Christ. Of course, no such luck for these fairy tales you speak of... So really, you cannot make the case that "(name any false god here) wills it" is in any way similar to the will of the Living God.

    I know, you're thinking, "SHOW SOME PROOF!". Speaking on prophecy, though, first: please allow me the indulgence of knowing the 3 prophecies YOU find compelling. Would you?

    -G

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  12. Wow - so much going on here I don't know where to jump in!

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  13. Gabriel,

    I think that you only feel that way because of you belief (knowledge?) in (of?) 'The Living God of the Bible'. If you were to look at it objectively you would see that any miraculous event that leaves not physical evidence can never be traced back to a specific deity. If it leaves physical evidence and is only described in one Holy Book, then you're onto something....

    My 3 favourite prophecies? I'll have hope the Dawg isn't out on Lawn so I can sneak in and steal them from his thread (ssshhh, don't wake the Dawg...)

    Ah, here we are!

    From the 'Is the End Near?' thread (way back in February)

    19 - Global means of communication will exist

    37 - Technology will exist capable of tracking the world's population, finances.

    38 - The capability will exist for an army of 200 million soldiers to be formed

    These are the 3 of the 41 that Wayne posted that I found quite compelling (this is just for 'the End Times are Nigh'-style prophecy though)


    Regards,

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  14. There are some amazing prophecies around in the Bible. I've been going through a verbal commentary on the Book of Daniel the past few days and I'm up to chapter 10. Absolutely fascinating!

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  15. Very eye opening, brother. Abortion leaves the child with no chance of survival. But at least with smoking tobacco you don't get killed on the spot. And many people live to be very old even though they smoked most of their lives. Crazy. Liberals are no longer liberals, they are leftist. They are willing to take life away and soon they will take away our liberties. God is the only one who can save us now.

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  16. Any thoughts on the prophecies?


    Chris - be careful with that brush of yours, it's quite broad....

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  17. It seems like the historical method and historical study in general is more relevant regarding Christ than science for the most part.

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  18. Great post. I really enjoyed reading the posts on your blog. I would like to invite you to come over to my blog and check it out. God bless, Lloyd

    ReplyDelete