A Pro-Life Defense of Truth, by sword-meets-rose

Pro-life advocates argue that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenseless human being. In support of this conclusion, pro-lifers cite both scientific and philosophic evidence. Nonetheless, some people ignore the evidence pro-life advocates present and argue for abortion based on self-interest. That is the lazy way out. If we care about truth, we will courageously follow the facts wherever they lead. But there are pitfalls. Here are five common mistakes people make arguing for abortion

Mistake #1: Confuse objective claims with subjective ones (or confuse claims about ice cream with claims about truth).

When pro-life advocates say that abortion is morally wrong because it takes the life of a defenseless child, they are making a particular type of claim. Specifically, they are making a moral claim about the rightness or wrongness of abortion.

Many people, however, misconstrue the kind of claim the pro-lifer is making in order to respond to one they like better. Consider the following responses to the statement, Abortion is morally wrong.

• “That’s just your view.”

[...]

• “Don’t force your morality on me.”

[...]

1) Relativism is self-refuting—it commits intellectual suicide. [...]

2) It is impossible for a moral relativist to say that anything is wrong, including intolerance. [...]

3) It is impossible to live as a moral relativist.
[...]

• “I’m personally opposed to abortion, but I still think it should be legal.”

[...]

Mistake #2: Attack the person rather than refute the argument. (Ad hominem fallacy)
[...]

Mistake #3 : Assume what you are trying to prove.

[...]

Mistake #4: Confuse functioning as a person with being a person.


[...]

Mistake #5: Disguise your true position by appealing to the hard cases.

[...]

VI. Summary and Conclusion:

[...]

The whole thing is availiable here.
(source and author)

An answer and some questions.

Honestly, I got what I'd hoped for: you gave an honest answer.
I can't format what I want to say in your tumblr-ask, so I'm putting it here.

I think I've said this to you before, but Satan does not like that you've become Catholic. He doesn't want you to live the Christ-life.
The more you give up, the easier it will be to keep giving up.
Pray.
Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray.
And then, when you're done, pray some more.

Don't worry if you fail: there have only been two humans ever who have managed not to; and only one of them was a human person: Mary: the Other was God Himself.
Try and pray the Three Hail Marys everyday.
Then a decade of the Rosary.
Then the 5 decades a day.
Work slowly and remember that Mary is your mum. She loves you more perfectly than your earthly mother ever could. She will help you.

Call on your Holy Patrons. Your Confirmation Saint and any others with whom you have a particularly close relationship.
Try and get a hold of a Saint Benedict's Medal and a Miraculous Medal and pray the prayers that go with them.
Benedict's Prayer is here.
And St Maximillian Kolbe's Prayer to go with the Miraculous Medal is

"O Mary Concieved without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee, and for those who do not have recourse to Thee, especially sinners, heretics and enimies of the Church."

The first part was given to St Catherine Laboure by Our Lady when She asked the Medal to be struck. The second part is an adaptation of the prayer that St Maximillian asked the MIs to pray.

So many of the great Saints suffered scruples.
You're not alone.
The best cure, by far, is obedience.
If you don't already have a regular confessor or Spiritual Director: find one.
Then obey him.

You will have Protestants and all other manner of non-Catholics tell you that Catholicism is anything from heterodox to pagan to utter bullock excretement.
Pray for them.
Know that you possess the Fullness of Faith.
Pray.
Attend the Sacraments.
Pray the Rosary.
Go to Adroation as often as you can.

If there's anything I can do to help you, don't hesitate to contact me.
Or, if it's something a little more local, call your Parish Priest.



Know that you're in  my prayers.

A Poem by Niko

Mea Culpa

Hail and thunder knock my heart cold from the sky

Mary seems so far away.

full of deceit and empty of

grace, I go to the place

blessed by those whose lives are pure

art, like a Caravaggio, like a pieta.

Thou liveth

amongst us, we broken

women and men. why hast thou

Blessed us?

is the fruit of our sins so sweet?

of thy desires I know nothing.

womb to tomb we are nothing but cells and dirt!

Jesus.

Holy - words like butterflies from the sky

Mary I have no other hope. what is the

Mother of our depravity?

God. I cover my face. I try and fail to

pray. I am the damned and

for us damned there is no rest,

sinners until the earth rises in wrath.

now and then I am reminded that

at the hour of judgement,

of our glory, the last enemy destroyed is

death.

11/26/11
Nicko's Nature

I am a Christian.

When I say… “I am a Christian,”
I’m not shouting “I’m clean livin’.
I’m whispering “I was lost,
Now I am found and forgiven.”

When I say… “I am a Christian,”
I don’t speak this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble,
And need CHRIST to be my guide.

When I say… “I am a Christian,”
I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing I’m weak,
And need HIS strength to carry on.

When I say… “I am a Christian,”
I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting that I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.


Source

Duty of a Christian

What Hypocrisy?

Everyone who reads my other blog Kelly Thinks (a little more often) knows how much I respect the consistency and un-hypocrisy of the pro-choicers who choose to debate me.
Or, at least, how much I would if any of them were either consistent or un-hypocritical.

One of the most common objections that may be merited as real objections (there are many that cannot be merited as such) against pro-life arguments is that we never cite unbiased material.

Now, perhaps I have jumped the gun a little and the citations made to me by pro-choicers recently have not been hypocritical. Or, perhaps, they cannot be blamed for their hypocrisy. Perhaps stfuhypocrisy is really just a fan of irony; maybe stfuprolife is actually interested in non-biased material, even if it happens to show data that turns out to be in favour of not killing children.
Maybe, even though stfuprolife says that they “don’t need to know the difference between pro-life and anti-choice” and that they can “respect a pro-lifer”,[source] they just chose to have that name out of irony. Or something.

However, I think one of these two situations is much more likely: either these people don’t care that they’re being hypocritical because if we post information that only they can agree with, and they post information only they can agree with, then any undecided person only has access to one type of information. Or, with all the honesty that they can manage, the pro-choicers who have recently sent me links and citations believe that everything they send to me, the definitions that they choose to use and the reports that they choose to cite are all completely unbiased.

Here’s the thing: they aren’t.
The following is a link as part of a reply that I was recently sent by stfuprolife. The link to what they said is above.

A fetus is not a child.  It is not a person.  It is simply a potential person.  It is human, but not a human being.  It cannot be an individual if it’s not a separate being, it is depending and residing within someone else’s body.  So by definition, logic, and fact, a fetus simply cannot be considered an individual human being..

What's That?

Becoming a Saint is hard work?
Funny that.

“If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
-Jesus of Nazareth, Almighty God

“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
- Jesus of Nazreth, Almighty God

Whoever told you being a Christian was easy lied.
Anyone who has told you that it is the greatest joy possible, in this life or the next, was telling you the truth.