I was raised in a Mennonite community that did not observe Halloween. From its roots to its current form, we saw nothing compelling or good about it. We gave treats to oddly arrayed children on our doorstep, but we never dressed up, never went out, and did our best not to support the holiday financially or emotionally. I didn't really care; my mom didn't let us kids eat much … [Read more...]
Assessing Thomson’s Defense of Abortion
Does the personhood of foetuses give them right to life? Does that right to life override women’s rights to control what happens in and to their bodies? In A Defense of Abortion, Judith Jarvis Thomson argued that even if we grant that foetuses are persons and thus have a right to life, it does not follow that they have the right to use the pregnant women’s bodies. Thomson's … [Read more...]
If the unborn aren't human, then neither am I
I’ve grown up in a culture where abortion is commonplace. Furthermore, I risk being branded as intolerant, immoral, or worse for questioning this practice. Be that as it may, I’ve never clearly understood the logic of abortion. Why, in Canada, is it morally acceptable to terminate a normal pregnancy but morally unacceptable to euthanize a healthy happy two-year old girl? The … [Read more...]
Stem Cell Research
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Scripture for YouVersion: Short audio/video: Three questions (1 fill-in-the-blank, 1 multiple choice, and one discussion question): References for further reading: Collaboration notes: Collaborators: [Add your name … [Read more...]
Pro-Life
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Scripture for YouVersion: Psalm 127:3 Short audio/video: Three questions (1 fill-in-the-blank, 1 multiple choice, and one discussion question): References for further reading: Defense of the Pro-life position: Edwin … [Read more...]
Pro-Family
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Often missed in the debate over the meaning of marriage is the question, “What is marriage?” Before a meaningful debate can be had over any issue, terms must be defined. Marriage, from a secular view,can be defined … [Read more...]
Creation Care
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Scripture for YouVersion: Short audio/video: Three questions (1 fill-in-the-blank, 1 multiple choice, and one discussion question): References for further reading: Collaboration notes: Collaborators: [Add your name … [Read more...]
Church & State
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Scripture for YouVersion: Short audio/video: Three questions (1 fill-in-the-blank, 1 multiple choice, and one discussion question): References for further reading: Collaboration notes: Need to address just war and … [Read more...]
Is Abortion Women’s Right To Control Their Bodies?
Women’s rights clearly include their right to health and to make fully informed decisions regarding their bodies. Does a woman's right to decide what she will and will not do with her body extend to cover actions affecting the fetus who may reside in her body? Does a woman’s right to control her own reproduction include a right to induced abortion? Granting the notion that our … [Read more...]
Abortion and A Flawed Brain-life Theory
Tracking Baruch Brody’s view, brain-life theorists claim that, being fully human, a being must possess properties “such that their loss would mean the going out of existence (the death) of a human being”(Brody 1975, 102). The property of being human, they argued, is human brain function. J Savulescu, for example, contended: If we cease to exist when our brain dies, we only … [Read more...]