Last week in California, a news article reported that state legislation was passed to enable "students in California schools to compete on sports teams and use facilities, including restrooms, based on their gender identity, regardless of whether they are listed as male or female in official campus records." This basically means that if a boy believes he is a girl, despite his … [Read more...]
What is Wrong With Abortion? A Philosophical Case
Is it possible to make a case for the prima facie wrongness of killing a human fetus that does not depend on theological premises? In 1989 atheist philosopher Donald Marquis introduced a philosophical case for immorality of abortion that neither depended on the personhood nor consciousness of the fetus. Consider these five cases, borrowed from Pedro Galvão (2007): (A) The … [Read more...]
The Meaning of Marriage
A Review of The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller Sometimes perspective is everything. Against a cultural backdrop in which feminists declare marriage outdated and no longer necessary (Newsweek Magazine, “I Don’t,” June 11, 2010) even as LGBT couples clamor for it be redefined to confer on them its benefits, New York City pastor Timothy Keller, along … [Read more...]
The Ethical Life
Ethics is a wide topic that touches every facet of our individual lives and our society. I want to talk about a very small slice. The fact that ethics has, in certain cases, been boiled down to one concern – environmental ethics or how we interact with the natural world. In particular, reducing one’s carbon footprint. Let me explain. The BBC recently appointed Justin … [Read more...]
Should the State look like my Church?
What a week in politics (both US and Australian)! What was very evident to all was the passionate actions and reactions of individuals and groups within our communities on a range of topics including marriage of homosexuals and abortion. Rather than focus on the political, let me unfold a fascinating accusation that caught my attention during the war of words. … [Read more...]
Atheism and Death
A blog called Just Atheists was written by a group of atheists who tried to explore ethics and justice in the absence of a Creator who grants us those things. One author named Brian J. Sabel wrote a post in March 2008 that explored death and why he believed that a nonreligious view of death was superior to the religious one. Unfortunately, the original article is long gone. … [Read more...]
World War Z
"The monsters that rose from the dead, they are nothing compared to the ones we carry in our hearts.” Patient Zero, a 12-year-old Chinese boy, was bitten by an animal. That much is pretty clear. The how and why of the spread of the virus that reanimated the dead is a story of human ineptitude, greed, misinformation, and tragedy. In the aftermath of the war, the UN … [Read more...]
Abortion mills and Kermit Gosnell: What is the real problem?
Despite a relatively low amount of media coverage, you have likely run across the case of Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion doctor (labeled a monster) who ran what many have called a 'house of horrors' abortion mill. Last month, he was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter, and was sentenced to life in prison. But, … [Read more...]
Why does life have value, or does it?
As one who has lived in and studies multiple cultures around the world, I am often intrigued by how cultures observe and value life. In economically undeveloped or developing countries, life generally holds a low value. This view is not completely confined to these countries with first world countries now beginning to embrace a reduced value on human life as evident through … [Read more...]
The Strange Story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and the National Press (Part 4)
The decision is in and the coverage – what there was of it – is done. A jury in Philadelphia found Dr. Kermit Gosnell guilty on three counts of first-degree murder. He was charged with killing four babies and a patient, but was acquitted of killing the fourth baby. The jury also found Gosnell guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the patient’s death. The 41-year-old woman died … [Read more...]