Alan’s and Brett’s January newsletters are now posted on the website:
- Pro-Life Killing: An Oxymoron? by Alan Shlemon: “Many [pro-choicers] believe pro-lifers are being inconsistent. They claim that if we believe the unborn is a human being like every other person, then killing an abortion doctor wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. After all, their reasoning goes, if a man attempts to kill a toddler, deadly force might be justified to defend the child. Therefore, if we believe the unborn is morally equivalent to a toddler, then killing a doctor before they perform an abortion may be a permissible defensive act…. But pro-lifers neither advocate nor condone killing abortion doctors. This fact, abortion-choice advocates believe, betrays our true beliefs: We don’t think the unborn are true human beings. Therefore, we’re either inconsistent or we don’t believe what we say about the unborn. I disagree…. [D]efending a toddler with deadly force is not parallel to defending the unborn with deadly force. Three differences come to mind.” (Read more)
- Getting Students off the Sidelines and into the Game by Brett Kunkle: “When we create opportunities for students to engage, there is a vibrancy that infuses the events. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Christianity is not a spectator sport. Our teaching should not remain in a classroom or behind the four walls of the church. If we want to train students who can defend the faith not just intelligently but passionately, we need to get them in the game. Think about any sports teams. It’s the starters who are the most passionate about the game, right?... I think that’s one reason why our mission trips to Berkeley and Utah are exciting and successful. They get students in the game.” (Read more)
(You can subscribe to their newsletters here.)
Oh Alan…
>> “First, if a madman’s attempt to kill a toddler is thwarted with lethal force by a Good Samaritan, no other person would continue the effort to kill the toddler. The child’s life would be spared and no longer in harm’s way. If an abortion doctor is killed, however, a pregnant woman can seek another abortion provider to do the job. The life of the unborn would still be in jeopardy. Killing a doctor doesn’t protect the unborn the same way a toddler is protected when their killer is stopped.”
Why kill the man throwing screaming Jewish children into the oven? After all, The Nazis will just hire someone else tomorrow. Whether there are 100,000 oven operators, or 1 oven operator, this has no bearing on the question of whether or not it is wrong to shoot him and save the crying Jewish children.
>> “There is a second difference. If a person doesn’t realize their action will kill a human being, then it seems excessive to use lethal force to stop them.”
No it doesn’t Alan. The opinion of the murderer is not an issue. Consider a slave ship in which the captain was cutting up negroes to use as shark bait. Hear the screams of fear and agony--of the black men and women, as the captain hacks at their appendages. Listen to them cry to God from the ship’s deck. If the captain’s opinion was sincerely that “these niggas ain’t human” this would have no bearing on whether or not we would justify shooting him with our sniper rifle.
>> “Third, an abortion doctor is not like a killer who has a specific person as their target. Nothing short of deadly force might stop a killer. All it takes, though, for an abortionist to cease their activity is the verbal request of the woman who is seeking an abortion. She simply can change her mind and the life of the unborn is spared.”
I’m not sure what the argument here is. The fact that an assassin’s employer has the power to dial his cell phone and cease a killing spree, has no bearing on the question of if we are, or are not, justified in shooting the assassin.
Anyway, I think Alan’s post was a perfect example of the very bizarre philosophical acrobatics that Christians go through—when trying to come to grips with implications of their world view. You can see that even though they claim to “trot out the toddler,” they are more than happy to put the toddler away when things get messy.
Posted by: ToNy | January 20, 2014 at 11:05 AM