Fountain of Reason

In a Philosophy discussion forum recently, various issues concerning Abortion and Right to Life were discussed. An angle of tackling the issues philosophically, in the mix of various beliefs and opinions, was floated for exploration, various seemingly compelling excuses being put in focus. The following thoughts and questions are the areas in the Discussion Article that I felt I had to react to, and this I have done here – after the box. * However, I think to say there is no middle ground is incorrect. Even when I firmly denounce an action such as murder, I recognize that in addition to possibly supporting the action someone could hold a more moderate position and neither firmly support nor firmly denounce an action. * Because of their obvious ability to easily lead to passionate disagreement and violence, I think we need to approach these issues as philosophically as possible. We have so many different issues intertwined with each other, upon which ...

                               “The times are fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.” (NJB) This statement was made when Jesus Christ went to Galilee to start his ministry and that was at the time directly after the arrest of John the Baptist. “The time is fulfilled: for the take-off of that gospel that God promised long ago through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Romans 1:1-2) and we know that promise of God is the ultimate good. The ultimate good it is, this promise of God, because it is that of “ …the coming of the One most venerable who gave judgment in favour of the holy ones of the Most High, when the time came for the holy ones to assume kingship ” (Daniel 7: 22) at the fullness of time.   The fullness of time (Gal 4:4) is what is here fulfilled and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) Commentary says that “fulfillme...

If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. ... And if Christ has not been raised, your faith gives you nothing and you are still in sin. .. Also, those who fall asleep in Christ are lost. If it is only for this life that we hope in Christ, we are the most unfortunate of all people" (1 Cor. 15:16-19). Commenting on the first twenty verses of the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, the commentary writers for the Christian Community Bible put it thus: "Have we here the responses to a last question of the Corinthians? Many Greeks thought that at death the immortal soul leaves the body and remains alone. What is admitted to the paradise of souls? Did it come to the great reservoir of souls already gone or who were to return, forgetting all the past lives lived on earth? Others held (as do a good number of Christians today), that all ends with deat h.... Paul will, therefore remind the Corinthians that faith in the resurrection...