tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post8009986139925032813..comments2024-03-09T00:51:33.602-07:00Comments on Little Catholic Bubble: There is nothing beautiful and precious about being a meaningless piece of meat headed for total annihilation. Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comBlogger417125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-21048679904291585652013-11-20T09:20:57.128-07:002013-11-20T09:20:57.128-07:00Whoops, ha ha! Ignore that last comment of mine. A...Whoops, ha ha! Ignore that last comment of mine. Although my points are still valid, I realize that somehow I was responding to a comment that was posted months ago! It came up on my email and I thought it was from today. That was weird. Apologies!Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-64984706110787593492013-11-20T09:19:03.909-07:002013-11-20T09:19:03.909-07:00AJL, you entirely missed the point of the article,...AJL, you entirely missed the point of the article, which was in no way arguing what is "real" or not. In fact, you must have skipped the very last part, where I agree to stipulate (for sake of argument only) that God does not exist. <br /><br />So, please re-read the article, carefully.Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-62228318021072245622013-02-11T07:14:20.094-07:002013-02-11T07:14:20.094-07:00"Time for the LGBT lobby to take a collective..."Time for the LGBT lobby to take a collective long cold shower, I think."<br /><br />I see. So the church is not going to shift its position on LGBT equality. The parts just don't fit. Thanks for your clarification.<br /><br />BTW I am not part of a lobby, in fact I disagree with lobbyists of every kind. That is not the solution. I am merely a concerned citizen acting alone from my home.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-35317821181542708992013-02-10T21:43:27.294-07:002013-02-10T21:43:27.294-07:00By the way, the Church never "changed her min...By the way, the Church never "changed her mind" on slavery. It has never, ever been taught as a good. <br /><br />The Bible says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil." <br /><br />When something has been called evil (sinful) for 2,000 years, woe to the person who would reverse that and suddenly call evil good. God is not a moral relativist, and neither is His Church. <br /><br />We should all thank God for that! The path is clear for us, we know what is virtue and we know what is sin. Christ said we'd have a cross to carry, but that his grace would make it light.Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-91694365636707955802013-02-10T21:39:18.991-07:002013-02-10T21:39:18.991-07:00Francis, very true. I was just dialoguing with a t...Francis, very true. I was just dialoguing with a transgendered person, and assured this person that the moral law is unchanging. The Church will never change her teaching on this or any other point of the universal moral law, just as she has not for the last 2,000 years. You can bet your last breath on it. <br /><br />The Church is not interested in the spirit of the age, and sexual sin is sexual sin. <br /><br />Anyone who wants to build their house on shifting sand and changing morals only need move a bit to the Protestant communities, where one can find any morality of any flavor. Whatever is to your liking. But, as a comfort to millions upon millions (including homosexuals who want holiness more than any earthly thing), the Church is built on a Rock and will not be shifting. It is sure ground, and it's God's gift to humanity. Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-78370407083556921362013-02-10T21:03:03.457-07:002013-02-10T21:03:03.457-07:00citizensunited,
What do you mean by the term &quo...citizensunited,<br /><br />What do you mean by the term "LGBT equality"?<br /><br />Do you mean people with physical attributes other than those of a straight male or female, or sexual tendencies other than heterosexual, are currently deemed as not equal to others in dignity and worth in the eyes of God or His Church?<br /><br />Or do you mean unions and sexual acts other than procreative acts are not deemed the same as those of heterosexual couples in the eyes of God and His Church?<br /><br />If you think the former, you are wrong. In God's eyes, and in the eyes of His Church, ALL His children are equal in worth and dignity.<br /><br />If you think the latter, you are right. God's plan, of which you speak, is abundantly clear in matters of sex and procreation - made clear by the fact that "male and female he created them". Men and women are equal-but-different in many respects, including physically, to each other. By virtue of these differences they are complementary creatures, who unite to become "one flesh". Two men or two women (or whatever) are not complementary. The parts just don't fit - quite literally. <br /><br />So no, God's plan in this regard is not waiting at all to be revealed, clarified or amended. In fact it has been clear (via the natural order - despite any exceptions/aberrations) way before organized religion came along. And it has been working from time immemorial to propagate and nurture the human race. Adding manufactured constructs like "gay marriage" to it would not only do nothing to enhance it, but would instead undermine its very (strong and clear) foundations. There are very solid reasons why all the three great monotheistic faiths - (ancient) Judaism, (authentic) Christianity and Islam reject these bizarre modern day connotations of LGBT equality - in their aspect of encouraging every manner of sexual indulgence/experimentation and the re-engineering of the most basic, essential and life giving concepts of marriage and family, and ultimately, society itself.<br /><br />Comparing the withholding of societal blessings to sex and unions willy-nilly to denial of a human being's rights via slavery has to one of the most bizarre comparisons I've ever heard. Time for the LGBT lobby to take a collective long cold shower, I think.Francis Choudhuryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01146223983345452362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-28445796532860898952013-02-10T19:28:46.763-07:002013-02-10T19:28:46.763-07:00"In other words, when reading the Bible we mu..."In other words, when reading the Bible we must bear in mind the particular stage of God's plan that a passage deals with. We cannot simply take a passage at random and claim that it is a direct expression of God's will for all ages or for our own."<br /><br />I for one cannot wait until we reach the particular stage of God's plan that includes LGBT equality. If they can change their minds about slavery then surely we will see the church change stance on this one in the future. If not my generation then some future generation will see it come to pass.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-19276002290321735362013-02-10T17:24:48.008-07:002013-02-10T17:24:48.008-07:00Andre,
(Please forgive me if someone else has touc...Andre,<br />(Please forgive me if someone else has touched upon this, I have not read all the comments), but awhile back you said, "I don't think there is any evidence that the mind is anything other than a manifestation of the the brain." <br /><br />Have you ever heard of Dr. Sam Parnia and the work he has done researching out of body experiences, both from the point of view of the doctors at the bedside and the patients themselves. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1842627,00.html<br />maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05613163382453563548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-73291154127283710092013-02-10T14:36:01.661-07:002013-02-10T14:36:01.661-07:00Andre, in case you are still there, my friend and ...Andre, in case you are still there, my friend and a published Bible teacher (well, I would call her a Bible scholar, but she is too humble to let me), Gayle Somers, gives some food for thought on the slavery question:<br /><br /><i>Leila,<br /><br />Christians believe that God's revelation to man came in stages throughout history. When we see in the Old Testament that He allowed slavery, divorce, and genocide, we moderns cringe. We should ask ourselves why we cringe. What is it in the way we think about human life now that makes these things seem wrong? What was it that entered into the stream of human history that changed our minds, since all cultures everywhere in ancient history practiced them? Did God's slow revelation of Himself, within time and history, eventually teach us to reject these things? Did the religion of the Jews, which really began when Moses delivered the Israelites out of 400 years of bondage as slaves in an idolatrous land, gradually develop into a highly ethical and, for that reason, winsome religion that attracted even Gentile believers?<br /><br />The answer to these questions is yes. In the early years of the Israelites, God permitted practices we now deem wrong, although I would suggest that He curtailed and constrained them in a humane direction. Slavery was a universally common practice in the days when Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Does slavery mean that God is bad, or that man is bad? Speaking of slavery, I find it ironic that a person would pick out these particular passages as evidence of a bad God but would overlook the fact that these rules were given after God had delivered His people from slavery AND, when they broke their covenant with Him in the worship of the golden calf, forgave them and continued His plan for them. Does it make sense to pick out all the things in the OT we think are evidence of God's malevolence and yet skip over all the episodes of His forgiveness, long-suffering, kindness, and love?<br /><br />If one is going to use the history of the Jews as a basis for deciding if God is good or bad, then we will have to use ALL that history. It leads up to Jesus, God in the flesh, coming to His people and to all men, to show us God's face and prove to us God's love. I would suggest that it was Christianity's claim of the dignity of human life (proven by the willing sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf) that, over time, became part of the air we all breathe and which now, even for atheists, makes things like slavery seem bad. </i><br />Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-82801334641713013292013-02-10T12:40:37.248-07:002013-02-10T12:40:37.248-07:00Francis, good point!! Don't we wish! After all...Francis, good point!! Don't we wish! After all, considering how precious and special it is that any of us are here, who are the "bigger folks" to squash out that embryos only chance at this moment in the sun, a chance to be in awe of their good fortune for existing at all? It seems very, very unjust, and I mean that sincerely. I would love an atheist to address how it is a moral thing to do.Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-83048168778190175832013-02-10T10:26:43.092-07:002013-02-10T10:26:43.092-07:00Leila,
That was an interesting article! This bit ...Leila,<br /><br />That was an interesting article! This bit intrigued me the most: "There is also a sermon, of sorts, on the day's theme of "wonder", which sees Dr Harry Cliff, a particle physicist from Cambridge, talking about Dirac's equation predicting antimatter ("the most amazing theory in history") and the enormous statistical odds against the universe existing in the first place." Odds against! Hey, that sounds suspiciously like a closet creationist might've infiltrated the ranks of this "godless church"! :)<br /><br />Anyway, given that some atheists are now more keenly aware of the profound beauty, preciousness, specialness and uniqueness of life (sans any afterlife) we can reasonably expect they'll soon be out in force protecting, defending and facilitating it for every human being, at every stage, from conception to death, right?Francis Choudhuryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01146223983345452362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-89608842835511576472013-02-10T08:06:37.101-07:002013-02-10T08:06:37.101-07:00Johanne, agreed! It is just interesting that I see...Johanne, agreed! It is just interesting that I see a trend, and that this is perhaps a new "talking point" of some atheists. I had heard it before, but then when, in the space of about a week, I heard it from someone here on the blog AND as a headline about an atheist "church" from a UK paper, I was very intrigued by this phenomenon! (The link to the UK article is in the OP, just click the fourth quote.)Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-39009308353724128522013-02-10T01:32:51.125-07:002013-02-10T01:32:51.125-07:00Johanne,
"Are you saying that all atheists m...Johanne,<br /><br />"Are you saying that all atheists make that claim, or that a certain group of atheists do? Because I doubt that most atheists would claim that their world view is more beautiful. I don't doubt Leila's source, but I know many atheists and I have never heard one of them say that. There are a LOT of atheists in the world and it's impossible to paint them all with one stroke".<br /><br />You are right, only some atheists make such claims - either directly or by insinuation. I agree there are all sorts of atheists in the world, ranging from the reasoned (although dismissive of a lot of sound reasoning), honest and polite, to the flaky, "know it all" and often rude/dismissive types. I happen to personally know only a few, and they're all decent human beings, except none of them (to my observation, by the way they go about their lives) seem to possess any sort of deep seated peace/equanimity - but that could be just a co-incidence. Or maybe it's because atheists don't have occasion to "sit" and ponder transcendental things which can lead to inner stillness. Besides, there are lots of people of faith (or allegedly of faith) in a beneficent and providential God, whose lives are hardly characterized by "peace and good".Francis Choudhuryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01146223983345452362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-22617880957990139302013-02-10T00:59:14.499-07:002013-02-10T00:59:14.499-07:00Sounds like you want to end this discussion, but I...Sounds like you want to end this discussion, but I want to respond to <br />Francis:<br /><br /><i>Leila's question: as to how a world without God is actually more meaningful or beautiful than one with (even an imaginary) eternal God - as claimed by atheists.</i><br /><br />Are you saying that all atheists make that claim, or that a certain group of atheists do? Because I doubt that most atheists would claim that their world view is more beautiful. I don't doubt Leila's source, but I know many atheists and I have never heard one of them say that. There are a LOT of atheists in the world and it's impossible to paint them all with one stroke.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-52956904416708309232013-02-09T23:42:33.830-07:002013-02-09T23:42:33.830-07:00Johanne, I did a quick check… can you believe it, ...Johanne, I did a quick check… can you believe it, I have several posts with more comments! Crazy! One that I didn't even remember, ha ha!Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-74917955114542509432013-02-09T23:34:15.720-07:002013-02-09T23:34:15.720-07:00Wow, Leila. Is this the longest thread you've ...Wow, Leila. Is this the longest thread you've ever had?<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-52558370664255140872013-02-09T23:23:55.413-07:002013-02-09T23:23:55.413-07:00Francis, very good questions indeed.Francis, very good questions indeed.Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-16486027705476061682013-02-09T20:08:54.925-07:002013-02-09T20:08:54.925-07:00It's quite amazing that despite the many thous...It's quite amazing that despite the many thousands of words which have been written in this thread, the most basic questions raised therein remain virtually unaddressed:<br />1) Leila's question: as to how a world without God is actually more meaningful or beautiful than one with (even an imaginary) eternal God - as claimed by atheists.<br />2) My question: what exactly constitutes the "love" which, it seems to be universally agreed, helps to make the world a better place? What exactly is the nature and origin of love, keeping particularly in mind its aspects of forgiving, and indeed, loving even one's enemy?Francis Choudhuryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01146223983345452362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-57531764833086813802013-02-09T14:04:25.939-07:002013-02-09T14:04:25.939-07:00Alas, all good things must come to an end. I feel ...<i>Alas, all good things must come to an end. I feel like I've strayed far from my goal, which was just provide a atheist view of the OP. What started with both sides exchanging views in good faith seems to have soured. </i><br /><br />I don't understand this at all. We were getting somewhere. And, what was the final conclusion about the "beauty" of the atheist world to the suffering who have no hope and will die alone and unloved? Will someone admit to me that that is NOT a beautiful world to them? That they have no meaning, no purpose, except to suffer and die? <br /><br />Or does atheism only work "beautifully" in the First World? <br /><br />These are not trick questions, folks. I am looking for honesty.<br /><br />I can honestly admit that living a Christian life of heroic virtue is <i>hard</i> (but ultimately worth it). Why can't an atheist admit the complete ugliness of the world to those who suffer and die alone and in agony? <br /><br />Anyway, I appreciate the good faith that I do think went into this, and I did learn from it. <br /><br />Blessings!<br />Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-5801436105011977792013-02-09T13:48:37.195-07:002013-02-09T13:48:37.195-07:00Andre, this link describes how an ectopic pregnanc...Andre, <a href="http://www.all.org/article/index/id/MjYxOA" rel="nofollow">this link</a> describes how an ectopic pregnancy can be treated, morally, without directly killing the baby. <br /><br />As for Savita Halappanavar, were you aware that the original reporter who broke the story (several days after the fact) fabricated several elements of it? It seems neither Savita nor her husband ever requested an abortion (or were denied one). <br /><br />Furthermore, based on known facts, Savita died due to medical incompetence. She should have been given antibiotics the minute she was admitted, but she was not. She could have had her labor induced to remove the diseased organ (the placenta) and deliver the baby even pre-viability - completely moral under the principle of double effect -- but that was not done either. <br /><br />See <a href="http://www.savitatruth.com/" rel="nofollow">here </a>for more information, and before you selfishly use the tragic story of a dead woman and her dead child to further your abortion advocacy.<br /><br />Do you think that the 140 OB-GYN and MFM specalists who attended the Dublin conference were unaware of ectopic pregnancy and its treatments? Where did you get your medical degree, if I may ask?JoAnna Wahlundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09942928659520676271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-58213773996442162482013-02-09T13:34:04.209-07:002013-02-09T13:34:04.209-07:00continued…
The heroism of Father Kolbe went echoi...continued…<br /><br /><i>The heroism of Father Kolbe went echoing through Auschwitz. In that desert of hatred he had sown love. Mr Jozef Stemler, former director of an important cultural institute in Poland, comments: 'In those conditions ... in the midst of a brutalization of thought and feeling and words such as had never before been known, man indeed became a ravening wolf in his relations with other men. And into this state of affairs came the heroic self-sacrifice of Fr Maximilian. The atmosphere grew lighter, as this thunderbolt provoked its profound and salutary shock.' Jerzy Bielecki declared that Fr Kolbe's death was 'a shock filled with hope, bringing new life and strength.... It was like a powerful shaft of light in the darkness of the camp.'<br /><br />His reputation spread far and wide, through the Nazi camps and beyond. After the war newspapers all over the world were deluged with articles about this 'saint for our times', 'saint of progress', 'giant of holiness'. Biographies were written, and everywhere there were claims of cures being brought about through his intercession. 'The life and death of this one man alone', wrote the Polish bishops, 'can be proof and witness of the fact that the love of God can overcome the greatest hatred, the greatest injustice, even death itself.' The demands for his beatification became insistent, and at last on 12 August 1947 proceedings started. Seventy-five witnesses were questioned. His cause was introduced on 16 March 1960. When all the usual objections had been overcome, the promoter spoke of 'the charm of this magnificent fool'. On 17 October 1971 Maximilian Kolbe was beatified. Like his master Jesus Christ he had loved his fellow-men to the point of sacrificing his life for them. 'Greater love hath no man than this ... and these were the opening words of the papal decree introducing the process of beatification.</i><br /><br />From:<br />http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/kolbe2.htmLeila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-34314191646437523532013-02-09T13:33:30.347-07:002013-02-09T13:33:30.347-07:00continued…
Bruno Borgowiec was an eye-witness of ...continued…<br /><br /><i>Bruno Borgowiec was an eye-witness of those last terrible days, for he was an assistant to the janitor and an interpreter in the underground Bunkers. He tells us what happened: 'In the cell of the poor wretches there were daily loud prayers, the rosary and singing, in which prisoners from neighbouring cells also joined. When no S. S. men were in the Block I went to the Bunker to talk to the men and comfort them. Fervent prayers and songs to the Holy Mother resounded in all the corridors of the Bunker. I had the impression I was in a church. Fr Kolbe was leading and the prisoners responded in unison. They were often so deep in prayer that they did not even hear that inspecting S. S. men had descended to the Bunker; and the voices fell silent only at the loud yelling of their visitors. When the cells were opened the poor wretches cried loudly and begged for a piece of bread and for water, which they did not receive, however. If any of the stronger ones approached the door he was immediately kicked in the stomach by the S. S. men, so that falling backwards on the cement floor he was instantly killed; or he was shot to death ... Fr Kolbe bore up bravely, he did not beg and did not complain but raised the spirits of the others.... Since they had grown very weak, prayers were now only whispered. At every inspection, when almost all the others were now lying on the floor, Fr Kolbe was seen kneeling or standing in the centre as he looked cheerfully in the face of the S. S. men. Two weeks passed in this way. Meanwhile one after another they died, until only Fr Kolbe was left. This the authorities felt was too long; the cell was needed for new victims. So one day they brought in the head of the sick-quarters, a German, a common criminal named Bock, who gave Fr Kolbe an injection of carbolic acid in the vein of his left arm. Fr Kolbe, with a prayer on his lips, himself gave his arm to the executioner. Unable to watch this I left under the pretext of work to be done. Immediately after the S. S. men with the executioner had left I returned to the cell, where I found Fr Kolbe leaning in a sitting position against the back wall with his eyes open and his head drooping sideways. His face was calm and radiant.'</i><br /><br />to be continued...<br />Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-82506138296440177172013-02-09T13:31:35.366-07:002013-02-09T13:31:35.366-07:00continued….
There remained only the last act in t...continued….<br /><br /><i>There remained only the last act in the drama. The events are recorded in the sworn testimonials of former inmates of the camp, collected as part of the beatification proceedings. They are as follows:<br /><br />Tadeusz Joachimowski, clerk of Block 14A: 'In the summer of 1941, most probably on the last day of July, the camp siren announced that there had been an escape. At the evening roll-call of the same day we, i.e. Block 14A, were formed up in the street between the buildings of Blocks 14 and 17. After some delay we were joined by a group of the Landwirtschafts-Kommando. During the count it was found that three prisoners from this Kommando had escaped: one from our Block and the two others from other Blocks. Lagerfuhrer Fritzsch announced that on account of the escape of the three prisoners, ten prisoners would be picked in reprisal from the blocks in which the fugitives had lived and would be assigned to the Bunker (the underground starvation cell).' Jan Jakub Szegidewicz takes up the story from there: 'After the group of doomed men had already been selected, a prisoner stepped out from the ranks of one of the Blocks. I recognized Father Kolbe. Owing to my poor knowledge of German I did not understand what they talked about, nor do I remember whether Fr Kolbe spoke directly to Fritzsch. When making his request, Fr Kolbe stood at attention and pointed at a former non-commissioned officer known to me from the camp. It could be inferred from the expression on Fritzsch's face that he was surprised at Fr Kolbe's action. As the sign was given, Fr Kolbe joined the ranks of the doomed and the non-commissioned officer left the ranks of the doomed and resumed his place in his Block; which meant that Fritzsch had consented to the exchange. A little later the doomed men were marched off in the direction of Block 13, the death Block.'<br /><br />The non-commissioned officer was Franciszek Gajowniczek. When the sentence of doom had been pronounced, Gajowniczek had cried out in despair, 'O my poor wife, my poor children. I shall never see them again.' It was then that the unexpected had happened, and that from among the ranks of those temporarily reprieved, prisoner 16670 had stepped forward and offered himself in the other man's place. Then the ten condemned men were led off to the dreaded Bunker, to the airless underground cells where men died slowly without food or water.<br /><br /></i><br /><br />to be continued….Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-47050630979393660812013-02-09T13:30:35.093-07:002013-02-09T13:30:35.093-07:00Leila,
"Nope, sorry. Ectopic pregnancy is no...Leila,<br /><br />"Nope, sorry. Ectopic pregnancy is not treated with direct abortion."<br /><br />From the previous link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ectopic_pregnancy):<br /><br />Early treatment of an ectopic pregnancy with methotrexate is a viable alternative to surgical treatment[22] since at least 1993.[23] If administered early in the pregnancy, methotrexate terminates the growth of the developing embryo; this may cause an abortion, or the tissue may then be either resorbed by the woman's body or pass with a menstrual period.<br /><br />Surgeons use laparoscopy or laparotomy to gain access to the pelvis and can either incise the affected Fallopian and remove only the pregnancy (salpingostomy) or remove the affected tube with the pregnancy (salpingectomy).<br /><br />You'll find similar here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ectopic-pregnancy/DS00622/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs and http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1352113<br /><br />In the end, I don't care what your definition of abortion is, so long as it doesn't prevent women from getting treatments in situations like these. However, I should note that the confusion this sows makes that less likely, and can have terrible results: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Savita_Halappanavar <br /><br />"You think, then..."<br /><br />Let me stop you right there, given your terrible track record with drawing conclusions about what I think. <br /><br />Alas, all good things must come to an end. I feel like I've strayed far from my goal, which was just provide a atheist view of the OP. What started with both sides exchanging views in good faith seems to have soured. I want to thank you for your thoughts and your time (all of you).<br /><br />-Best,<br />AndreAndre Boillothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05104610920227126110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240447238522390484.post-13178563885500485152013-02-09T13:30:05.123-07:002013-02-09T13:30:05.123-07:00More of his transcendent holiness:
On 17 February...More of his transcendent holiness:<br /><br /><i>On 17 February 1941 he was arrested and sent to the infamous Pawiak prison in Warsaw. Here he was singled out for special ill-treatment. A witness tells us that in March of that year an S. S. guard, seeing this man in his habit girdled with a rosary, asked if he believed in Christ. When the priest calmly replied 'I do', the guard struck him. The S. S. man repeated his question several times and receiving always the same answer went on beating him mercilessly. Shortly afterwards the Franciscan habit was taken away and a prisoner's garment was substituted.<br /><br />On 28 May Fr Maximilian was with over 300 others who were deported from Pawiak to Auschwitz. There he received his striped convict's garments and was branded with the number 16670. He was put to work immediately carrying blocks of stone for the construction of a crematorium wall. On the last day of May he was assigned with other priests to the Babice section which was under the direction of 'Bloody' Krott, an ex-criminal. 'These men are lay-abouts and parasites', said the Commandant to Krott, 'get them working.' Krott forced the priests to cut and carry huge tree-trunks. The work went on all day without a stop and had to be done running—with the aid of vicious blows from the guards. Despite his one lung, Father Maximilian accepted the work and the blows with surprising calm. Krott conceived a relentless hatred against the Franciscan and gave him heavier tasks than the others. Sometimes his colleagues would try to come to his aid but he would not expose them to danger. Always he replied, 'Mary gives me strength. All will be well.' At this time he wrote to his mother, 'Do not worry about me or my health, for the good Lord is everywhere and holds every one of us in his great love.'<br /><br />One day Krott found some of the heaviest planks he could lay hold of and personally loaded them on the Franciscan's back, ordering him to run. When he collapsed, Krott kicked him in the stomach and face and had his men give him fifty lashes. When the priest lost consciousness Krott threw him in the mud and left him for dead. But his companions managed to smuggle him to the Revier, the camp hospital. Although he was suffering greatly, he secretly heard confessions in the hospital and spoke to the other inmates of the love of God. In Auschwitz, where hunger and hatred reigned and faith evaporated, this man opened his heart to others and spoke of God's infinite love. He seemed never to think of himself. When food was brought in and everyone struggled to get his place in the queue so as to be sure of a share, Fr Maximilian stood aside, so that frequently there was none left for him. At other times he shared his meagre ration of soup or bread with others. He was once asked whether such self-abnegation made sense in a place where every man was engaged in a struggle for survival, and he answered: 'Every man has an aim in life. For most men it is to return home to their wives and families, or to their mothers. For my part, I give my life for the good of all men.'<br /><br />Men gathered in secret to hear his words of love and encouragement, but it was his example which counted for most. Fr Zygmunt Rusczak remembers: 'Each time I saw Father Kolbe in the courtyard I felt within myself an extraordinary effusion of his goodness. Although he wore the same ragged clothes as the rest of us, with the same tin can hanging from his belt, one forgot this wretched exterior and was conscious only of the charm of his inspired countenance and of his radiant holiness.'</i><br /><br />to be continued….Leila@LittleCatholicBubblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09357573787143230160noreply@blogger.com