TresSugar

Holy Birth Control! Vatican Issues Instructions on Bioethics

LibertySugar — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:00:53 -0800

Hoping to catch the attention of Roman Catholics, doctors, scientists, and lawmakers, the Vatican has issued a 32-page instruction document on bioethics. The Church's steadfast pro-life position, that all life is sacred including an embryo, informs the document "Dignitas Personae" (The Dignity of the Person).

Some positions include:

On in vitro fertilization, human cloning, genetic testing of embryos before implantation: These procedures violate the principle that every human life is sacred, and that children should be conceived only through sex by a married couple.
On stem cell research: Research should not be done on embryos, but using cells derived from adults, blood from umbilical cords, or from fetuses “who have died of natural causes” is acceptable.

To find out what the Church thinks about the morning-after pill and freezing embryos, read more.

On the morning after pill: The morning-after pill, the IUD, and RU 486, can result in what amounts to abortions.
On freezing embryos: It exposes embryos to potential damage and manipulation, and raises the problem of what to do with frozen embryos that are not implanted.

In an age where medical technology rapidly advances, the Church could play a crucial role in reflecting on how to preserve human dignity. Of course, the Church is only one participant in the dialogue, and disagreement with its positions allows society to sort through the murky waters of bioethics.

Do you think the document offers a useful perspective, or should families, lawmakers, and scientist ignore everything they have to say?

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Soldiers' Graves Graffitied on Islamic Festival of Sacrifice

LibertySugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:30:53 -0800

Anti-Islamic insults desecrated at least 500 tombstones of Muslim soldiers in France's largest military cemetery. The racist graffiti attack took place on the eve of today's Islamic Eid al-Adha festival (the festival of sacrifice), a day when Muslims visit the graves of loved ones. Each grave was marked with either a swastika, or a letter that helped spell out derogatory messages.

Many of the soldiers whose memories were affronted died fighting for France during the battles of World War I, but their resting place has battled racist attacks during recent times. This is the third attack directed toward Muslims on this site in the last two years.

Considering France has Europe's largest Muslim population, do you think these types of hostile actions will increase or decrease?

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Should New US Capitol Visitor Center Honor God?

LibertySugar — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:00:01 -0800

If the US is really one nation under God, maybe its fancy new Capitol Visitor Center should honor the country's religious heritage. That's what South Carolina's Republican Senator Jim DeMint thinks, and he has issued a statement to express his disappointment with the facility that opened yesterday. He stated:

The current CVC displays are left-leaning and in some cases distort our true history. Exhibits portray the federal government as the fulfillment of human ambition and the answer to all of society’s problems. This is a clear departure from acknowledging that Americans’ rights "are endowed by their Creator" and stem from "a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence." Instead, the CVC’s most prominent display proclaims faith not in God, but in government. Visitors will enter reading a large engraving that states, "We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution." This is an intentional misrepresentation of our nation’s real history, and an offensive refusal to honor America's God-given blessing.

Planners ignored Sen. DeMint's request to feature the words "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance at the center. Absent references to religious heritage, does the Capitol Visitor Center misrepresent America for the sake of political correctness, or is it appropriate that religious references stay outside the new building?

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Chief Rabbis Call For Prayer to End Financial Crisis

LibertySugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:00:54 -0800

While Americans give thanks tomorrow, Israel's top rabbis have called for mass prayer rallies across Israel to help end the global financial crisis. Jewish religious institutions have been hit hard by the economic downturn, as fundraising efforts in the US and Europe have proved futile.

This past summer, religious leaders in the US held gas station-side prayer vigils in an attempt to reduce pain at the pump. Considering gas prices have dropped to 2004 levels, those who pray for solutions may be onto something.

With the US government prepared to spend as much as $7.4 trillion on the financial mess to no obvious avail, perhaps it's time to start pursuing cheaper options.

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Bush Touts Religious Freedom and US Record at UN

LibertySugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:30:35 -0800

Speaking at the UN Culture of Peace gathering, President Bush emphasized how religious freedom is crucial to a flourishing society. Bush maintained that freedom to worship as you want is "God's gift to every man, woman, and child."

Bush cited the US as an example of how to promote religious freedom:

Our nation has helped defend the religious liberty of others, from liberating the concentration camps of Europe to protecting Muslims in places like Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. We're not afraid to stand with religious dissidents and believers who practice their faith even where it is unwelcome.

At the meeting billed as an "interfaith" dialogue, the president of Pakistan also spoke out against hate speech, saying: "The imaginary fear of Islam has been rising. This is exactly what the terrorists had hoped to provoke. Those in the West who accept this are falling into the trap of the terrorists."

As this was most likely Bush's last appearance at the UN, do you think he went out with the right message?

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New Holiday Ad Tells You to Be Good, but Not For God's Sake

LibertySugar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:30:06 -0800

"Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness's sake." That's the message about to be proclaimed on the side of Washington, DC buses this holiday season. Firing the first shot in what could shape up to be a hard-fought War on Christmas, the American Humanists Association is ready to claim a little holiday turf from traditional religions.

Following in the footsteps of its British counterparts who put atheist ads on London buses, the humanist group hopes the American version will bring some holiday cheer to atheists and agnostics feeling left out during the holiday season. The American Family Association, which wants to keep Christ in Christmas, thinks it's a "stupid ad." To find out what the group had to say the merit of the ad's message, read more.

The president of the American Family Association said: "How do we define 'good' if we don't believe in God? God in his word, the Bible, tells us what's good and bad and right and wrong. If we are each defining what's good, it's going to be a crazy world."

If celebrations like Hanukkah and Christmas are rooted in religious beliefs, should atheists just expect to feel a little lonely during the holidays, or are the holidays for the religious and nonreligious alike?

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Prolife Groups Plan Three-Day Protest After Dems Take Power

CitizenSugar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:30:00 -0800

Without many of their own in national office, the prolife movement plans to relocate to grassroots activism and street- and abortion clinic-side protests. Beginning Jan. 21, the day after Barack Obama is sworn in, groups will hold a three-day protest in Washington, DC.

Speaking about prochoice gains in Congress and the defeat of various state-ballot measures that would limit abortion, Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, said "The hardline, divisive tactics they've used have been resoundingly rejected. . . . I'd hope some of the folks on the right, if their goal is to reduce the need for abortions, would link arms with us."

But not all those dedicated to the prolife movement are ready to join hands with their previous adversaries. Sean O'Malley, the cardinal-archbishop of Boston, and longtime civil rights activist, is concerned about Obama's record on abortion. To see what strong words he had for Planned Parenthood at the opening of the US Conference of Bishops, read more.

Cardinal O'Malley described his feelings about the election of the first-black US president this week:

My joy, however, is tempered by the knowledge that this man has a deplorable record when it comes to prolife issues, and is possibly in the pocket of Planned Parenthood, which, in its origins, was a very racist organization to eliminate the blacks, and it's sort of ironic that he's been co-opted by them.

Considering last week's election results, do you foresee a future in which the prolife and prochoice movements work together to reduce the number of abortions?

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Religious Hate Crimes Down, Except Against Jews

LibertySugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:00:58 -0700

With last week's news that Missouri sixth-graders had organized "Hit a Jew Day," it appears a new generation of children are being exposed to hateful attitudes towards the traditionally targeted minority.

The total number of religiously motivated hate crimes dropped in 2007, yet the number of crimes directed against a people because of their Jewish religion increased from 2006.

Of the 1,477 crimes perpetrated against victims because of their religion in 2007, 68 percent of them were against Jews. Comparatively, only nine percent of those crimes were perpetrated against Muslims.

Crimes based on race still make up the biggest proportion of hate crimes. While it's promising that overall religious tolerance is growing, let's hope more Americans avoid violence based on hate.

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Islam's New Forbidden Isms - Tomboyism and Lesbianism

LibertySugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:00:15 -0700

At a meeting to discuss social threats to Muslims in Malaysia, a fatwa - scholarly opinion on Islamic law - was issued that forbids women to act like men. According to the ruling, women should not cut their hair short nor walk, talk, or otherwise act like men.

The fatwa, however, is not legally binding so it's not illegal to act masculine, just immoral. The chairman of the National Fatwa Council said these women were denying their femininity and violating human nature. To explain the ruling, he said:

It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear. . . It becomes clearer when they start to have sex with someone of the same gender.

While lesbian sex is not illegal either, sodomy is an offense that is punctuated with a 20-year sentence. But in a country like Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion, a fatwa can hold as much power as the law, and many lawyers believe this is a push to put lesbianism on the other side of it.

Considering masculinity and femininity is a spectrum - defined by culture - I do wonder how far this can go.

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Christian PAC: Faith Is Obama's Source of Hope

LibertySugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:00:32 -0700

Matthew 25 Network, a Christian political action committee, has endorsed Barack Obama and Joe Biden, explaining that faith is the center of Obama's hope. Now the group is airing Obama's discussion of faith as an ad on Christian radio stations.

Matthew 25 is made up of Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, and Evangelical Christians, and its mission statement holds:

While no elected official will be without flaw, we come together as individuals to support candidates for public office who share the values of the Matthew 25 Network: promoting life with dignity, caring for the least of these, strengthening and supporting families, stewardship of God’s Creation, working for peace and justice at home and abroad, and promoting the common good.

Are you happy to see a religious case made for candidates, or would you rather private faith be left out of the equation altogether?