sophiaserpentia | (no subject)

Some of you have rightly taken me to task for the sweeping and hasty comments I made yesterday about the Pope's pronouncement regarding the treatment of people in 'permanent vegetative states.'

I should perhaps clarify what I see as one purpose for this journal. I am not in any way pretending to be a pundit; I spell out my views as they occur to me, and though sometimes it bruises my ego I welcome feedback of all sorts. My ego needs to be bruised sometimes; it strengthens and hones the sharpness of my intellect, and of my compassion. So let me state explicitly, that no one need ever fear offending me simply by offering an opinion that differs from mine. Having friends who will rebuke me when I need to be rebuked is a blessing. I ask only that you be civil when doing so.

The nature of this medium, LiveJournal, is that it favors the recording of passing thoughts. It has been immensely useful to me in helping me to see the way my thoughts have evolved over the past two years. Even when I take the time to organize my thoughts before posting, my posts are still often quite raw, as they are works in progress. For me, who used to jealously hide rough drafts of everything until I was willing to let someone else peek, this has been a way of learning to open up, to see that I don't have to be considered an expounder of flawless wisdom.

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As in, you would expect, "If God wanted them to wake up and live, he would wake them up?"

More as in, I would expect something a bit more consistent with their positions about birth control, abortion, in vitro fertilization, and so on, where medical intervention is seen as immoral and unnatural.

From the church, you want consistency? (Cynical laughter)

Their positions on these matters highlight the problem of defining a set of ethics which starts with a set of absolutes. I do not believe in moral absolutes; I do not believe that there are "sacred cows" in ethics that override every other principle they come up against.