Bits and pieces, 7/07/05

chestless children

Check out my post at Intellectuelle called Children without chests.

*************

think like a plant

Macht at Prosthesis discusses a Netfuture article which uses buttercup leaves to illustrate the fact that living beings, including humans, possess fluidity. They develop on a continuum. Their appearance and capacity may change drastically over the course of their lives, yet they remain the same organism throughout.

I can anticipate that folks might take the same view toward a buttercup seed as they take toward a human zygote, i.e., the seed/zygote represents potential, not actual life. Yet such a view is chillingly utilitarian, because indeed there is life within the seed and the zygote – not mere potential for life. Potential for life lies within the pollen grain and the ova, the sperm and the egg – but once the two combine, life becomes actual.

From this concept of fluidity, Macht makes the excellent point that judging the worth of something based merely upon characteristics that may come or go represents discrimination.

We've slowly come to realize that discrimination based on gender, skin color, age and physical/mental handicap are wrong. The pro-life position is that discrimination based on size, degree of dependency on others, cognitive development, and other similar things are just as wrong.

Preach it, brother.

*************

sinful babies?

Jeremy the Parableman has an interesting post on baptism and whether or not infants are “guilty.” Wish I had more time to think about this one...

************

on the roam

Blogging will be tricky for the next several days as I will not have much computer access. Please bear with me :-)