« owen relents! | Main | God and the internet redux »

December 1, 2005

I get mentions....

TSO actually cited me both on STG and in a short post.

Of course, it wasn't about one of the long posts that I sweated nails over, no, not at all. It was related to a comment that I more or less tossed off over at Flos Carmeli.
"I think that by nature and learning women focus on process and men on outcome/accomplishment - and that is one of the many reasons why God gave us humanity in these two complementary flavors."

Given that I've really been slacking on writing original and thoughtful commentary - or even posting memes and quizzes! I'll take what mentions I can get.

Earlier this week I was listening to the radio and heard a bit about the controversies surrounding torture as part of interrogation. An example cited was the idea that torturing a terrorist is acceptable if the information gained would save the lives of many. Juxtaposed to this item was commentary about the ongoing arguments before the SCOTUS about New Hampshire's parental notification law. As often happens, my mind wandered off to a seemingly unrelated topic - in this case the Inquisition. And I also ruminated a bit on the first chapter to a book I am currently reading about the great influenza pandemic. This book has a mindset that equates scholasticism (which I read as the philosophical underpinnings of Catholicism and/or St. Thomas Aquinas) with being an ignorant idiot. And then the radio segued into an item about AIDs and condoms and the Church, including the seemingly mandatory bishop in opposition to church teaching.

We live in a profoundly utilitarian culture. The ends have come to justify the means. Prenatal (and later in life, for that matter) euthanasia is justified to save resources for the larger population. Torture is justified in the attempt to prevent another 9/11. Condoms are justified to decrease the transmission of the HIV virus because it is easier than changing men's sexual behavior or than freeing women and children from sex slavery.

It is a basic principle of Catholic moral and ethical teaching that it is NEVER ok to do a wrong that a right might come about. If an action is intrinsically evil, there can be no justification.

I studied medical ethics on my own for quite a while. What I have seen is that the culture wars are even deeper than it seems on the surface. It is more than even the tyranny of cultural relativism - it is that we are on some levels not even speaking the same language as those on the other side of so many of these moral and ethical issues. I, as a Catholic Christian, believe that there are indeed some absolute moral and ethical values, and that other actions/behaviours/perceptions must be compared to those baseline and foundational values. There are absolute truths in this world.

And now, I have a phrase from an old hymn running through my mind. "Upon that rock I'll stand, all other grounds are shifting sand".

Posted by alicia at December 1, 2005 10:05 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.stblogs.org/scgi-bin/mv/mt-tb.cgi/17237

Comments

This seems far removed, but my favorite Stephen King novel is The Dead Zone, because it really dives into this issue head first. You are correct in that our culture is relying on ends justifying the means. I feel like one crying in the wilderness.

Posted by: Renee at December 2, 2005 1:44 AM

You inspired me to do a quick bit of research of the catechism's statements on torture. Thanks.

Posted by: Scott at December 2, 2005 7:48 AM

Alicia, you were also nominated for a Blogs of Beauty Ward on the Two Talent Living blog!

Posted by: Elena at December 2, 2005 9:51 AM

Some excellent points.
(And thanks for the hymn flashback. I love that one. Not being terribly musical, I still remember it - tune and all. Just don't ask me to sing it. It won't come out the way it sounds in my head. :) )

Posted by: Ellyn at December 3, 2005 9:28 AM

Post a comment




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)