tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post7839639486897372426..comments2024-02-20T05:26:51.540-06:00Comments on HARMLESS THOUGHTS: moral voteMatt Harmlesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17594593303605939187noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-64311298878776500352008-02-04T21:22:00.000-06:002008-02-04T21:22:00.000-06:00this post was really good...I wish that it was so ...this post was really good...I wish that it was so astonishing to me that people would kill babies, like it is to your boys...its sad how it doesn't blow our minds after awhile...(also education through the health care system is also very important)Ann-Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11022057680593198419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-17164674777624483802008-02-01T14:34:00.000-06:002008-02-01T14:34:00.000-06:00http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000000368.cfmA...http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000000368.cfm<BR/>Also very good info. JulieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-26927723318517117132008-02-01T04:33:00.000-06:002008-02-01T04:33:00.000-06:00I have been browsing through that site. It is rea...I have been browsing through that site. It is really good.<BR/><BR/>I enjoyed the section on the survivors of abortion. And I also enjoyed the quotes from early church leaders. Very interesting.<BR/><BR/>ThanksMatt Harmlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17594593303605939187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-20935709167089396382008-01-31T17:00:00.000-06:002008-01-31T17:00:00.000-06:00http://www.abortionfacts.com/abortion/bible.aspThi...http://www.abortionfacts.com/abortion/bible.asp<BR/><BR/>This is a great site for info. Has a place to read what the Bible says for the person who was unsure - It is very clear after reading the verses. I have a friend here who is saved but believes in abortion. She believes the women should have the right to choose. I have cried over this. I almost made it an end to our friendship but God clearly told me to love her and keep praying. JulieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-20736156223161553602008-01-30T21:55:00.000-06:002008-01-30T21:55:00.000-06:00Never doubted - still, appreciate the dialogue as ...Never doubted - still, appreciate the dialogue as well. Most times, I see another perspective as complementary - while the "other side" cries heresy. But I find that there's more to this and other issues, hard to nail down the jello on the wall.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12968721641385680296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-37569768109129461612008-01-30T21:33:00.000-06:002008-01-30T21:33:00.000-06:00Rick, I would never hesitate to post something tha...Rick, I would never hesitate to post something that you would add.<BR/><BR/>I would like to say that I am planning on responding, but have been very busy.<BR/><BR/>I enjoy the dialog.Matt Harmlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17594593303605939187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-4977720396873995472008-01-30T05:32:00.000-06:002008-01-30T05:32:00.000-06:00Thanks for posting my long diatribe - I really app...Thanks for posting my long diatribe - I really appreciate it, and hope I'm just not trying to rationalize my actions. You didn't address my last statement - would you rather vote for someone "pro-life" who does nothing effective to actually end the slaughter? Or is there a possibility that the "pro-abortion" candidate can enact policies that bring the actual numbers, for those other economic and educational reasons, down and thereby saving the lives you hoped to save by voting the first way? Everyone I've ever voted for up to this point has been pro-life. But abortion numbers dropped in Clinton's tenure, while rebounding back up in Bush's first term. I'm conflicted - ideology versus actual results.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12968721641385680296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-45066586875704874902008-01-30T05:28:00.000-06:002008-01-30T05:28:00.000-06:00Forgiveness given with no hesitation.Forgiveness given with no hesitation.Matt Harmlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17594593303605939187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-40337696966558632992008-01-30T00:50:00.000-06:002008-01-30T00:50:00.000-06:00First, let me offer my condolences on your recent...First, let me offer my condolences on your recent loss. I've close friends who have miscarried and understand it to be a very difficult providence. <BR/><BR/>In light of your loss, my previous comment (posted semi-anonymously) was at least thoughtless and possibly uncharitable. It was not appropriate for me to intrude with allusions to exegetical, philosophical, or scientific hair-splitting. I apologize. I foolishly spoke quickly, without considering whether my words would give offense. I ask for your forgiveness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-7258261787684283562008-01-29T23:00:00.000-06:002008-01-29T23:00:00.000-06:00I am only going to hit on one thing... (for now. ...I am only going to hit on one thing... (for now. It is a little late.)<BR/><BR/>"Do women have the right to make these profoundly difficult decisions?"<BR/><BR/>Umm... NO.<BR/><BR/>Absolutely not. I do not believe that any group of people has the "right" to make that decision. I can't believe that he actually said that.<BR/><BR/>See. This evidences what I said in my post, "If a candidate does not hold to the rights of life for every individual, then don't kid yourself... It will affect every other policy that they support."<BR/><BR/>I would go more in this direction, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"<BR/><BR/>Please do not make the mistake of thinking that I am going to "...focus on one thing to the neglect of the others..."<BR/><BR/>I would echo what my wife said, http://mattharmless.blogspot.com/2008/01/moral-vote.html#c963334621210888709<BR/><BR/>I am not neglecting any issue. I am starting with the self-evident rights first, and working my way down from there.Matt Harmlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17594593303605939187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797552.post-70591702425527195622008-01-29T21:34:00.000-06:002008-01-29T21:34:00.000-06:00Hi, Matt - I wasn't going to do this, but I felt I...Hi, Matt - I wasn't going to do this, but I felt I needed to somehow "defend"... no, that's the wrong word... my reasoning for voting for Obama in last week's SC Dem Primary. I would also be characterized as pro-life, believing life begins even before conception in the best most loving readings of Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 1.<BR/><BR/>Two things struck me: first, it seems to me that poverty/economy issues and war/human rights/immigration issues are just as moral a choice as this. There's no such thing as an amoral voting issue now - everything revolves around everything else. Abortions go up as the economy craps out - racial divides grow, education goes down, and abortion/etc picks up again. To focus on one thing to the neglect of the others, or one so far above the others, might be missing something.<BR/><BR/>Second, you posted that you told your kids, "Well. Mr. Obama believes that if a woman doesn't want her baby that she can just kill it..." - and I think that short-changes what is actually a well-thought out response to the question, something I felt was more nuanced than you said. In a debate quote, he said, "But the broader issue here is: Do women have the right to make these profoundly difficult decisions? And I trust them to do it. There is a broader issue: Can we move past some of the debates around which we disagree and can we start talking about the things we do agree on? Reducing teen pregnancy; making it less likely for women to find themselves in these circumstances." (http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Barack_Obama_Abortion.htm) - I think there's more to it than just kill or not, choose or not. If we disagree fundamentally across this divide, where can we agree? Where can we work to make it a moot point? That's the kind of thing that brings about change, reduces the actual number of abortions, etc.<BR/><BR/>I would rather have someone who is pro-choice but actually works to make this evil stop, then to vote for someone who seems to be politically expedient and who does nothing substantial.<BR/><BR/>Will I vote for Obama in the general election? I think he'll be the Dem candidate, but I'm too cynical to think I'll be in this same frame of mind later on. Right now, I think there's more to this than you're posting.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12968721641385680296noreply@blogger.com