[Oe List ...] Salmon: Reflection on Hearing the voice of God

[Jack Gilles]

Dear Jim & Jaime,

I certainly don't want to get into a discussion or debate as to when "being a human being" begins. Both of you, but Jim more so, are taking the position that much of the conservative Protestant and Catholic faiths take regarding human life. If you feel that the sperm is "you" or the implanted egg is "you" than you are saying human beings begin very early in the process, before birth. It's a pretty natural step from that perspective to saying we fellow human beings have the responsibility to protect and defend the unborn. 

I think the question is actually what do you point to with the term "you". Clearly a fertilized egg is the beginning of something that we will eventually call a human being, but at what point in the process does it go from being just another animal birth of a higher species to the category of "person", being human. A slippery slope indeed! I have no idea how one would determine what constitutes the beginning of humanness (we obtain our soul??). There are some cultures that say it doesn't happen until x-days after birth.

Now I'm sure someone will get into situational ethics, or ontological ethics, or a woman's right to control her own body, or perhaps several other contentious perspectives. I hope not, because I don't feel this list serve is for those discussions or dialogues. I'm just making a point regarding the recent posts of Jaime and Jim.

And to think this came from a discussion of prayer and "talking to God".

Peace, please,

Jack 

PS I removed all the previous email posts on this topic as Bud Tillinghast requested.