http://life.blogsome.com Life Issues Examined From Theological, Legal, Cultural, Historical and Ethical and Personal Views Thu, 22 Dec 2005 02:23:48 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The following transcript by the Hon. Raymond Randolph was taken from The Federalist Society: BARBARA K. OLSON MEMORIAL LECTURE FEDERALIST SOCIETY NOVEMBER 11, 2005 A. RAYMOND RANDOLPH CIRCUIT JUDGE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE D.C. CIRCUIT It is good to look out and see so many old friends. But one is missing. This is for Barbara. It ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/12/22/the-intellectual-vacuity-of-roe-v-wade-exposed/ A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that a local school district cannot assert that Darwinism is theory only with gaps unsupported by evidence. Further, the District cannot state that there is scientific evidence that there is an intelligent design to the Universe. The judge’s reasoning is essentially ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/12/21/intelligent-design/ Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, 04-1144 will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 30, 2005. The case will revisit the standard of scrutiny the Court imposes upon a State’s restriction of access to abortion. Specifically, the question posed is whether the State ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/11/29/us-supreme-court-cases-ayotte-operation-rescue/ As a lawyer, I’m aware that any proponent of a proposition has the burden of “producing evidence” to meet the ultimate “burden of proof”. First, if Darwinists state life has resulted by random natural forces, then they have the burden of producing evidence to answer the questions: ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/11/12/the-case-for-god/ Discipline is not an end in itself, but a preparation for a higher purpose. Discipline in life is to prepare us to live life more effectively and productively. We practice now to be more skillful later. Spiritual disciplines are followed so we are ready and able to act rightly ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/11/11/life-disciplines/ I can think of many reasons for the church not to announce support of Prop. 73. It is “political”, it is “contentious”, it is “worldly”, it is “not the Church’s business”, it is “irrelevant to God’s predestined plan of salvation and victory”, it is a matter of “private conscience”, ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/26/should-the-church-support-prop-73/ Proposition 73 is on the ballot for November 8, 2005 in a California Special Election. The main features of the proposed law are: 1) Amends California’s Constitution, prohibiting abortion for unemancipated minor until 48 hours after physician notifies minor’s parent/legal guardian, except in medical emergency or with parental waiver. 2) ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/18/prop-73-parental-notification-before-abortion/ THE NATION No Embryos Lost to New Stem Cells By Karen Kaplan Times Staff Writer October 17, 2005 Scientists say they have created viable embryonic stem cell lines without destroying any embryos — a development that could clear ethical barriers that have sharply restricted federal funding for the controversial research. Two separate techniques were demonstrated in ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/17/no-embryos-lost-to-new-stem-cells/ On October 14, 2005, Dr. Harry Jaffa lectured at The Trinity Law and Trinity Graduate Schools in Santa Ana, CA on “The Moral Foundations of the Law”. Dr. Jaffa is one of the original founders of the Claremont Institute and author of numerous books including “A House Divided” and ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/17/freedom-to-live/ The word “apologetics” in its Greek origin means “to explain or account”. In Theology, it is used to mean “to provide a defense of the Faith”. In a world of skeptics and a culture openly disdainful of God, “apologists” are busy. A not so new argument against ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/17/god-and-the-problem-of-evil/ The newly comprised U.S. Supreme Court will hear an abortion case in November: Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, 04-1144. This case will reveal the thinking of our new Chief Justice, John Roberts, and possibly of Harriet Miers if she is confirmed by the full senate. The case ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/14/us-supreme-court-to-rule-on-abortion-in-november/ What is a “high achieving” person? As a member of the legal profession for nearly 30 years, I have witnessed a dramatic shift in the opportunities of women to enter the profession. Perhaps 5 or 10% of law school classes were female in the mid-seventies when I attended. ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/14/women-and-work-having-it-all/ Any woman who is pregnant and in need can turn for help to the pro-life movement. She never has to feel that abortion is the only option. Publicize these helpful phone numbers, through which people anywhere in the country can find assistance. Pastors may want to place one of these ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/07/options-other-than-abortion/ This weekend I will be attending a “mens’ retreat”. The idea of “retreat” is different in the Protestant tradition, I’ve discovered. When I was a practicing Catholic, a “retreat” usually meant a contemplative experience punctuated by a monologue of teaching by a Jesuit priest acting as Retreat ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/07/spiritual-retreat/ Discussion Between Senator Rick Santorum and Senator Barbara Boxer Regarding Roe v. Wade and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, September 17, 2003 Source Database: Information Plus: Abortion: An Eternal Social and Moral Issue Table of Contents: Source Citation On September 17, 2003, the U.S. Senate discussed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/06/a-political-debate-partial-birth-abortion/ 38. Unfortunately, the subcommittee’s view was to develop evidence to limit Roe v. Wade rather than to move toward its reversal. 39. Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992) 112 S.Ct. 2791, wherein the court stated: “Men and women of good conscience can disagree, and ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-16-the-death-of-a-child/ 37. Mere Christianity Copyright 1952, C.S. Lewis; Renewed 1980; C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Restored 1996. Harper Collins Edition 2001, Forward by Kathleen Norris. http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-14-the-death-of-a-child/ 34. In Oregon, a man who availed himself of the State’s assisted suicide law followed the law’s directions, and after consuming a large lethal dose of medications, laid down to die. Instead, he went into a three-day coma, and awoke to ask his wife: ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-13-the-death-of-a-child/ 33. St. Thomas Aquinas, The Summa Theologica, ed. By Dino Bigongiari, in The Political Ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas, (New York: Hafner, 1965), pp. 45-46, as quoted in “Political Thinking, Political Theory, and Civil Society 2nd ed., (Longman 2002, by Steven M. DeLue) Ch. 4: ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-11-death-of-a-child/ 26. The court appoints a “guardian ad litem”, or person as guardian of the minor child for the purpose of the litigation. Individual states determine this procedure generally. In the case of an unborn fetus, I know of no precedent whereby the fetus acquires status ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-10-death-of-a-child/ 24. The decision includes some restriction on abortion in late term pregnancies. The restriction has been interpreted by later abortion decisions by the Court in a way that guts the restriction of any force or meaning. A states restriction on abortion must allow an exception for ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-9-death-of-a-child/ 22. The majority opinion in Stenberg v. Carhart seized on this logical and ethical inconsistency in the Nebraska law. Justice Stevens, in joining the majority overturning the partial birth abortion law, chided the dissenters by stating (I think truthfully): “For the notion that either of these two ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-6-death-of-a-child/ 21. Sometimes D&X is called “Intact Dilation and Evacuation, or “Intact D&E” http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-5-death-of-a-child/ 10. On its face, individual rights are a cornerstone of American law and political philosophy. The more pressing question is: “individual rights” according to what standards? Who decides the balance between complete autonomy and complete submission? Christians seek that standard by looking to the ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-part-4-death-of-a-child/ 7. Taken from www.priestforlife.org and its homepage link entitled: America Will Not Reject Abortion Until America Sees Abortion 8. In the immediate aftermath of Roe v. Wade, a number of Supreme Court decisions moved toward a position that any interference in the right to abort was undue ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-part-3-death-of-a-child/ 1.WorldNetDaily, posted January 17, 2005 www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42422 2. On February 22, 2005 the Supreme Court refused to hear Norma McCorvey’s appeal. The lower court (5th Circuit Court of Appeals) stated that it was too late to review a 30 year old decision, an outcome McCorvey surely anticipated. Yet, ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/endnotes-to-part-1-death-of-a-child/ The nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court on October 3, 2005 brings her life into sharp focus and national scrutiny. The reports by the L.A. Times repeatedly describe her as a “workaholic”. If Ms. Miers were male, her “addiction to work” would probably not raise ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/a-successful-life/ Introduction : When people ask me what was the happiest time of my life, I answer unhesitatingly: my daughter’s birth. At 18, she one unfolding wonder after another. Although I was too stunned to realize it at the time, as I stood in that hospital ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-1-death-of-a-child/ Call to Action. The debate on Abortion often includes a statement by the two sides that reasonable and good people can differ sincerely on the practice of abortion. This is a seemingly gracious and polite statement contributing to a civil debate, but it is a false statement. A ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-17-the-death-of-a-child/ God’s Law and the Constitution. The Constitution is a short document best defined by what it does not do. It does not attempt to state God’s law. It is not a Bible or an inspired scripture. It is not a comprehensive statement of the Law, but ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-16-the-death-of-a-child/ There Is No Absolute Right to Privacy. C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity , (EN 37) states that ethical conduct depends on three conditions being satisfied: that my inner state be ordered around right conduct, that my relationships with others be in harmony with principles of ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-15-the-death-of-a-child/ Personhood and Relationship. Personhood to God is inherently bound in the idea of relationship. The triune God, while One God, expresses Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—three unique persons, not just personality aspects of one person. It is in the nature of God to be a Person, that ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-14-the-death-of-a-child/ God’s Idea of Personhood. Who you are as a “person” is infinitely important to God. God shaped you from creation in a unique matching of genes contributed by two other totally unique persons. God’s love of variety is seen in no more complex and interesting way than ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-13-the-death-of-a-child/ Immutable Principles of Law Governing the Idea of Personhood. Think of your behavior as a person to be like the running of your automobile. You can of course do anything you want as an adult person, even violating the law or snubbing the social norms of decency. Likewise, you ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-12-the-death-of-a-child/ What is a “Person” Under the Constitution? (And Why Does It Matter?) “We the People” have set out restrictions upon ourselves by our federal Constitution to prevent both the federal and state governments (and their judiciaries) from taking from “persons” the “Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”. ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-11-the-death-of-a-child/ A Fatal Lack of Logic in the Law. Because fetal life is human life, the killing of a fetus has profound moral significance. Roe v Wade gave women complete license to kill their unborn children. (EN 24) The killing of a human being is “homicide”, and the killing of ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-10-the-death-of-a-child/ Scientifically, When is a Human Being a Human Being? Sometimes pro-abortionists will argue that the fetus is not really a human being. There is no scientific support for this argument. “Humans” are distinguished by their genetic code. The combination of sperm and ovum create a unique ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-9-the-death-of-a-child/ D. The Barbaric Language of Death as Spoken by The United States Supreme Court . What follows are excerpts of the Stenberg v. Carhart partial abortion case. The excerpts are taken from both the majority and minority portions of the opinion. I present the excerpts verbatim, ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-8-the-death-of-a-child/ C. The Accidents of Size and Location of Life. Consider this: D&E generally occurs by reaching into the cervix to dismember the fetus piece by piece. Generally, a leg or arm is pulled through the cervix, and the resistance of the cervix itself provides the abortionist ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-6-the-death-of-a-child/ B. A Short Review of Abortion Procedures under Review by the Court. As you read the opening paragraphs of Stenberg v. Carhart, you will receive a review of abortion procedures practiced at different stages of pregnancy. The Court gives this background because it must address the Nebraska law which ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-5-the-death-of-a-child/ A Gruesome Introduction to Your Supreme Court. A. A Short Technical Background on Abortion Law. Stenberg v. Carhart brought the reality of late term abortions vividly and graphically into the forefront of the Court’s understanding. The Court even outlined the horrific “procedure” required to terminate the life of ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-4-the-death-of-a-child/ The Partial Birth Abortion Procedure (EN 7) How did the United States Supreme Court, the secular keeper of our national values, come to the point that five of its members could conclude that Nebraska could not stop this barbaric and cruel practice? The answer can be given at different ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-3-the-death-of-a-child/ How did it come to this? Norma McCorvey is the “Jane Roe” of Roe v. Wade. On January 17, 2005 she announced at a news conference at the Supreme Court that she wanted the Court to reverse Roe v. Wade, or at least order a trial on the ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/part-2-death-of-a-child/ CT Classic: The Abortion Wars What most Christians don’t know about the history of prolife struggles. By Tim Stafford | posted 01/22/2003 Ours is not the first abortion war. Two previous periods saw protracted contests over whether abortion would be accepted or proscribed. The first was in the early centuries of Christianity, when faith ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/05/from-christianity-today-the-abortion-war/ Associated Press - President Bush Nominates White House Counsel Harriet Miers to Supreme Court October 3, 2005 By Deb Riechmann WASHINGTON — President Bush on Monday nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court, reaching into his loyal inner circle ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/10/03/3/ I remember a song presented each Friday night at Saddleback Church’s 12 step program. “I’m on the Road to Recovery, Step by Step, Day by Day”. The song included the words “trusting God along the way”. Isaiah the Prophet also spoke of the Road to Recovery. ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/09/12/highway-of-holiness/ The Christian life is adventuresome. One of the themes of Christianity at its roots is radical departure from the ways of the “world”. This word “world” is archaic and is used like a term of art by practicing Christians. The word simply means a way of living ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/09/08/adventure/ Life operates by principles we did not create and we do not control. Not only that, but we are part of a world with forces and conditions that determine us, rather than we determining them. For the modern Western mind, this assertion is contrary to the philosophical notion of man ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/09/07/walking-in-a-room-blindly/ A friend provided me with the following article, which I post because it evidences that the real battles of life are spiritual, and the enemy is conducting a frontal attack: More churches confronting porn addiction Christian leaders are increasingly acting to address this ‘elephant in the pews.’ By JANE LAMPMAN CHRISTIAN SCIENCE ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/09/07/porn-addiction-overcoming-denial-guilt-shame/ Starvation is occurring in the most affluent and best educated parts of our national community. In fact, the starvation is sometimes thought of as a “rich girl’s disease” although it can strike any socio-economic strata and either gender. Still, there is a “profile” of a likely anorexia victim: ... http://life.blogsome.com/2005/09/07/eating-disorders/