Torture and Abortion

I don't think that having US military and intelligence personnel torture suspected terrorists is a good idea.

However, my line of reasoning may not be what you are thinking. In principle, I actually have no problem with a government that tortures people whom it has good reason to believe are plotting aganist its citizens. In fact, I would argue that it is the duty of government to engage in any and all practical and effective actions to keep its people safe, provided they are acting on good evidence. The government does not bear the sword in vain (Romans 13). I am not saying that it would be appropriate for Christians to be in the position of "torturer," but there are plenty of secular individuals who could fill the bill quite nicely. Obviously, I do not advocate a Christian theocracy.

My actual issue with Americans peforming torture on suspected terrorists is that it does not appear to work. Despite what we see on "24" and in Hollywood, the reports coming from the FBI and the CIA after 7 years of secret torture show that it is largely ineffective. In addition, now that our methods have been publicized, the "hearts and minds" of the global community and even some US citizens have turned aganist us. If the torture was working, I would say damn the general concensus. However, there is very little point in engaging in activities that hurt our reputation while gaining almost no actual intelligence.

It is odd to me how many people in society are burdened and concerned about the rights of men who have been known to engage in terrorist activities. The guys at Gitmo did not get there by racial profiling or vague associations. The few hundred men detained there were documented as engaging in acts dangerous to national security. Yet, there are whole "civil rights" movements that have sprung up to push for the "fair and just" treatment of those suspects.

At the same time, thousands of innocent little lives, humans in the earliest stages of development, are being snuffed out everyday. Abortion does completely disregard the rights of a human being, the natural rights endowed to every person at birth (as our Constitution and the Gettysburg Address remind us). Abortion does involve destroying the image of God (Genesis 1:27) for nothing more than selfish motives. Abortion, which is murder, is a far more egregious action than any civil rights violation I know of.

I feel that if people are of transcendent worth, we shouldn't torture or kill them without very good reason to believe that they are an uncorrectable danger to our society. On the other hand, many organizations and individuals seem to think that we should never treat any human being poorly or violently, even if they are a danger to our fellow man. One might ask, how could people like that stand by without even blinking their eye as countless babies are being slaughtered if we shouldn't hurt each other? The only answer could be that they don't see the "thing" inside of mom as a human.

There is the fundamental question...what is that "thing" inside mom. If it is human, then no amount of rationale could prove adequate to destroy it. If it not human then no justification is necessary to wipe it out of existence. This is the only real issue at hand. No amount of rhetoric about choice or God will answer the question. It is a scientific inquiry that can be logically answered. The "thing" inside mom has separate and unique DNA from Mom and it is growing and developing according to its own internal direction. According to the law of biogenesis, any organism can only reporduce an offspring of its same kind. Therefore, if Mom and Dad are human, the offspring is human. Regardless of the fact that it is in the earliest stages of development, the "thing" inside Mom is fully human.

Anyway, I was struck by the seeming contradiction of those who fight for "terrorist rights" and who simultenously lobby for the pro-choice movement during my drive this morning. I think that they are ignoring the blatant fact that inside Mom is a baby human, not a tumor to be removed because of inconvenience. I don't think many people who think that way will be persuaded by good sound reasoning about the subject, but they might. A good resource is:
www.prolifetraining.com

More likely, they will only come to see the humanity of innocent babes and the proper role of government if they are moved to have their hearts regenerated. The only resource fo that is:
Jesus

___________________

My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.

If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason...
throw in your lot among us..."

My son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood...
but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.

- Proverbs 1