[Magdalen] pondering politics

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

On Sat, Jul 9, 2016 at 4:51 PM, James Handsfield <jhandsfield at att.net>
wrote:

> I think abortion involves sin.  I think divorce involves sin.  Taking a
> life involves sin.  Come to think of it, I believe that no human act,
> however well intended, has a sinful aspect to it, simply he have not the
> knowledge nor wisdom to really KNOW what is right and wrong.  Only God has
> that ability.
>

​
I think terms can get blurred here.

For instance, what does one mean by sin? Do we all have the same
definition?
Some will say that sin is sin; all are some kind of wrong or failure,
whereas others will argue that some sins are much worse than others.
(Scripture seems to subtly validate the second view)
Also, is sin some kind of hurt or wrong, some kind of failure, or is it a
sin just because the Bible seems to say so?

I wouldn't concede that taking of life is sin. I wouldn't even concede that
the taking of human life is sin. By casting the net so far afield, we
include so much that we dilute the sense of what sin is, whatever
definition we might choose for it.

Abortion is taking a life, but not taking a human life. As I have said, if
abortion meant taking a human life, it would be murder, and this would be a
very different conversation. A few folks tried to go that route, but their
views were pretty much dismissed out of hand as far too extreme. Most
people, even among those who oppose abortion, do not actually view it as
murder.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy