sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) (04/30/84)
>It has been shown by competent Thomists that the "dancing angels" >question is meaningless. It persists because of a false sense of >profundity. Angels are beings composed of spirit ONLY. A MATERIAL >being only would exist on the finite surface of a pin, since it has >boundaries. The original question is naturally meaningless, but its use as a metaphor for irresolvable debate is not. It is fruitless to attempt to define a point after which the fetus becomes human, for any point chosen would be arbitrary, and open to error. Those who agree with the teachings of the Catholic Church take it as an article of faith that the moment of conception defines human life. Unfortunately, this "faith" is not enough to persuade those who do not share it. The goal, then, for those who care, is to phrase the issue in words that are accessible to the majority. Phrases like "the Pope says", "Jerry Falwell says", or "the Catholic Church teaches" are only useful as declarative statements--they have little persuasive power to those who do not recognize the teaching authority of the Church. -- /Steve Dyer {decvax,linus,ima}!bbncca!sdyer sdyer@bbncca.ARPA