Bernard Nathanson: Saint or Monster?

I have just filled in my census form which had the impertinence to demand that I state my religion.  I thought about it for a while because, despite my rapid approach to finding out the answer to the Great Unanswered Question, I remain a devout, not to say, fundamentalist, agnostic - and, yes, I do find this fence perfectly comfortable, thank you for asking!  But on the other hand, I was baptised into the Christian faith as a child, and my entire upbringing and the society to which I belong is, despite the mounting evidence to the contrary, imbued with a vague sort of Christianity, and so I ticked that box with a clear conscience.  Also, as it happens, setting aside the God Question, I do think that Christian principles are a pretty good basis for running a society.  But of course, any sort of acceptance of Christian principles entails the duty to forgive the sinner who repents and, as regular readers of this blog will confirm, forgiveness does not come easily to me.  I am, by and large, more of the Old Testament than the New.  This has been confirmed to me in spades today as my regular commenters, Hank and Dom, have brought to my atttention a latter-day monster called Bernard Nathanson who has just died and who, if the God-believers are correct, I trust is even now frying slowly, ever so slowly, in hell!

According to Joseph Bottum in The Weekly Standard (thanks, Dom, for the link), this man, above all, stands as the onlie begetter, or at least, the main one, of the contemporary murder-machine that we call the abortion movement.  He was one of the leading agitators and the man who produced most of the lying agitprop to support his case:

Back-alley butchers. That was the catchphrase. And 10,000 women a year killed in illegal abortions, that was another. Coat hangers were what those butchers used to perform their grisly trade, and the only thing American women wanted was medical safety on the rare occasions when they made the agonized choice to abort their fetus. Not their unborn child. Fetus was the more scientific word, the true medical term, and besides, the argument wasn’t really about abortion. It was about choice​—​and who could be against that?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1969 he began operating, in all senses of the word, and ten years later he had supervised some 75,000 abortions of which he, personally, had performed some 5,000 including, of course, one of his mistresses who was carrying his child!

But then, in the early '80s, whilst literally up to his elbows in the blood and the slaughter, like an SS man toppling yet another hundred innocents into a mass grave they had been forced to dig themselves, he suddenly saw the light of reason.  However, in the manner described long ago by the psychiatrist, William Sargant, in his book Battle for the Mind, extremists in one direction, if changed, simply become extremists in the opposite direction.  Thus it was with Nathanson who joined the Catholic church against which he had railed so violently and turned all his demonic energies into the anti-abortion movement.  You can read more of his late repentence in the link kindly offered by Hank.

So the question arises, can I find it in my heart to forgive this man?  Alas, the answer is 'no'.  I am glad that he changed his mind but the colossal  crimes of which he was guilty so outweigh his repentence that I simply cannot find it in myself to forgive him.  And that, of course, makes my entry in the census form a fraud.  But for God's sake don't tell them, in these daft times they will probably fine me £500 quid!

Photo courtesy of The Daily Telegraph.

 

Comments

[Dom]

Great post. It occured to me, while reading it, that Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade fame, also came to regret her actions.

[David Duff]

I didn't know that, Dom, thanks.

[Dom]

Yep. I don't like WorldNetDaily, but I think they did a good job here:

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=8054

The interesting part of the article details her status when she supported abortion, and her near invisibility when she opposed abortion.

[Umbongo]

DD

The "religion" question in the census is voluntary so you don't have to perjure yourself. BTW I intend to restrict my answers to those I would have given in the 1901 (I think) census (name, address, age, occupation, sex, marital status). As far as I'm concerned none of the other answers demanded are of any interest to anyone except those I choose to share them with - certainly not some spotty youth in Wales (or wherever the ONS chooses to input the answers). I would hope to see you beside me in court (although Mrs U may have an observation or seven to make about me being "stubborn").

[David Duff]

"I would hope to see you beside me in court"

Don't hold your breath, Bongers! Had I received the commission I so richly deserved I would have been one of those officers who shouted "Go on!" to their soldiers instead of "Come on?"

[Gabriel]

David Duff said: "So the question arises, can I find it in my heart to forgive this man? Alas, the answer is 'no'.

I am posting this response as a serious spiritual warning to those who have unforgiveness in their hearts.

Understand very carefully that only those who can forgive will be forgiven. Recall that a certain Paul was a scourge of the early Christians who was responsible for dragging a multitude of Christians to their torture and death---which Paul himself describes in the Acts of the Apostles in your Bible.

To say you cannot forgive, then it means you will cannot be forgiven. Learn the significance of what it means to bear the cross which Christ demands of all of us. We can know the sin-bearer Christ only as we bear the sins of others and forgive them as the heavenly Father has forgiven us. People who love with the love of God can forgive because they've been forgiven, they can love because they've been loved by God first:

"But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offenses --Matt. 6:15

"But if you will not forgive, neither will your Father that is in heaven, forgive you your sins." Mark 11:26

"Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven." -Luke 6:37

"Should you not then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts." --Matt. 18:33-35

[David Duff]

Thank you, Gabriel, for your kindly concern for my spiritual welfare which, of course, is merely your duty as a practicing Christian. But alas, as I pointed out above, I am only a christian with a very tiny 'c'. I simply do accept the existence of your God, anymore than I accept the frequent assertions of athiests that He does not exist. As far as I am concerned, I simply do not know and I do try (with occasional lapses) to follow the precept that where-of I do not know, I do not speak!

Even so, I do have within me the capacity to forgeive others' crimes and misdemeanors on a case by case basis but when it comes to Mr. Nathanson, above, I can only tell you with absolute honesty that I would have been happy to throw a switch on the electric chair had he ever occupied one.

[Gabriel]

Dr. Nathanson repented of his crimes and did much for the pro-life cause. He even became a Christian. As for having faith in Christ and His teachings, first you must accept the truth that God is real.

Atheism is intellectual laziness and it wastes life itself by missing the point of life itself--which is to know, love and serve the Creator: God Himself is Truth, Goodness and Beauty itself.

All the beauty in nature and the universe are but a dim reflection of the beauty of God, and God made man for a specific purpose: To know his Creator. In order to weed out the selfish and the wicked, from the just and sincere seekers of truth, God made the comprehensible universe in such a way that those who seek God will find Him, and those who do not seek Him will never find Him. The search is a lifetime journey which becomes a pilgrimage to God.

God made us because He is infinitely Good and generous, and gives man a share in His eternal life. Since God is Truth and Goodness itself, God gave man an intellect for truth (God) and a will for goodness (God).

God has revealed Himself as the Most Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) These descriptions are merely human words to describe the Eternal Relationship that exists within God Himself: Three distinct "Persons" yet One God. Theologians will explain that the "Father" is the "Eternal Thought" and The "Son" is the Eternal Word. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son's mutual love. It was the Eternal Word that Sacred Scripture speaks of as taking flesh and dwelling among us as the man Jesus Christ.

We can only use human analogies to grasp the revealed truth of the Trinity. For example, you have an intellect: You can Think a thought, and you speak that thought in a word, and you act your thought and word. Thus, thought, word and act are distinct yet three in one the same.

Scripture speaks of how God Himself entered time and space: "In the beginning ws the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us¨"

It is God Himself who entered time and became a man and chose to suffer for mankind in order to redeem man who had fallen away from union with God.

God is Truth and Love itself. Thus man is made in the image and likeness of God in that we have an intellect for truth and a will for goodness. But free will allows man to misuse his intellect and will. When man does this he sins and separates himself from God.

As fur the crimes of man, God's justice makes all things right in this life or in the next. Nothing imperfect can enter heaven (Perfect Union with God) thus the sins we commit in this life may be forgiven, but that does not remit the punishment due for sin, and God imparts that justice as He sees fit in His infinite wisdom.

Catholics call this purification "Purgatory" which either takes place on earth or in the life to come as we journey to the Father.

But Christ demands that His followers love one another, that we pray for our enemies and do good to those who hate us..

[JK]

"God is Truth and Love itself."

Thank you Lord for the weather you gave Arkansas last month.

[Gabriel]

JK,

God is indeed Truth and Love itself, thus the reason why the intellect seeks truth and the heart yearns for love and beauty.

As for the laws of nature, they take their course. Tornadoes and damage sustained by high winds are the result of severe thunderstorms. Thus, if you walk along a steep precipice and a gust of wind blows you off the edge, God is not bound to suspend the laws of nature so that you don't fall..

[David Duff]

Alas, Gabriel, your seed is falling on stony ground with me. And to ensure that you are quite clear, I am not an atheist - or a theist - I am an agnostic. I do not deny that there may a power above and beyond all things measurable but no-one can prove it - or disprove it. Because, by and large, I am not one to invest in faith, as you do, I remain an unrepentent agnostic. Incidentally, even if I was predisposed to believe in a god, that does not mean my choice would necessarily be a Christian god.

As for Nathanson, he went not just several steps too far but some 75,000 steps too far. If he was truly repentant he would have welcomed death as his just deserts and topped himself.

[Gabriel]

That a man may deserve the death penalty has nothing to do with forgiving him if he asks for forgiveness. I am able to forgive you for breaking my window, but it doesn't mean that I will not demand that you pay to repair the damage you have done in order to satisfy justice. I other words, you can forgive someone as they wall to the gallows.

As for Dr. Nathanson, what he did was completely legal. Thus your anger should extend to the Supreme Court as well as anyone who makes legal abortion possible.

The problem with unforgiveness is that it stirs hatred inside the heart of a man---and makes a man desirous of revenge. Revenge is at the heart of many of today's problems in the world, as it only stirs more hatred and more revenge. There is a great difference between justice and revenge.

As for agnosticism, the belief in God's existence does not require faith, it requires reason. That's why every civilization since the dawn of humanity has reasoned a Creator who brought everything into existence.

Understand that when I speak of faith, I am talking about trust in Jesus Christ and that He is indeed who He claimed He is---God---who entered time and space to teach us the way to God's Kingdom. I also trust the eyewitnesses to His resurrection, as testified in the New Testament.

But before you can arrive at having faith in Jesus Christ, you first have to believe in the existence of God. As for proving the existence of God, that is actually quite simple. And in order to save you a lifetime of searching please listen to what I have to say.

Albert Einstein said that the most incomprehensible thing about the cosmos is that it is comprehensible. In other words, the Cosmos and the Laws that govern it can be intellectually grasped through the language we call mathematics. Mathematics is founded on sheer logical reasoning, which is a faculty of a rational intellect.

I guarantee that you believe beyond any doubt that I am a rational being writing these lines of text which you are now reading. Sheer logic forces your intellect to accept this as truth. Even though you do not know me, or see me, you can grasp the reality that there is an intelligent mind which produced and arranged a code that you can understand, namely the English Language.

Now look at the following arrangements of symbols:

@%$#@^%$#765Z$765z48675f6ebfoyp4897t3u pojbkljrg098)(809krgj j wetuvpwutvn'opj gkdjsvhbdf jkhgsdukrty lakj dkmv.,nlksjg;ilaun;eiu kjgug

The reason it is incomprehensible is because I randomly pounded away on my keyboard. Your intellect could never decode this because there is nothing rational about it.

Atheism is a psychological condition, not a rational conclusion. If you notice the pop atheists of the day, their wrath is aimed at religion and religious people. They readily admit that they cannot disprove the existence of God. But the atheistic stance cannot compete in the arena of intellectual argumentation, and it only leads a man away from truth.

One need only read books by former atheists such as Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the Human Genome Project who headed the team which cracked the DNA code. His book is titled "The Language of God".

So here is the formula:

1) If nothing existed 500 trillion billion years ago, nothing would exist now, simply because it is impossible for "nothingness" to bring anything into existence. Thus, something always had to exist (because here we are today.)

2) In order for something to have a beginning it must exist in time. Therefore, if something always existed, it is outside of time. Philosophers call this "an eternal state" where there is no past, no future, but just an "eternal now" Scientists today will tell you that before the "Big Bang", "time" and "matter" simply did not exist.

3) The fact that the universe is comprehensible through the language of mathematics is and that man can intellectually grasp the laws which govern the universe is an important key.

Therefore the Cause of the universe is:

1) Outside of time (Eternal)
2) Outside of matter (Spiritual)
3) Rational (A Producer of an intellectually comprehensible universe)

Harmony is not accidental. That's the one clue. Another clue is that you are more than a meaningless bag of chemicals. There is a purpose for your intellect and willpower.

The human body is composed of 65% Oxygen, 18% Carbon, 10% Hydrogen, 3% Nitrogen, and 4% of trace elements such as Iron, Zinc, Nickel and Gold among them. But even if you put the exact amount of all those things into a large barrel, it will lack the ability to dream, think, love, and invent things. There is nothing about carbon and oxygen hydrogen that can thing=k, much like the computer, being made out of glass, plastic and metals, there is nothing about thoise materials that produce the amazing calculations and tasks that a computer can perform. The intellect behind the computer (human mind) is the real source of information.

There is a hierarchy among all living things and the higher in the hierarchy the more inner activity exists inside the living thing---and the living thing is dependent upon an outside reality in order to continue living. For example, plants need the sun, oxygen, phosphates, minerals, water in order to live. The same applies to animal---but animals are higher in the hierarchy of life because they can take more of the outside wold inside of themselves, namely through sight, sound, touch, smell and taste, they can "take in" more of reality. Humans are like the animals, but we have a rational soul.

The word "soul" in philosophical terms merely defines the unifying principle in all living things. Humans have a rational soul, which can look up and wonder about the creator and ask: What, When, Where, How, and Why.

The answers to each of these questions are studied by different fields. For example, biology, astronomy, psychology, paleontology, etc. etc. are all specialized fields. The field which studies God is known a Theology. For example, Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) was a professor of theology for many years.

All fields study the truth about reality. In order to answer questions about astronomy you wouldn't go to a biologist. Likewise, for braise surgery you wouldn't seek a psychiatrist. Theology studies God, and such fields as teleology and ontology answer questions that other fields do not. Don't go to a biologist for questions of theology and religion.

As for life after death, I would recommend reading the book "Life After Death: The Evidence" By Dinesh D'Souza who compiled thousands of medically verifiable evidence of the physical death of people who were later resuscitated and give similar accounts of the spiritual state. This coming from people from all walks of life from all over the world. The closer one gets to fire the more one feels its heat. Thus these people who were clinically dead all report the same things----and not all had wonderful visions. There are those who had hellish experiences, especially those who denied the very existence of their creator.

You see, in theology, "hell" is simply a separation from God (Who is Truth, Goodness and Beauty itself). Much like darkness is merely the absence of light. The punishment of hell is a built-in consequence, much like blindness is the "punishment" for plucking one's own eyes out.

A man can be very smart and learn and remember many facts and figures, but that does not make him wise. A man may be a brilliant mathematician, but a very unwise and foolish person. What's more, sin (the misuse of intellect and will) blinds the mind. The sins of arrogance and pride are the usual suspects behind atheism.

Furthermore, you should watch the video of former atheist super-champ Prof. Antony Flew, who was atheism's leading voice for over 50 years, who after the dawn of DNA research finally concluded that there had to be a higher intelligence behind the creation of life. Watch him being interviewed on the subject at this link on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbyTwmaJArU

It took old Antony Flew 80 years to finally conclude the obvious. It would probably take another 80 to discover that Christ is the Way.

As for Jesus Christ, and which religion is right, the truth is that all religions point to some truths, but some religions have more than others. For example, Islam claims that God is all-powerful. This is indeed true. But the problem with their religion is that it is based on the claims of one man, namely Mohammed, who claimed to have a vision inside a cave. No witnesses, just him and his word.

To make a long story short, only jesus Christ was pre-announced in the Old testament prophecies. Only Jesus Christ fulfilled more than 400 prophecies of where he was to be born, what he was to teach, how he was to die, etc. Not only did Christ perform miracles witnessed by thousands, many were witnesses to His resurrection, and died horrible deaths simply for refusing to deny what they witnessed. Christ's miracles in my own life are beyond explanation and I find peace, hope and joy being in union with Him, and serving Him with all my strength and all my mind, because He is Truth and Love itself.

There is a law which governs all living things, and this law states "in order to live you must eat--no food means no life"---In other words, living things are dependent upon something outside of themselves in order to continue living. Thus Jesus Christ said "Unless you eat my flesh, and drink my blood, you shall not have life in you.."

To see a brief sample of a near death experience testimony by an agnostic, please sit back and take a look at this short video: http://youtu.be/_VSolucbDDY

[JK]

That's an impressive bit of typing there Gabriel. I liked this part especially - particularly how you "knew" what Einstein meant.

"Albert Einstein said that the most incomprehensible thing about the cosmos is that it is comprehensible. In other words, the Cosmos and the Laws that govern it can be intellectually grasped through the language we call mathematics. Mathematics is founded on sheer logical reasoning, which is a faculty of a rational intellect."

Please then, just for my benefit:

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/04/my-position-concerning-god-is-that-of.html

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/10/word-god-is-product-of-human-weakness.html

[Gabriel]

JK,

Albert Einstein believed that behind the cosmos was a supreme intelligence. His understanding of the universe was defined by mathematics and physics, and his calculated study led him to abandon atheism and ascend to the belief in a Supreme Author of the universe.

But realize that Einstein's understanding of the creator was that of a non-personal God. This is no surprise, being that his concept of God was from the impersonal perspective of mathematics. Albert Einstein did not subscribe to pantheism (the view that the Universe/Nature and God are one in the same.) Instead, he believed in a cause outside of the universe---a Creator.

Read carefully what his view of God was, as quoted in Walter Isaacson's authoritative book Einstein: His Life and Universe:

"I’m not an atheist. I don’t think I can call myself a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn’t know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws."

Notice how he explicitly describes the universe as a library filled with books full of written languages. Likewise, ex-atheist Francis Collins, the head of the Human Genome Project team that cracked the DNA code, wrote a book titled The Language of God.

Language is a code, and rational intelligence is the requirement for both the expressing as well as the deciphering of a comprehensible a string of code. Now carefully read again what Einstein specifically said about the universe:

"The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it's comprehensible"-Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was not a theologian, and mathematics does not study the nature of personhood. Within theology (the logical study of God) Ontology is is the analytical study of the nature of being and how beings are related within a hierarchy subdivided according to attributes. http://www.technologyreview.com/article/23199/

[David Duff]

Gabriel, a bit busy and a bit knacked today but I hope to return to our conversation over the weekend.

[JK]

"Language is a code, and rational intelligence is the requirement for both the expressing as well as the deciphering of a comprehensible a string of code."

Well Gabriel - since "it's a given" you consider yourself the pre-eminent codebreaker, perhaps you'd lend us a hand?

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911