१६ जुलै, २०२२

"[T]he early Christians believed that both the bodies that created life and the world that sustained it were proof of the 'continual creative activity of God.'"

"Women and nature were aligned, in this view, as the material sources of God’s plan. 'The word nature is derived from nascitura, which means "birthing," and nature is imagined and felt to be like a pregnant womb, a matrix, a mother,' [writes historian Barbara Duden]. But, in recent decades, she notes, the natural world has begun to show its irreparable damage. The fetus has been left as a singular totem of life and divinity, to be protected, no matter the costs, even if everything else might fall. The scholar Katie Gentile argues that, in times of cultural crisis and upheaval, the fetus functions as a 'site of projected and displaced anxieties,' a 'fantasy of wholeness in the face of overwhelming anxiety and an inability to have faith in a progressive, better future.' The more degraded actual life becomes on earth, the more fervently conservatives will fight to protect potential life in utero. We are locked into the destruction of the world that birthed all of us; we turn our attention, now, to the worlds—the wombs—we think we can still control."

४५ टिप्पण्या:

Owen म्हणाले...

That is one whack argument. The world has always been a fallen one, but each new life is a new hope. The effort to justify abortion as morally superior —sparing the planet the burden of another “useless eater”— is the philosophy of death.

n.n म्हणाले...

Human rites performed for social, redistributive, clinical, political, and fair weather causes were sacred in some ancient sects and are sanctioned in modern primitive cults. Bringing a new life into this world is the hardest job a woman and a man will ever love. Fetus is a technical term of art to socially distance medical staff from their patient, abortionists from their victim, and liberals sequestering the "burden" of evidence. The wicked solution is neither a good nor exclusive choice. Keep women, and ten year-old girls, affordable, available, taxable, and victims of social progress. One step forward, two steps backward.

cubanbob म्हणाले...

Too stupid for words. Having sex is optional. Using contraceptives is optional. Sterilization is optional.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

With porn and #MeToo the womb is pretty much obsolete.

Harsh Pencil म्हणाले...

These people are some combination of nuts and evil.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"But, in recent decades, she notes, the natural world has begun to show its irreparable damage."

Why do progs start with such obvious BS premises? The natural world is in many places better now than it was 100 years ago. Nature now sustains a larger human population that lives longer and better.

"The fetus has been left as a singular totem of life and divinity, to be protected, no matter the costs, even if everything else might fall."

Why do progs feel the need to ascribe motives to their opponents that are in fact alien to them? Does any pro-lifer in any way make the fetus a "totem" to cope with "everything" falling?

"the fetus functions as a 'site of projected and displaced anxieties,' a 'fantasy of wholeness"

As opposed to, you know, just being a human life that, according to any Christian theology, is God-given and worthy of respect and protection.

"The more degraded actual life becomes on earth, the more fervently conservatives will fight to protect potential life in utero. We are locked into the destruction of the world that birthed all of us"

But of course most pro-lifers don't think actual life on earth becomes "degraded," except insofar as progs wish to visit more death on more of the unborn, and they don't think we are "locked into" destruction, as the partial victory over abortion on demand shows.

Leave aside the arguments about abortion as such. What does it say about the "debate" on this and other issues when one side is so utterly clueless about the other side, and wallows in that cluelessness?

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Both sides accuse the other of "an inability to have faith."

gilbar म्हणाले...

Murder is often talked about as a grave act. But bringing a new life into the world can feel like the decision that more clearly risks being a moral mistake"

fify!

Paddy O म्हणाले...

What the early Christians believed about abortion, by a very well-regarded scholar

Lilly, a dog म्हणाले...

I am one of those who believe that life begins at conception, but that women should absolutely have the right to end a pregnancy in the first trimester. Abortion is something that should never be celebrated, but the far left is determined to make it a sacrament of their woke religion.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

But, in recent decades, she notes, the natural world has begun to show its irreparable damage.

Of course, before that, conservatives were just fine with abortion.

The fetus has been left as a singular totem of life and divinity, to be protected, no matter the costs, even if everything else might fall.

There's certainly no history of human cultures prioritizing the protection of women and children, oh no. This is entirely new and quite unhealthy.

These darn conservatives refuse to protect the earth, they continue to damage the earth, not realizing, by doing so, they're causing their own anxiety about abortion. They focus on that instead of what they should be focusing on. Which leads to more earth damage and more anxiety about abortion. Dammit! It's a vicious circle!

Tolentino knows all this because she talks to so many conservatives and once you get to know them this all becomes clear and obvious.
These conservatives just can't seem to put their faith in people who come up with brilliant theories like this. What is wrong with them?

Something must be done.


Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

“One has to belong to the intelligentsia to believe things like that: no ordinary man could be such a fool.” - Orwell

Breezy म्हणाले...

Worrying about bringing a child into the world as it is, is completely natural. No one knows what will be. If you have that overwhelming worry, avoid the conception. If not, enjoy everything about bringing a new world into your life.

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

Christian worldview, wherefore art thou. The Scripture values man and woman and children. The woke “rapid depopulators “ disguised as a new world government salvation from climate can all rapidly go to hell.

Michael K म्हणाले...

Abortion is the only sacrament of the crazy left.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

This reminds me Of when I was at the Texas Book Festival in Austin and a beautiful redhead asked Samantha Power if it was morally permissible to bring children into such a terrible world with climate change, etc.

Samatha hemmed and hawed and said it was okay. But I thought Samatha and all her lib friends were (and are) the worst people in the world for duping and frightening all these young people. Climate anxiety is a real thing. I think it is criminal to scare people over BS. CAGW is the biggest scam in the world.

Jersey Fled म्हणाले...

"the fetus functions as a 'site of projected and displaced anxieties,' a 'fantasy of wholeness"

I have no idea what this woman is talking about. I suspect she doesn't either.

RideSpaceMountain म्हणाले...

@rhhardin

"With porn and #MeToo the womb is pretty much obsolete"

Wait till that actually happens with artificial wombs in the next 20 years. Their heads will explode. Transhumanist keep thinking this will be a great liberation for women...

...yeah sure. The same way the invention of the automobile 'liberated' the horse.

Doug म्हणाले...

Why do so many of these folks on the progressive side of things leave the impression of being nihilistic, humorless, narcissistic scolds? From reading this excerpt it seems the writer believes humanity best serves the universe by disappearing from it. We let these people form public opinion? Really?

Wa St Blogger म्हणाले...

The fact that a quarter of women, regardless of their beliefs, also decide to end pregnancies at some point in their lifetimes: are they not acting in accordance with God’s plan for them, too?

That is the last line of the article. It is an amazing hubris to think that since people die of natural causes all the time (ascribed to God taking their life away), that it is then acting in God's will if you yourself also decide to end a life. I simply cannot get past this absolute logical failure of this author. What a horrific justification for killing. But, because it is used for killing of the unborn it is rational and acceptable? At no time can abortion be considered acting in God's will. If it is not a life worth protecting, then God probably has no care what you do. If it is a life worth protecting, God would not grant you dispensation. But then people always seem to get into moral trouble when they decide that what they want to do actually happens to really be what God wanted all along.

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

The guy who would be the next Einstein? Unfortunately, he was aborted.

The gal who would've solved climate change? She was aborted.

The next JFK? Aborted.

The next RFK: already aborted.

The next Teddy Kennedy? Not aborted, but drowned in a boating mishap. The universe still has a sense of humor.

I am Laslo.

chuck म्हणाले...

This is today's best TikTok.

roger म्हणाले...

(the fetus functions as a) 'fantasy of wholeness in the face of overwhelming anxiety and an inability to have faith in a progressive, better future.'

Progressives define “a progressive, better future” in terms which are entirely alien to me.

Leave me out of your drama.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

The fetus has been left as a singular totem of life and divinity, to be protected, no matter the costs, even if everything else might fall.

Sounds like Roe or "bodily autonomy." It's easy to turn these things around. Everybody has things they think are sacred that others don't accord the same value to.

Drago म्हणाले...

The masks are fully off.

They are pro-death.

Bender म्हणाले...

Another example of something that if you read it, you will know LESS than before.

n.n म्हणाले...

The fact that a quarter of women, regardless of their beliefs, also decide to end pregnancies at some point in their lifetimes: are they not acting in accordance with God’s plan for them, too?

Yes, God granted women and men dignity, agency, and conscience to be exercised, demonstrated on Nature's proving ground, Earth. They proved their mettle in spectacular failure.

n.n म्हणाले...

Abortion is the only sacrament of the crazy left.

Human rites performed for social, redistributive, clinical, political, and fair weather causes in the modern model of witches, warlocks, and babies. That said, keep women, and 10 year-old girls, affordable, available, taxable, and leveraged.

n.n म्हणाले...

Here's to sex, love, and "our Posterity". Rock on, baby.

madAsHell म्हणाले...

But bringing a new life into the world can feel like the decision that more clearly risks being a moral mistake

What's the old adage??.....If you're in a card game, and you don't know who the the moral mistake is? The answer is in the mirror.

fizzymagic म्हणाले...

It's probably worth noting that the antihumanist, nihilist "humans are a plague upon the Earth" philosophy has been cited as a part of the reasoning of several recent school mass shooters.

It does not surprise me that the New Yorker endorses such a philosophy.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

The fetus has been left as a singular totem of life and divinity, to be protected, no matter the costs, even if everything else might fall.

You have defined these babies as sub-human property and you think it's right to kill them.

I do not worship unborn children.

I worship the God who creates them.

You were an unborn child. Your mother did not abort you. You should be grateful that she had you and gave birth to you. And you should love your children.

And if you want to know Christ, go to a Bible study.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Climate anxiety is a real thing. I think it is criminal to scare people over BS. CAGW is the biggest scam in the world.

They indoctrinate children at school and make them terrified to reproduce.

That's what we have now -- terrified children. Scared of the future, scared to marry, scared to have babies.

I think Roe v. Wade was motivated by an urge to control population (not feminism). Blackmun wanted to pay poor people to abort their own children. (Not with his money, of course, but with tax dollars).

Our authorities erased unborn babies out of existence. Then they erased fathers out of existence.

Abortion is depicted as something a woman does. Boys and men are taught, by feminists, that pregnancy does not concern them and has nothing to do with them.

Feminists are now dismayed to find out that women can also be erased out of existence.

Human reproduction itself has been deconstructed. No babies, no fathers, and now, no women. The young have accepted this teaching, and so now they are non-binary, and looking to the magical surgeons to fix them.

Our authorities are dishonest and depraved. And by "authorities," I mean our lawyer class and our doctor class. The upper class in our society has done a lot of evil to the young, and the trusting.

Jamie म्हणाले...

people always seem to get into moral trouble when they decide that what they want to do actually happens to really be what God wanted all along.

And there it is: human history in one sentence. Or at least all the worst of it.

Pretty it up any way you want, "scholars" of history; what you are doing is scrabbling to provide yourselves a moral justification for doing whatever the hell strikes your fancy. What "conservatives" - as well as theologians, brave philosophers, and real historians - would commend to you is considering whether your desperate impulse to justify your choices might be a sign that your choices suck.

Jeff Weimer म्हणाले...

(the fetus functions as a) 'fantasy of wholeness in the face of overwhelming anxiety and an inability to have faith in a progressive, better future.'

Progressives actively like to kill children in the womb. Why should *anyone* have any "faith" in what they want for the future?

boatbuilder म्हणाले...

What a neat trick. Project your own apocalyptic fantasy onto other people, then accuse them of projection.

iowan2 म्हणाले...

But, in recent decades, she notes, the natural world has begun to show its irreparable damage.

As a person in their 6th decade, the world I live in has never been so alive, diverse, and active. Measured by by nature. I spend all day, out and about in rural Iowa. The flora and fauna, have never been so vibrant.
And if you want to measure the amount of chemicals, fertilizer, and diesel fuel used per bushel, it is a fraction of what it was just 30 years ago.

Jersey Fled म्हणाले...

She's right. Abortion is sacred to some. Just not the ones that she thinks.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

This is an insane lie...

For most of history, women ended unwanted pregnancies as they needed to, taking herbal or plant-derived preparations on their own or with the help of female healers and midwives, who presided over all forms of treatment and care connected with pregnancy.

If this were true, there wouldn't be a $1 billion abortion industry, and Roe v. Wade would never have happened.

Maybe The New Yorker ought to do a rethink before they advocate for abortions by non-doctors. All my life I've been told that backstreet abortions were horrific for women. And now I'm told it's easy. Just swallow a plant or a herb!

There are, of course, herbs and plants that will poison you and cause miscarriages. They often killed the moms taking the herbs and plants as well.

Now The New Yorker is throwing out the FDA, the regulatory state, the medical profession -- all those things that were in place to make abortion "safe for women" -- as unnecessary.

Doctors? Who needs doctors?

The cynic in me thinks that the assholes sitting in their New York office -- who would never abort a pregnancy via swallowing a plant or a herb -- simply do not give a shit if an aborting girl kills herself along with her baby.

The optimist in me says that this writer, and her editors, are peddling fantasy as opposed to doing actual research.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

It's the New Yorker method for abortion in Alabama and Mississippi.

Can't afford to fly to a blue state?

Just swallow a plant or an herb! You'll be fine!

mikee म्हणाले...

I scream into the void: any author using such a bad pun as "abortion ... a grave act" should not be taken seriously.

Greg The Class Traitor म्हणाले...

Writes Jia Tolentino, in "Is Abortion Sacred? Abortion is often talked about as a grave act. But bringing a new life into the world can feel like the decision that more clearly risks being a moral mistake" (The New Yorker).

If you dont' think you should be bringing a new life into the world, either dont' have sex, or use birth control.

Get your tubes tied. Get a vasectomy.

Take responsibility for yourself.

If your'e not willing to do that, I'm willing to make a trade: You can get an aboriton, but as part of the procedure you get your tubes tied.

farmgirl म्हणाले...

In Ecclesiastes, the writer says, “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything (11:5, ESV).

G*d created Nature. He can heal it- and it can heal itself.
Abortion is a sacrament to those who grasp the power from the Creator and replace Him w/themselves.

farmgirl म्हणाले...

“That's what we have now -- terrified children. Scared of the future, scared to marry, scared to have babies.”

Word.

farmgirl म्हणाले...

Mikee: the saddest thing is they don’t even get a grave.
They get incinerated. Sick sick sick.