If Neo-Platonism is so much more than a context, why don't we see it in the Old
and New Testaments and in the Qur'án?
posted at 08:08:49 AM by Dr. Mark A. Foster
Tuesday,March 29,2005
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>>For all the world to see, a 41-year-old woman, who has committed no crime,
will die of dehydration and starvation in the longest public execution in American
history.<<
Irrespective of one's views on this issue, the above statement is totally absurd.
In the United States alone, life support, which (in Florida) is legally defined
as including a feeding tube, is disconnected from thousands of people everyday.
My mother was in a permanent vegetative state and comatose; and my sister and I
authorized her to be disconnected from life support this past October (in accordance
with her expressed wishes in her living will). It took her about a week to die.
The length of the process differs in each case.
The only reason we are hearing about this situation is due to the long-term dispute
between her husband and parents. Aside from that, the particulars are very common.
It is unfortunate that Ms. Schiavo did not leave a living will. However, the courts
accepted her husband's testimony that she would not have wanted to continue under
these circumstances. What else can be expect from our government? The U.S. is a
society of laws, not of anarchy.
It is strange that some of the same people, such as anti-abortionist Randall Terry,
who often argue against judicial activism are, in this case, now demanding it. In
other words, it is not judicial activism which these hypocrites oppose. It is judicial
activism which differs from their values.
posted at 07:46:21 PM by Dr. Mark A. Foster
Sunday,March 27,2005
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What has not, by and large, been discussed by the media is that the whole Terri
Schievo situation is being led by some of the main proponents of Christian Reconstructionism
orDominion Theology ("Christianism"), such as Randall Terry. It is a vehicle
for placing the U.S. government into the hands of fundamentalist Christians and
running it according to biblical (usually understood as Old Testament) law.
So many social conservatives continually scream against "activist judges.'
Now they want judges to be activists, to violate state statutes, because it suits
their agendas.
This whole issue is about the attempted take-over of American society by Christian
reconstructionists, like Randall Terry.
posted at 05:23:36 PM by Dr. Mark A. Foster
Friday,March 25,2005
The Terri Schiavo case is certainly a difficult one for many people. Nonetheless,
I suspect there is good will on all sides.
What it all comes down to, in my view, is whether a person has a right to refuse
medical care, which includes the use of a feeding tube. Ideally, this preference
should be expressed in a living will or an advanced directive.
In this case, since there was no living will, the courts had to determine what Terri
Schiavo wanted through legal testimony. The finding was that Ms. Schiavo would not
have wished to receive medical treatment under present circumstances.
Contrary to what is being claimed by some persons, this situation has nothing to
do with the rights of the disabled. It more closer approximates a Jehovah's Witness
who, on religious grounds, refuses a blood transplant which would save her or his
life.
The important question, as I see it, relates to whether any of us would want to
live in a medical dictatorship in which persons are compelled to receive treatment.
posted at 09:58:06 PM by Dr. Mark A. Foster
Friday,March 18,2005
s
posted at 07:27:40 AM by Dr. Mark A. Foster
Tuesday,March 08,2005
Species are names for categories. What may have remained constant throughout the
evolutionary processes is God's names for categories of beings. Thus, it is a category
which cannot become another category (irrespective of appearances). However, since
those categories refer to a divine naming process, they have no direct relationship
with what scientists study as evolution.
posted at 05:29:01 PM by Dr. Mark A. Foster
Monday,March 07,2005
Interesting verse in countering incarnationism:
"... yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."
-- 1 Corinthians 8:6, English Standard Version
Sent to CNN's American Morning (question
of the day):
Banning songs from the broadcast media because someone did something stupid is guilt
by association.
Was Kojak banned because, a few decades ago, a kid in Florida was acquitted of murder
after blaming his crime on watching that show?
No, if a song is banned, and I am not sure it is a good idea, it should be because
of the song itself, not because of some alleged association with violent behavior.
posted at 06:32:20 AM by Dr. Mark A. Foster
Tuesday,March 01,2005
Adam and Eve are a parable of the human condition. We are not perfect. We struggle
with issues of good and evil.
I cherish my own imperfection (living outside of the Garden of Eden). Life as a
perfect person would be very boring and unchalllenging.
The following email was a response to the question of the day on CNN's Daybreak.
It was read (with slight paraphrasing) by Chad Myers.
------
I am a
community college professor, and I see some of the best and worst products of our
local high schools.
For years now, the American educational system has moved toward a lowest-common-denominator
model. Standards have been reduced to supposedly accommodate diverse populations.
I would like to see standards raised, "grade inflation" reduced, and a
Japanese (and European) system of rigorous testing instituted.
The problem is that there are powerful people in America's secondary schools with
a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Any changes will not come easily.
Sincerely yours, Mark A. Foster, Ph.D. • Professor of Sociology
Johnson County
Community College, Overland Park, Kansas
913-469-8500 x3376 • Fax: 913-469-2589
• mfoster@jccc.edu
My fifteen websites: http://MarkFoster.net • Office: GEB
151-D
"Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger." --- Abbie Hoffman
posted at 04:59:57 AM by Dr. Mark A. Foster
