if fetuses aren't people

you don't need to know much about babies to realise that they don't change much on the day of birth. they don't go from being a blob of limbs and blood vessels to a tiny human being once they leave their mummy's tummy. and almost no-one, not even the most ardent pro-choicer, is going to try and say they do. 

this is a fetus. looks like any new babe, right? 

pro-choice people have been saying for a long time that these little ones do not really have a right to live. not until their born, or until they reach a certain number of weeks gestation etc. i suppose i can understand- not agree with, but understand - the latter argument. unfortunately, it doesn't take much reasoning before this happens. 

yep. two australian ethisists from monash and melbourne university are now arguing for post-birth abortions to become an excepted practice. seriously. 

they say that " Both a fetus and a newborn certainly are human beings and potential persons, but neither is a ‘person’ in the sense of ‘subject of a moral right to life’. We take ‘person’ to mean an individual who is capable of attributing to her own existence some (at least) basic value such that being deprived of this existence represents a loss to her." 

in other words, until you can articulate that your life means something to you, you don't really have the right to live one. 

"Merely being human is not in itself a reason for ascribing someone a right to life. Indeed, many humans are not considered subjects of a right to life: spare embryos where research on embryo stem cells is permitted, fetuses where abortion is permitted, criminals where capital punishment is legal."




a newborn with downs syndrome, via the age

the article goes on to say that children with serious disabilities such as down syndrome will be a burden to their families and the economy. since when did "being a burden" become any kind of reason for not allowing someone to live? can anyone say "fascism"?


 if we're talking about people who don't contribute financially to society, then there goes old people, seriously ill people, and chronic drug addicts. and this slippery slope just got steeper still. at what point does a normal, healthy infant become a person with rights anyway? do we really need to wait until they can say "i want to live. my life means something." 

this makes me so, so sad. 

fav pics this week

via my modern met

via kindnessgirl (neat idea, huh? ) 

via top design mag (yes, that's an elephant) 

via 640 pixels (tis a tulip farm. pretty! ) 

highlight from a really great sermon

"In beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work , 

sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and 

kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the 

power of God; with weapons of righteousness... through glory and dishonor,

in bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known, yet 

regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful,

yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich, having nothing, and possessing everything" 2 Corinthians 6

these were the words of the missionary and apostle paul. he claims to have had nothing, and at the exact same time, to have possessed everything. confused? our pastor at telopea church of christ wanted to illustrate the difference, so he told us he owned a piano and played a short, easy tune for us. it was kind of awkwardly bad :(  then he played a video of a great pianist who played so beautifully that the congregation started to clap even though mr great pianist wasn't actually there to receive our accolades. he might not have owned the piano he was playing; but he certainly possessed it! 

GOD commanded the israelites to possess israel. because he had given it to them. i have to remember this. how many gifts has GOD given me that i have yet to possess? 

our roses are blooming

why girls are obsessed with cameras

it's settled. i know there are a few boys out there who are a bit keen to star in every picture, but i think the average tween girl makes the backstreet boys look tame. i pulled out my camera today and the girls went stir-crazy. some of them started yelling to "get that thing away from me" - fixing their hair and plastering pretty smiles over their faces in the same breath. one threatened me with a water pistol, & a couple others stuck to my side like we were peas and carrots, jumping in front of the lens at every chance.

the boys just continued stuffing each other into cardboard boxes and downing cheese-and-vegemite sandwiches.

i don't think all this is because girls are vain. i think sometimes it's because they have learned to place a high value on their appearance, and they're insecure about that value. and other times, because pictures can be fun and silly and creative, and because capturing memories appeals to our sentimental side.

i hope that i can use my shoddy little camera in a way that is positive. the girls are pretty, but that's not what i love about taking photos of them. it's their enthusiasm, their creativity, and their vibrant smiles. if i could bottle up their liveliness and bounciness and sell it to the world, i'd be a rich girl.

speaking of enthusiasm, whilst we were hanging out and talking about other things, one girl, taylor, asked me why pastor tony has a tattoo. she (rightly) pointed out that there is a verse in the bible where God tells his people not to mark their bodies. i figured i knew the answer but that she should ask the pastor herself. she bounced off and about one minute later raced back into the hall, repeating his response word for word in one breath. she told us that jesus came and died and rose again so we would be free from the law. (that was the gist of it, anyway).

theology aside, her eagerness to learn makes me smile :) i made the girls promise me that they will continue reading their bibles, praying, asking questions, and finding answers. i reminded them that sometimes i or their parents or even our pastor will get things wrong, and that they need to always keep reading and learning and thinking for themselves

i hope taylor never loses her curiosity. i hope i don't.

who said it?

“i do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

“in questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.”

“mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.”

“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”

"passion is the genesis of genius.”

yep. galileo is one of my favorite, favorite scientists in history. he said all of the above quotes (minus the facebook ones, obviously) and some other stuff i love too. john lennox, an oxford professor of mathematics who is also my adopted grandfather, (though he doesn't yet know it) writes about galileo in God's undertaker;

"Galileo wanted to decide theories of science on the basis of evidence, not of arguments (based on) the authority of Aristotle....Galileo, who believed in the Bible, who was advancing a better scientific understanding of the universe, not only against the obscurantism of some churchmen, but (and first of all) against the resistance of secular philosophies of his time who, like the churchmen, were disciples of Aristotle".

sometimes, like the churchmen and academics who opposed galileo, i assume i'm right without stopping to humbly question and reason my way through a topic. i'm lucky to be surrounded by people who challenge my views constantly, because defending what i believe requires critical thinking and deeper learning. i'm also thankful for god's word, which, (although my understanding and interpretation may sometimes be lacking) is in itself, absolutely perfect.

you rock, galileo!

bubblegum on her tongue

things you should do

you should....

1. read this book.

because it's hilarious, and also because it's smart. my favorite part is where the moirs explain that all boys start off as baby girls, until partway through the pregnancy when an ocean of testosterone washes away neural connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. seriously? boys are missing parts of their brain? who knew? this also explains why boys often can't do as many things at once - it's because they are always using exactly one half of their brain at a time, instead of both. on the flip side, it means they can concentrate better and achieve more in a narrower field. next time my brother-in-law asks how my sister and i can carry on three conversations at once, i'm going to explain that its because an ocean of testosterone never washed away all our vital neural connections

2. make coconut ice


if you have a sweet tooth like me anyways. it's really easy but as you can see mine turned out super crumbly. next time i will add more copha :-) aside from that, its the easiest thing in the world. mix two parts icing sugar to one part shredded coconut, dig a well in the middle & add 1-3 egg whites, plus a drop of vanilla essence. mix it all in with melted copha (i used 125 g, more next time). its easiest to mix it with your hands but you WILL make a mess. unless you're my mother and you never make a mess :-)
next, smooth out half the mixture into a greased pan, & colour the other half pink. smooth out the second layer, leave it to set for a half hour, and you're done. takes about five minutes to make a whole heap.

2. go for a walk. every day.

not to be preachy or anything... ;) i used to wish i could be the kind of motivated person who goes for a walk every day. then i got this biggish dog who lives in a smallish courtyard and goes crazy if she doesn't get her walk(s). but i seriously love it. we see such pretty things. like these spiders webs. aren't they lovely?! we've also made friends. their names are jack and bear. jack is human. bear is canine. whenever maddy and i set out, she whines if we don't head towards the oval where she knows jack and bear might be. jack is a bull terrier and almost as crazy as maddy. they jump and growl and chase each other. its all a bit scary really, but when they get tired they snuggle up together so we know they're mates. its a shame they got their bits cut off 'caus i think they'd make cute babies.

4. some uni work.



.... or is that just me?

secret zeke

pics speak for themselves, right?

he's perfect!

names like roses. because the name of my blog shouldn't matter as long as it reads sweet.

this year it looks like a lot is going to change. i have always wanted to keep a journal, and have been sort of good at it, but i've never seriously tried keeping a journal that is open to and of some use for those interested enough in me to take a peek. (hi, mum!)

:)

it seems sort of fun and this way, i can update all my friends who live overseas and sprawled across oz at once.

i spent the last three days with friends in the cute city of newcastle. i've heard people say that australians aren't very good at hospitality. i don't doubt it, but i think an exception needs to be made for the people of newcastle.

i stayed with the mackay family, and they treated me very, very well. one night they served a delicious dinner with prawn cocktails, white wine, and a dish made from

chicken, camambert cheese, and cranberry jam. yummy!

i loved it. i also loved catching up with some friends i met over a year ago at nextgen.

this is candace.

she is an opera singer, and kind of a walking juke box. she is amazing.

i caught up with emma, who has recently brought her

own little house and is busy rennovating it. she came home from night shift in surgery, and cooked breakfast for my friend sam and i - including bacon and eggs, hash browns, toast, and tea. it was perfect! emma is a natural hostess, even while she's exhausted and entertaining in a not-quite finished home. sadly, i forgot my camera so i have no photos :(

nor did i take any pictures of bron and paul, who i also met last year at nextgen. as a matter of fact they met each other last year at next gen too and now they are married! i couldn't have picked it but they make an awesome couple. they gave us a tour of their home, which is an old courthouse. jail cells, docks, and jury seat included. it is one of the most interesting and beautiful houses i have ever visited.

sam was my official tour guide, and showed me all the important sights in newcastle. beaches, beaches, and more beaches. plus a whole lot of restaurants, many many ships, and some magnificent old church buildings. newcastle would be perfect if it weren't for the mozzies. ouch! thankyou, sam, for showing me around :) i had so much fun!

just look at that sky and sea! (yeah, i finally remembered my camera....)

anywhoo, i have to get to bed. i don't know how good a night's sleep it's going to be with sarah aka 1 am sleepwalker having a "sleepover" in my bed but its worth i'd say it's almost worth it just for the cuteness factor. and because the sooner i get to sleep, the sooner i get to wake up and meet my newest nephew who is in the process of being born as i type. yay!