www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Is the Soul Generated or Infused?

I appreciate Denise's quandary. But the first thing I have to say is this: Don't ever look at "law" as the arbiter of sin. Laws are formulated by human beings and are intended to provide "equal treatment" to everyone, i.e., the idea of "justice", everybody gets the same treatment.

Unfortunately for the lawyers, this just does not and cannot apply in theology.

Why? Because the law is, of necessity, blind to circumstances. It doesn't care about circumstances -- it CANNOT, because there would be so many confounding factors that the law could not be easily administered. So, the law looks only at the formulated "words" and tries to interpret the situation according to the words. This is a recipe for disaster. This is also why in the sacrament of penance one does not go to a church "lawyer" (barf, barf, puke, puke!!) for absolution of sins, but to a pastor, i.e., a shepherd/caretaker. Why? Because a lawyer can only look at the law and whether it is broken or not. A pastor looks at the guidelines for holiness and then is forced to help the penitent make appropriate decisions for spiritual improvement.

Once again the believing Christian is thrown back to the Gospel words: "love God, love neighbor as self". And to live accordingly. Has no one ever thought about the fact that Christ did not publish a codex of Canon Law? Hmmmm. Perhaps there is a lesson for us in this.

Blessings!

Maxiumus,

LOL, I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I don't expect the government (or any non-Catholic entity) to conform to the Catholic Church's view on this. By this I am not implying that these little "divine messages" are, in fact, the Catholic Church's view; I'm just thinkin' out loud. However, my thoughts should be more toward the subject and better formulated before I post them. I have an inclination to post whatever pops up in my mind. Please excuse me.

ChristTeen287

Is the soul passed on by the parents or created by God at birth? I'm curious too. hehe.

Adam

"The Catholic Church, or Methodist, as you are, would have to come up with a better reason then this to compel the state to outlaw test tube fertilization. -Justin

By using "test tube" science, it is hoped to fertilize the egg outside the corporeal environment and then implant the egg where it can grow into the child they very much desire. Life is not all black and white. -Dr. John

reply:
I totally agree with what Denise has written on this thread. The teaching of the Catholic Church is very clear on this as it is on abortion. The Church gives many, many good reasons for this teaching, some of which are given in the quote from the official Catechism.

Dr. John said:
"Don't ever look at "law" as the arbiter of sin. Laws are formulated by human beings and are intended to provide "equal treatment" to everyone, i.e., the idea of "justice", everybody gets the same treatment."

reply:
When it comes to the Church's condemnation of the practice of artificial insemination, we aren't talking about laws of human beings, but rather the Church's application of God's Law. Anyone who considers himself a member of the Catholic Church, I would think, would want to be open to understanding the reasons the Church offers for this teaching.

The end does not justify the means. The Church is also emphatic that there are certain acts which are intrinsically evil in and of themselves, and no situation can justify them.

Adam said:
Is the soul passed on by the parents or created by God at birth? I'm curious too. hehe.

reply:
I'm surprised by the little response to this question. I've posted this on other forums with similar results. I'm starting to think this is a question not many have thought much about. I hope I'm wrong because I was hoping to gain some insights on this from this forum.

In Christ's Light,
Der-Ghazarian