Life: in the Beginning: Bellarmine Forum Magazine Spring 2014

That is kind of the way the definition of human life has evolved in the last few decades. A hundred years ago, when a woman got pregnant, she knew she wasn't having a dog or cat in nine months. She knew she was carrying a living boy or girl and if she got rid of that child, she was killing it.

So why suddenly, with the dawn of the '60s and '70s, was there a question about when life begins: it's at conception; no, it's fertilization (which sounds like something for farm crops); no it's later, at implantation in the uterus; no, it's....on and on. It's a zygote, an embryo, fetus, but never called a child until the moment of birth -- and maybe not even then if a handicap is present.

Science went from sincerely asking about the beginning of developing life in utero, to a Pilate attitude, "What's life?" an ultimate blow-off: We know it's human, it's got the requisite chromosomes, but what's the big deal. You don't want it, call it something else -- tissue, product of conception -- and get rid of it.

This issue of the Bellarmine Forum magazine is all about the big deal of "Life: In the Beginning." Our unparalleled writers -- Charles Rice, Reginald Gallop, Monica M. Miller -- take on the issue of anti-life, that is, contraception, why its is wrong, and how it is leading Catholics on a collision course with government. Gallop describes sexual union as picking up the hotline to God. Miller says outright taking God out of the picture by the use of contraception is contributing to gay marriage. Rice foresees persecution of the Catholic Church on the horizon.

Articles include:

• Marriage and the Hotline to God, Dr. Reginald Gallup
• Contraception -- The Folly of Freedom, Dr. Monica M. Miller
• A Clear and Present Danger, Dr. Charles Rice
• Campaign for Humanae Vitae, Christopher Manion
• Contraception & Persecution, Matthew Yonke
• Think with the Church, Pedro Arrupe, SJ

As God Leaves the Stage...

"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). So why is the population of the developed countries below replacement level? While Jesus was talking about spiritual life in union with Him, there seems to be a concurrent loss in the area of grace, even as this is being written.

When did life become so hateful to itself

It became so when man pushed God out of creation and took over control. Instead of trusting the provident Uncaused Cause, man interfered like a traffic cop detouring drivers from their destination. The first detour was conception control, then controlling births by abortion, then logically, controlling lives of the substandard -- including Third World countries where contraception and abortion are imported with aid dollars -- and finally controlling marriage because without the possibility of conception, the need for the traditional family is passé. Bring on the aberrations! Bring on sin! Bring on persecution of those who object to the downward slide of society toward hell.

Persecution?

Why persecute the Church? Because the Catholic Church claims God as its founder and Divine Law as its Supreme Court. The Church holds out a moral beacon in its teachings and tradition that has survived two millennia. The Church proclaims Truth to those who want to skew values, truth and all that is good and holy their own way. And if the Church is an obstacle to the untruth that is proposed, the Church must be discredited, silenced, erased from the view of society. It is as simple as that.

But Jesus Christ came to give life and in that life lies the power of the Risen Lord so that the faithful can courageously proclaim Truth as the Church has for centuries.

The Bellarmine Forum, founded in 1965 as The Wanderer Forum Foundation, is a section 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to the discussion and exposition of the Roman Catholic Faith. In the wake of Vatican II, it was apparent that the laity needed to band together a preserve, discuss, and defend Catholic traditions, faith, and teaching. It has always been a place to discuss and test new ideas against the wisdom of tradition -- That's why we exist! Venturing into all media, we took a patron saint in 2011, and chose St. Robert Bellarmine, because he typifies the common sense, down to the ground, yet hard hitting and sharply analytical discussion we love. While it's not right to call them patrons (yet), we are also fans of Fr. John Hardon SJ and Fr. Walter Ciszek SJ. Fr. Hardon's tireless work to help people understand the Catholic faith and his clear, level headed explanations are some of our favorites. Fr. Ciszek's down to earth understanding of the heights of Catholic spirituality taught to him in the guts of the Soviet gulags inspire us to keep strong in the faith, God is with us! The works we put in print vary from the highly academic and researched to off-the-cuff fun on topics from a Catholic perspective. On the web at bellarmineforum.org, check us out! The Bellarmine Forum is a network of lay Catholics who have banded together to promote and defend the true teachings of the Catholic Faith.   Our purpose is:

• to educate and strengthen in faith all Catholics and their families
• inform them on current issues relating to the Church’s teachings;
• to support and defend the teaching authority of the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth; and,
• to encourage others to observe and uphold their Catholic Faith.