The Hopeless Muddle in Biden's Brain

10/12/2012

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what we are to do (e.g., worship God through the Mass, frequent the Sacraments, and so forth).

Abortion, however, has nothing to do with revealed truth. Abortion has to do with the natural moral law. The Church's teaching regarding abortion (like the rest of the Church's Catholic social doctrine which, as understood by Biden, can justly be imposed on everyone) is not, by any stretch of the imagination, de fide.

We might say that the Church's teaching regarding abortion is de moribus; it has to do with morals and not faith.

The Church is not in the business of imposing by the force of law its de fide beliefs. (This is also true of the State.) The Church knows that the act of faith is a deeply personal one, and she will not compel the Jew or the Muslim or the Buddhist under force of law to believe that God is Trinity. She believes religious freedom and freedom of conscience is a fundamental human right. (Compendium, Nos. 421-23)

But matters that relate to morals, matters de moribus, involve the natural moral law which pertains to all men. The source of the natural moral law is our own nature, and is discovered by reason and not by faith. (Compendium, Nos. 140-41)

Hence, matters than involve morals, matters de moribus, can be imposed and often should and must be imposed on others because they involve the dignity of all human beings, fundamental human rights, and therefore are essential to the common good.

By the sleight of hand of calling a matter that relates to morals as a matter that relates to faith, Biden falls into moral relativism. By this intellectual error that no Catholic should fall into, morals, like faith, become something wholly private. By this intellectual error, all of a sudden morals--which are based on human nature and therefore apply to all men regardless of belief--become like belief in the Trinity, and therefore cannot be imposed on "Muslims and Jews, . . . on others."

This is a categorical mistake.

Biden's scruples regarding imposing another person's morality, of course, are also a lie because Biden has no problem imposing the morals of the liberal abortion advocate or the liberal homosexual "marriage" advocate on all good Christians, Jews, and Muslims. He is, for example, quite vociferous in assuring that we allow abortions--even if the force of law must be involved, and even pay for contraception and abortions of others--even under the compulsion of law if need be.

Similarly, when it comes to homosexual "marriage," Biden has no problem imposing the morals of the liberal on us. He would force homosexual "marriage" on all good Christians, Jews, and Muslims willy nilly. If he would have his way, he would force us to accept homosexual "marriage" if the full force of the law must be recruited.

In listening to Biden, then, I am not quite sure where the "Biden's Area" in his brain lies and how and where he suffered his lesions and trauma there. But there is no doubt that Joe Biden's "Biden's Area" has suffered serious lesions and serious trauma. This diagnosis is clear based on Biden's inability to articulate Catholic truths.

Whatever muddle he spoke of in yesterday's debate was not Catholicism, but an impaired Catholicism, a sort of Catholic aphasia. Whatever came out of Biden's mouth certainly had no basis in the Catholic social doctrine he soul righteously touts as central to his religious and political life.

Biden's prognosis is--alas--worrisome. He has been party to the holocaust of tens of millions of the unborn. He apparently aims to continue the holocaust to Moloch. There is no hope for him, as he has blood on his hands, the kind of blood that cries out to heaven for vengeance, unless . . . he repents and believes in the Gospel, he gets busy doing all he can in his position of power and influence to save the lives of the millions killed by abortion a year in this country and to undo the harm and injustice he has caused and the confusion he has sown.

"Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you . . . I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life."

Biden's views on abortion offend the God of creation who is the author of the natural moral law. This is something certain de moribus.

Biden's views on abortion also offend God the Trinity who happens to be the same God as the God of creation, since such belief is something de fide.

It is to this one and only God that Biden must confess and to whom he must make amends. And this is not to mention the amends he owes to his tiny human brothers and sisters he has allowed to be slaughtered with impunity and under color of Constitutional protection.

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Andrew M. Greenwell is an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas, practicing in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is married with three children. He maintains a blog entirely devoted to the natural law called Lex Christianorum. You can contact Andrew at agreenwell@harris-greenwell.com.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: abortion, Joe Biden, Catholic social doctrine

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1 - 10 of 11 Comments

robert matzinger
8 months ago
Joe Biden suffers from a particular form of delusion: one that compels one to actually "believe" what he says, even when he knows it's wrong. Some might call this "lying." Joe believes he's a good Catholic, even though he advocates and supports issues that are in exact opposite of the teachings of the Church he claims to profess to belong to. Joe Biden has long forgotten what the Catholic Church and "Catholics" believe in and stand for when it comes to the issues of abortion, contraceptives, and gay marriage.
RayR
8 months ago
Thank you Andrew for another well-written article, It inspired me to write the following letter to the editor of the Newark Star Ledger about the VP debate.

Joe Biden misrepresented Catholic teaching, science and law answering the pro-life question, whereas Paul Ryan was truthful (and, coincidentally, more civil) in the debate.
That each person is an image bearer of God can only be taken on faith. However, that the child in the womb is a unique person distinct from the mother, though confirmed by faith, can be known by science and reason alone. The DNA of the child is different than that of the mother, proving we are dealing with two distinct individuals; thus, the mother’s right of autonomy over her own body does not extend over the child’s.
Further, the Church explicitly teaches that our faith is not to be quarantined from public discourse and action. Civil society concurs: it is right to act according to what one believes, so we should promote actions and laws that we believe are for good: how fast to drive; how large a soda to drink. If Joe Biden believes each child in the womb is a distinct person, he is hypocritical even as a citizen to say that he will not promote laws to protect them.
As a witness to truth, Mr. Biden proves unreliable. That’s my gut feeling.
Judy Claar
8 months ago
Carol Q.: I do not know that your response deserves one, but, almost everyone has a brain. It is a matter of what level it functions at. Then, if one's brain is functioning properly, it is a matter of environment, family life, religious customs and beliefs, and a matter of how one responds to the input of that information with his own Free Choice. Knowing right from wrong. Really, Carol, your Biden Catholic mentality seems to be showing. "The Truth Will Set You Free". Read True Catholic Doctrine. Sunday Blessings...
mgm.
8 months ago
Hay Father Farfaglia whens the last time you saw a medical bill? does you order pay for them?When my parish priest came back to church after months of cancer treatment and knock Obama care in Mass I asked him after Mass how he paid his medical bills ,I could tell by the look on his face I had him cold,He just stood there and said nothing .I live a few miles from a wonderful retirement home for priest and nuns I go there to pray to the Blessed Mother in their chapel maybe you'll end up there one day I,am not going to say they don't deserved a decent end to life they earned it but as someone that had to go bankrupt because of medical bills my life savings gone I pray that God will grant me a decent death by dying in bed or just dropping dead in my home someday cause I sure can't afford any kind of decent long term care insurance anymore. Catholic online send this to Father you have my E-mail address. P.S.Father I spent the last two afternoons and will Sunday after Mass outside of Walmart collecting for the K of C so don't tell me I'am a mis-Catholicize Catholic like EWTN.called men like me for voting for President Obama.
Alex Atertong
8 months ago
good memory, Fr. F. Narrow-minded judges will be appointed under Obama as demonstrated when Elana Kagan was being questioned. I too was almost stopped in my tracks at her answer. (thank you Senator Coburn) These are the types that Obama and Biden would pick. They are not "open minded" about what it says in the Declaration about natural law, the Delaration Jefferson called our decaratory charter of rights. Nobody in the mainstream media seemed to care one iota aboout the basis of our law being torn from its "guilded frame" as John Q. would say. Fr. F. don't you just wish Ryan would have mentioned, hey why not revisit this case, like they did during slavery times,hundreds of years of bad precedent- why, if the Roe and the Doe in this case wish it revisited, why does Biden object? what is the fear? Will the citizens actually find out how duplicitous the case actually was? Speaking of rape and incest-how about Biden explaining that lie in that case? I see no wishy-washy in Biden. He has taken this lie to its heights with his role in the senate. He is complicit up to his eyeballs. After the debate, only the fool was left smiling. I recommend Rachel's Rosary to the veep, since he says he prays it.
Fr. James Farfaglia
8 months ago
Andrew:
I can't recall what year it was, but it was a long time ago. I was ordained just a few years and one of my summer assignments was to preach weekend missionary appeals for the missionary work of the Church down in Mexico. That summer and three or four other summers after that, I had to drive long distances throughout many parts of our beautiful country.

It was the summer of the Clarence Thomas hearings. Joe Biden, if I remember correctly, directed the hearings. As I drove many, many miles to go from parish to parish, I listened with great interest to the hearings on PBS radio.

One thing that I will never forget is when at one moment Senator Biden asked Clarence Thomas if he believed in natural law. A famous discussion about natural law took place between Biden and Thomas. What was evident throughout the discussion was the fact that Joseph Biden did not believe in a natural law.

I remember clearly my response while driving: "What?????" I almost drove off of the highway.

How can a country even function if our own government leaders do not believe in a natural law? If there is no reference to an objective moral order, anything is possible.

Thus, the world that we live in and the mess that we are in.

Regarding Joseph Biden, with all due respect to the office of the Vice President and to Joseph Biden, unfortunately, he is a classic example of the Catholic in the pew who really isn't a Catholic. I would love to reach out to Joe with profound compassion and try and bring him to the beauty of the fullness of the truth, but I am afraid that he is one of the foot soldiers of the dictatorship of relativism.

Better to have a good Mormon and a good Catholic in the White House, than a radical leftist and a bad Catholic.

Thanks Andrew for your excellent articles for Catholic Online. Keep writing.
DLL
8 months ago
Abortion on demand involves the death of another's,small defenseless human body,within the body of the pregnant woman. That is fundamental fact. It is not subject to opinion,political or otherwise. The current laws defy this fact. The Democratic Party platform is in direct opposition to this fact. Biden is a Party man before he is a man of faith. By this I mean,if it is his choice of party platform or his faith,he will pick party platform each and every time.
Valentine Villaluz
8 months ago
Wow, before criticizing someone's stands on social doctrine, why don't we start with the church itself. The church teaching about giving up someone's possession to help out the poor and the needy. I've read an article lately about a church who instead of collecting tithes from its people, they are giving out money to help them. That's the real Christian virtue, unlike the Catholic second collection rules that being impose to most churches. Almost everyone is in financial crisis, why not open up your bank and start helping out people. I thought the church is not for profit? But look on the clergies and priests, they have nice houses and great cars. To be Christ like is it live like Christ and that is to serve the needy and the poor.

I understand that church mission to spread the good news but how can we spread out the news if there is nothing good about it. How can we explain about moral crisis within the church? How can we defend the church stands on social issues wherein the church itself has its own social crisis.
Carole Q.
8 months ago
All writing is based upon a central premise. Yours seems to be that Biden has a brain. Hence, your premise is flawed.
daughter of the Church
8 months ago
He takes one of the most precious of all natural bonds, which should be encouraged in positive law and relativises it. He de-femanises the female psysche with the effects of his impairing legions. I have heard of these legions before. They are called the catotonic legions of Chesire. They cause excessisve smiling and giggling, which can appear as the patient suffers from the effects of nitrous oxide but internally the legions spread and start to atrophy the myocardial tissue lowering the hypaxic drive, causing a false paxic drive to fool the system. Sounds like he also suffers from positional asphyxia, by his description of his faith. The patient may need a an internal defribrillation to cardiovert the inverted t waves he was throwing out there last night. Seriously, Mr Biden go to your bible, go to your Church, go to your church doctors for healing. Let Christ transform those stony calcifications of the heart.

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