Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Meghan McCain, Theologian


Meghan McCain makes a few easily rebuttable claims in this excerpt about abortion in one of the episodes of The View. At the outset, she maintains

.... spiritual journey and relationship with God in their church is their own personal journey and I don't try to proselytize my spirituality on other people but if you are a devout Catholic as Presidenty Biden claims to be, abortion is a cardinal sin that can do deep spiritual harm to you."

I don't try to proselytize my spirituality on other people. Translated into English, that may mean "I don't impose my religious beliefs onto others," after which McCain does precisely that. She asserts "abortion is a cardinal sin that can do deep spiritual harm to you." Uh, no. According to Wikipedia

The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices, or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings, although they are not mentioned in the Bible. Behaviours or habits are classified under this category if they directly give rise to other immoralities. According to the standard list, they are pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth, which are contrary to the seven heavenly virtues.

These are not "deadly" sins and do not cause one to drop dead. Rather, they are traits or emotions, along with innumerable others worthy of avoiding. None is characterized in Scripture as a "cardinal sin" nor is anything there labeled a "deadly sin." Instead, "we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God," which suggests a wider range of sin, without a specific claim of "spiritual harm," whose definition is elusive.

In her sloppy and rambling way, McCain may be inferring that commission of a "cardinal sin" blocks admission to heaven. Given the universal inability to avoid all sin, that would enable none of us to be saved. rendering irrelevant the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  And without the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice as outlined in the Bible, it is unclear where McCain derives a Christian concept of God at all.The concept of seven sins as a unit is not a divine construct but a creation of human beings.

These sins also have nothing to do with abortion, whether of the intentional or the spontaneous sort. Ironically, Ms. McCain has herself had an abortion, known alternately as "spontaneous abortion" or "miscarriage,"  That was reportedly a traumatic event for McCain, memory of which should have prompted her to clarify what abortion, which is mentioned in the Bible exactly zero (0) times, God has expressly forbidden.

But that is Meghan McCain's choice- which is what this is all about. 

 


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