Tasty Tidbits 9/7/11

1. Preventive Medicine.
2. Crisis and Leviathan.
3. On naturalism.
4. Paradise at Ground Zero.
5. Serving the work.
6. It must be poetry, I guess.
7. Let us litanize.

Having separately posted tasteless politics, I turn now to the tasty.

1

Prenatal testing for Down syndrome should not be considered preventive medicine. Such tests cannot prevent the presence of Down syndrome in a child; they simply decrease the likelihood of a Down syndrome child’s survival beyond the womb. Expectant parents need accurate information, including the many positive outcomes, about life raising a child with Down syndrome.

Mark. W. Leach at Public Discourse.

2

Rahm “Never Let A Crisis Go to Waste” Emmanuel presumably read Crisis and Leviathan.

But Emmanuel may have just been less discreet than others.

3

I’ve blogged that materialism cannot explain human persons and, perhaps, cannot truly explain matter. Coincidentally, an “atheist of the frankest sort” has a few congruent words to say about naturalism, though his conclusions probably wouldn’t coincide with mine or those publicized at Mars Hill Audio Journal.

[A]ccepting the naturalist slogan without looking beneath the slick packaging is an unscientific way to form one’s beliefs about the world, not something naturalists should recommend.

4

Elias Crim at Front Porch Republic highlights a notable aspect of 9-11’s aftermath precisely because he thinks few other will do so: “disasters occasion not only suffering (for the direct victims) but also joy (for the others). They reveal our yearnings for community, purposefulness and meaningful work.”

5

“The worker’s first duty is to serve the work.” (Dorothy Sayers) Example: Saddleback Leather Co.

6

Police Notes, from today’s Writers Almanac, must be poetry because they always lead with poetry.

7

If you’re any kind of Christian, and you’re on Twitter, you really should consider following Unvirtuous Abbey, “Holier than thou, but not by much. Digital monks praying for people with first world problems. From our keyboard to God’s ears.”

Also playing on Facebook, it appears.

Bon appetit!