Well put, and I've often observed that the most strident anti-abortionists are also the people most vehemently opposed to any measures that would reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies - sex education, access to contraception, and any other alternatives to their "abstinence-only" fantasies.
Of all the stories about the church objecting to anything that they saw as circumventing "God's will", my favourite is the one that Asimov cites about their objections to the lightning rod. The incident which apparently changed their mind occurred when a load of munitions being transported through Italy in the early 19C was stored in a village church during a thunderstorm, on the optimistic assumption that God would never smite a church. Of course, the church spire was the tallest building in the village and had no lightning rod... it was struck by lightning, ignited the gunpowder, and the entire village was destroyed.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-08-22 12:52 am (UTC)Of all the stories about the church objecting to anything that they saw as circumventing "God's will", my favourite is the one that Asimov cites about their objections to the lightning rod. The incident which apparently changed their mind occurred when a load of munitions being transported through Italy in the early 19C was stored in a village church during a thunderstorm, on the optimistic assumption that God would never smite a church. Of course, the church spire was the tallest building in the village and had no lightning rod... it was struck by lightning, ignited the gunpowder, and the entire village was destroyed.