I’m not sure why this is such a surprise?
Had I not been listening to Beyond Belief one afternoon last
week – supposedly in the company of distracted mothers and dozing pensioners
– I would never have known that some Islamic scholars believe an embryo to
be a human being only after the 40th day.
Within Christianity (Roman version) it’s moved, over the centuries, from the quickening (18 weeks or so) to that 40 days to the current conception.
In
And I understand you can blame the cult of the Virgin Mary in the nineteenth century for that – some kind of complicated argument (the details of which have healed over, rather than been forgotten, in my mind) about whether Mary herself had been conceived in a sinful act.
Knowing that certainly makes me feel better about the anti-condom campaigns in Africa.
I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d rather listen to scientific rather than religious opinion on conception and foetal development.
Does anyone have a link for this? I’m intrigued.
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