John, let's put this right where it really is:   the people I had this discussion with were also opposed to birth control of any kind (and no, they were not Catholic). That's where the discussion started, and then it moved on to abortion. Sex out of wedlock, they maintained, is sin. And if a person commits a sin (or at least what they regarded as sin), then that person must be punished for it.

I found their whole outlook disgustingly mean-spirited and focused strongly on sin and punishment. Damned little regard for the welfare of people, and devoid of the sort of love and forgiveness that Jesus spoke about often and at length. Not what I have been taught is a Christian viewpoint.

Don Firth