{"id":55277,"date":"2021-03-03T18:45:25","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T22:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=55277"},"modified":"2021-03-03T18:45:25","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T22:45:25","slug":"seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html","title":{"rendered":"Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Atheist and anti-theist<\/span>\u00a0Bob Seidensticker<\/a>\u00a0runs the influential<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Cross Examined<\/em><\/a>\u00a0blog. He asked me there,<\/span>\u00a0on 8-11-18<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking your worldview. You just going to let that stand? Or could you present a helpful new perspective that I\u2019ve ignored on one or two of those posts?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0He added in June 2017\u00a0<\/span>in a combox<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cIf I\u2019ve misunderstood the Christian position or Christian arguments, point that out. Show me where I\u2019ve mischaracterized them.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Delighted to oblige his wishes . . .<\/span><\/p>\n

Bob (for the record) virtually\u00a0begged<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0pleaded<\/em>\u00a0with me to dialogue with him in May 2018, via email. But by\u00a0<\/span>10-3-18<\/a>,\u00a0following\u00a0massive, childish name-calling attacks<\/a>\u00a0against me,\u00a0 encouraged by Bob on his blog, he banned me from commenting there. I also banned him for violation of my<\/span>\u00a0rules for discussion<\/a>, but (unlike him)<\/span>\u00a0provided detailed\u00a0reasons<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0it was justified.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bob\u2019s cowardly hypocrisy knows no bounds.<\/span>\u00a0On 6-30-19<\/a>,\u00a0he was chiding someone for something very much like his own behavior:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cSpoken like a true weasel trying to run away from a previous argument. You know, you could just say, \u2018Let me retract my previous statement of X\u2019 or something like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Yeah,\u00a0Bob<\/em>\u00a0could!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>He still hasn\u2019t yet uttered one peep in reply<\/a>\u00a0to \u2014 now \u2014 71 of my critiques of his atrocious reasoning<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Bible-Basher Bob reiterated and rationalized his intellectual cowardice yet again on\u00a012-21-20:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI love people who can make cogent arguments against mine or point out data I hadn\u2019t considered before. What I dislike (and ban) are $#&*%@s who . . . refuse to learn\/adapt . . . ignore compelling arguments against their position, and so on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bible-Basher Bob\u2019s words will be in<\/span>\u00a0blue<\/span>.\u00a0To find these posts, follow this link:<\/span>\u00a0\u201cSeidensticker Folly #\u201d<\/a>\u00a0or see all of them linked under his own section on my<\/span>\u00a0Atheism page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

I am responding to Bob\u2019s post entitled, \u201cWhy a Single Human Cell is Not a Baby\u201d<\/a> (3-1-21; recycled from a post of 9-14-16). The entire post consists of the graphic chart above, followed by<\/span> \u201cAny questions?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The first thing one notices (well, if one is pro-life), is (for inexplicable reasons) the absence of DNA on this list of features of human beings (and non-features of a newly fertilized cell of a human being). There is, I submit, a very good reason for that. The DNA that a human being will utilize for his or her entire life is already present<\/em> in this fertilized cell. And it seems to me that that, too, is a key element of the human and personal identity of a human being \/ person. It makes us unique and is our \u201ccode\u201d or ultimate identifying mark. Science verifies this:<\/span><\/p>\n

Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed\u2026. The combination of 23 chromosomes present in each pronucleus results in 46 chromosomes in the\u00a0zygote<\/i>. Thus the diploid number is restored and the embryonic genome is formed. The embryo now exists as a genetic unity. [Ronan O\u2019Rahilly\u00a0and Fabiola M\u00fcller,\u00a0Human Embryology & Teratology<\/i><\/a>. 2nd edition. New York: Wiley-Liss, 1996, pp. 8, 29.]<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost all higher animals start their lives from a single cell, the fertilized ovum (zygote)\u2026 The time of fertilization represents the starting point in the life history, or ontogeny, of the individual.\u00a0[Bruce M. Carlson,\u00a0Patten\u2019s Foundations of Embryology<\/i><\/a>. 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996, p. 3]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is why pro-lifers believe that the newly fertilized egg or zygote is already<\/em>\u00a0(in essence) the person they will develop into after birth. The DNA (which determines so much) is present, and secondly, there is no other starting-point that isn\u2019t completely arbitrary (and, I would add, scientifically and philosophically ludicrous, before we even get to religious belief and legal \/ societal \u201crights\u201d). It\u2019s the same person in the sense of inexorable development; just as an acorn may be said to not be an oak tree; yet every oak tree was once an acorn. In that sense, the acorn is<\/em> an oak tree: just at a very early stage of development (a \u201cbaby oak tree\u201d so to speak). Yet\u00a0<\/span>Seidensticker completely ignores DNA as any sort of important identifying human characteristic, which is immediately absurd.<\/span><\/p>\n

The argument above is, \u201clook at all<\/strong><\/em> these things that a single-cell human doesn\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> possess! Therefore, how could anyone call this<\/em> a human being? We do based on what I just explained: the only rational beginning-point of a new unique human being, and DNA, as well as the fact that all that this single cell needs is time to become everything that born human beings are or will be. It\u2019s all there. <\/span><\/p>\n

So people (perhaps knowing these things, at least upon reflection or being confronted with them), pivot over to an argument from viability: \u201cit has to be able to live on its own<\/em>.\u201d But lots of born<\/em> human beings can\u2019t do that<\/em> without help from other human beings. In fact, a born baby<\/em> cannot, for a very long time (maybe two, three years old). Others are dependent on medicine or kidney dialysis, and so forth. Yet we don\u2019t say they cease to be human beings because of that.<\/span><\/p>\n

My central point in writing this article is to note that all of these traits in the chart above\u00a0do<\/em><\/strong> apply to an eight-week-old embryo. So, even if we can\u2019t convince the person who favors legal abortion that the single-celled human is a human being, entitled to the right to life, we ought to be able to convince them that (at least) an eight-week-old fetus is identifiably human and a person: by the same means that the chart above utilizes in order to argue that the single-celled fertilized zygote is not<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The usual means of determining the end of life are heartbeat and brain waves, right? (especially the first, which can be immediately detected). Human embryos have beating hearts \u201cfour weeks after conception,\u201d (28 days) according to the Mayo Clinic:<\/span> \u201cPregnancy week by week<\/a>\u201c. According to neuroscientist Katrina Furth,<\/span> \u201cFetal EEGs: Signals from the Dawn of Life\u201d<\/a>, brain waves have been detected at \u201c45 days after conception\u201d (just seven weeks and three days). So by the early 8th week from conception (which is usually called the tenth week of a pregnancy), both these features that determine death in hospitals and ambulances, are present in the human embryo.<\/span><\/p>\n

By eight weeks after conception, as the pictures in the<\/span> Mayo Clinic article<\/a> demonstrate, a human embryo possesses all the outward characteristics from Seidensticker\u2019s chart: arms, legs, hands, feet, eyes, ears, and skin (as well as nose, mouth, fingers, toes, elbows, and knees). So when do the internal systems (apart form the brain and heart, which we\u2019ve covered above) begin?:<\/span><\/p>\n

Liver<\/em>: As far as I can make out from a<\/span> very technical scientific description<\/a>, this seems to be completely developed by eight weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stomach<\/em>: the same resource on embryology [in a<\/span> separate article<\/a>] places the origin of the stomach in the \u201c4th week\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Intestines<\/em>: the<\/span> same article<\/a> holds that the intestines also are present by the 4th week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nervous system<\/em>: the<\/span> article from Embryology.med<\/a> on this topic states that this system is in place by the 8th week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Circulatory system<\/em>: the article, \u201cDevelopment of Blood Vessels and Fetal Circulation\u201d<\/a> states: \u201cCirculation patterns are clearly established by the fourth week of embryonic life.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That means that every characteristic in the above developmental chart is present in human embryos by eight weeks after conception. So the relevant and obvious question to ask Bob (who has ignored \u2014 in his intellectual profundity and glory and self-evident courage \u2014 my 71 previous critiques) and those who think like him is: \u201cWhy isn\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> an eight-week-old human embryo a person (or a \u201cbaby\u201d)?\u201d If the chart supposedly proves that a single-celled human being right after fertilization is not<\/em><\/strong> a \u201cbaby\u201d at that stage (lacking<\/em> all those characteristics), then our analysis (using exactly the same criteria) proves that an eight-week-old fetus is<\/em><\/strong> a \u201cbaby\u201d: since it has<\/em> all of them: most notably, a heartbeat and brain waves: present at four weeks and 7 1\/2 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Photo credit:<\/strong><\/span> Bob Seidensticker \/ Cross Examined<\/em> <\/span>[source page<\/a>]<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

Summary<\/em>: Atheist and advocate of legal abortion Bob Seidensticker produced 14 characteristics (omitting DNA) that a newly fertilized single-cell lacks. All are, however, present by eight weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking your worldview. You just going to let that stand? Or could you present a helpful new perspective that I\u2019ve ignored on one or two of those posts?\u201d\u00a0He added in June 2017\u00a0in a combox:\u00a0\u201cIf I\u2019ve misunderstood the Christian position […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":55282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,81],"tags":[2519,1738,1043,745,1197,258,335,525,13255,4126,6519,1367,5552,6522,432,6525,4066,4067,6162],"class_list":["post-55277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atheism-agnosticism","category-life-issues","tag-alleged-biblical-contradictions","tag-anti-christian-bigotry","tag-anti-theism","tag-anti-theists","tag-astronomy","tag-atheism","tag-atheists","tag-bible-contradictions","tag-biology","tag-bob-seidensticker","tag-contradictions-in-the-bible","tag-critiques-of-christianity","tag-cross-examined","tag-divine-inspiration","tag-genetics","tag-inerrant-bible","tag-infallible-bible","tag-inspired-bible","tag-seidensticker"],"yoast_head":"\nSeidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking Atheist & advocate of legal abortion Bob Seidensticker produced 14 characteristics (omitting DNA) that a newly fertilized single-cell lacks. All are, however, present by eight weeks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking Atheist & advocate of legal abortion Bob Seidensticker produced 14 characteristics (omitting DNA) that a newly fertilized single-cell lacks. All are, however, present by eight weeks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-03T22:45:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2021\/03\/FetusSeidensticker.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dave Armstrong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dave Armstrong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html\",\"name\":\"Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-03T22:45:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-03T22:45:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\"},\"description\":\"Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking Atheist & advocate of legal abortion Bob Seidensticker produced 14 characteristics (omitting DNA) that a newly fertilized single-cell lacks. All are, however, present by eight weeks.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/\",\"name\":\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism\",\"description\":\"Catholic biblical apologetics\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e\",\"name\":\"Dave Armstrong\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dave Armstrong\"},\"description\":\"Dave Armstrong is a Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981, and Catholicism in particular since 1991 (full-time since December 2001). Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby","description":"Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking Atheist & advocate of legal abortion Bob Seidensticker produced 14 characteristics (omitting DNA) that a newly fertilized single-cell lacks. All are, however, present by eight weeks.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby","og_description":"Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking Atheist & advocate of legal abortion Bob Seidensticker produced 14 characteristics (omitting DNA) that a newly fertilized single-cell lacks. All are, however, present by eight weeks.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html","og_site_name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","article_published_time":"2021-03-03T22:45:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":760,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2021\/03\/FetusSeidensticker.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dave Armstrong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave Armstrong","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html","name":"Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-03-03T22:45:25+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-03T22:45:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e"},"description":"Atheist and anti-theist\u00a0Bob Seidensticker\u00a0runs the influential\u00a0Cross Examined\u00a0blog. He asked me there,\u00a0on 8-11-18:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got 1000+ posts here attacking Atheist & advocate of legal abortion Bob Seidensticker produced 14 characteristics (omitting DNA) that a newly fertilized single-cell lacks. All are, however, present by eight weeks.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2021\/03\/seidensticker-folly-72-why-an-eight-week-fetus-is-a-baby.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seidensticker Folly #72: Why an Eight-Week Fetus IS a Baby"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/","name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","description":"Catholic biblical apologetics","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e","name":"Dave Armstrong","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dave Armstrong"},"description":"Dave Armstrong is a Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981, and Catholicism in particular since 1991 (full-time since December 2001). Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}