Recently, on “Meet The Press,” Joe Biden said that, as a Roman Catholic, he’s “prepared to accept the teachings of the church” and that “I’m prepared as a matter of faith to say that life begins at the moment of conception.”  Yet he also says he is unwilling to impose his religion on anyone.

Gregory Koukl, at Stand to Reason, has some questions for Biden:

First question:  What, specifically, is Biden’s religiously based conviction on abortion?  Since he said in the interview that he was “prepared to accept the teachings of his church”—and he specifically confirmed his belief that human life begins at conception—then I take it he thinks abortion ends the life of an innocent human being and is therefore an act of homicide.  If not, why oppose it?

Second question:  Does Joe Biden believe that his belief is true?  Does he hold that his conviction is correct, that as a matter of fact human life actually does begin at conception and that abortion really does snuff out the life of a defenseless human person?

Koukl, who admits that his second question is really a trick question, but says he does that to bring up an important point about what passes for political discussion these days:

The reason for this question is tactical.  I’m taking away the weasel-room that this way of talking affords to duplicitous politicians. The query sets up a logical dilemma to show that the modified pro-choice view is simply political double-talk.

If Biden denies his beliefs are true, then I have no idea what he means when he says he believes anything, whether religiously motivated or otherwise.  If he doesn’t believe his beliefs are true, then what is the difference between believe and make-believe, between fantasy and reality?

But if Biden actually believes abortion truly takes the life of an innocent human being before birth in a way that is not morally distinct from killing a newborn immediately after birth, why would he not vote against such a thing?  Would it make any sense to say that as a matter of religious conviction I believe that all men are endowed with inalienable rights, but I could never impose such a personal belief on slave owners?

Here is Biden during his “Meet The Press” interview: