If King Cyrus can be a messiah....

In the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah, the Persian King Cyrus is referred to as God's shepherd (44:28), and even more remarkably, as God's Messiah (45:1). It's important to remember that Cyrus was not a worshiper of the Jewish God (Yahweh) nor was he Jewish (far from it). Yet he is described in the most elevated language because of the service he rendered to the Jewish people.

Well, I think that we have a modern-day Cyrus on our hands--a vegetarian and animal rights activist named Vasu Merti.

His take on religion in public life is as follows: Regardless of any cherished personal beliefs we may hold, bringing unprovable religious creeds or texts such as the Bible into the secular political arena is comparable to bringing "Grimm's Fairy Tales" into a Strategic Defense meeting. No Religious Right member, he.

You are probably wondering why I am calling him a latter-day Cyrus. Read on.

I perused with intense interest an interview given by this decidedly liberal writer and activist (http://www.all-creatures.org/murti/int-20071227.html). Merti is a member of the ACLU and PETA. This does not necessarily make him left-wing. But he very much identifies with the left/liberal side of the political and social spectrum. Yet he has recently published a book entitled The Liberal Case Against Abortion. The forward is written by Carol Crossed of Democrats for Life.

Merti makes points that any traditional, more right-wing pro-lifer would resonate with; e.g.,

1. The argument about "a woman's right to control her own body" [is] based on a false premise, because there are clearly two bodies (mother and child) present during pregnancy.

2. Do the unborn have rights? Roe v. Wade stands out as an oddity, because it came at the end of the Vietnam era…at a time when we were expanding our concept of rights to include women and minorities.

On the other hand, he takes positions that might send the Moral Majority to the hospital's emergency ward; e.g.,

1. Because my book is aimed at liberals, I mention the "consistent-ethic" movement: pro-lifers simultaneously opposed to capital punishment. I mention LGBT activists who compare discrimination against the unborn to discrimination against lesbians and gays. I call for expanding the welfare state to provide for pregnant women, single mothers and their children.

2. It is legal nonsense that privacy conveys the right to abort, but not the right to ingest drugs or engage in sodomy…It will be interesting to watch the court sort out on the basis of Roe v. Wade why it is legal for a woman to contract for abortion but not prostitution.

I value the interview because he does get away from the standard arguments and provides excellent material for use in pluralistic contexts. I recommend that you read it with an open mind to learning from a different voice.