X-Message-Number: 17279 Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 08:42:16 -0400 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: CryoNet #17271 - #17277 Hi everyone! Because Mike Perry generally says decent things I will add a coda to my message about religious discussion. Yes, it is true that discussion of religion does have a place in cryonics. This place is when we discuss our own ideas of death (and life) to those who may be unfamiliar with them. Especially because such items as Webster's College Dictionary treat cryonics as a theological question, we'll find a need to discuss religion. Should we try to make all cryonicists adopt some kind of general religious attitude? Absolutely not. Even if you decide that thinking about religious issues pertains to your personal approach to cryonics, it is something you do personally. Does our set of ideas about really long life bear on the THEOLOGY of immortality? Well, theologians have generally not noticed cryonics. Some cryonicists may (because they were already religious believers) decide that a cryonics theology would be a good thing. If they want to produce one, fine with them ... but they should not believe that other cryonicists will necessarily be interested at all in what they come up with. They should ESPECIALLY keep in mind that many other cryonicists will not feel that cryonics theology has any bearing on their own lives. So yes, religion does have bearing on cryonics. It remains just as true, though, that suspension is an act quite unrelated to religion of any kind ... just as repairing a tooth is unrelated. Best wishes and long long life to all, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=17279