X-Message-Number: 17774
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 10:54:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Scott Badger <>
Subject: The Religion - Cryonics Connection

> From: Thomas Donaldson <>
> Subject: CryoNet #17752 - #17759
>
> Hi everyone!
> 
> Unfortunately I totally fail to understand the
> relevance of religion to cryonics.

I've heard you make this assertion before Thomas, and
I must say in response that, though not religious
myself, I understand some of the concerns of religious
individuals.

Most fundamental, IMO, is our obvious goal of
attaining indefinitely extended life spans. It's not
cryonics per se but the quest for immortality that is
troublesome for these people. Cryonics is simply the
vehicle but there's an obvious, if implicit,
endorsement of this quest. How is that not relevant to
someone who believes that paradise waits for them in
the afterlife? If one accepts the technology that will
indefinitely extend one's lifespan and one believes
that suicide is a mortal sin, one is now in a bit of a
bind. Your only ticket into heaven is by way of
accidental death.

Of course, Christians may choose to say that when
Jesus returns to rule, he'll establish heaven on Earth
and there'll be no need to die. At least that's what I
understand their belief is.

But going beyond Christianity, what about eastern
religions that assert that this world is an illusion.
Why should they want to live a practical eternity in
such a state?

I had a religious individual ask me once where I
thought the soul was during cryostasis. I pointed to
the fact that children derived from frozen embryos
appeared to be no different from other children. His
response was that the soul didn't enter the body until
after the embryo stage. I had no response to that
argument so I had to leave it there.
(counter-arguments welcome).

I just think that focusing on the notion that the
person isn't "really" dead yet (according to "our"
definition) fails to address the larger issue of where
one spends eternity ... here on the physical plane or
nearer to one's god.

JMHO,

Scott Badger

"Vita Perpetua"

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals.
http://personals.yahoo.com

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=17774