X-Message-Number: 26499
Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2005 00:42:27 -0700
From: Mike Perry <>
Subject: Re: Finances
References: <>

At 02:00 AM 7/3/2005, David Stodolsky wrote:

>I suggested that a cryonics friendly church could both increase the
>population with a financial possibility and "level the playing field"
>relative to religious organizations. It could also make it possible to
>sign up large groups of persons with a single effort, potentially
>multiplying those covered by a factor of two or more. I haven't heard
>any objections yet.

I don't object either. Attempts in that direction have been made, are 
ongoing even (Society for Venturism, Society for Universal Immortalism), 
but the going so far has been slow.

>Even many non-religious people prefer to leave their estate to their
>family as opposed to investing it the cryonics experiment. I have no
>doubt that financial considerations are the primary factor preventing
>even people in the the developed countries from signing up.

I'd say "discouraging" rather than "preventing"--even though it adds up to 
the same thing, they don't sign up (even if they could). It doesn't seem 
likely that cryonics is ever going to be competitive, price-wise, with 
burial or cremation. The issue is also raised from time to time of low-cost 
alternatives to cryonics, but so far no serious prospects have 
materialized. You make the point too that in the world at large cost would 
be prohibitive--unfortunately probably true, without a massive 
redistribution of wealth. A starting point might indeed be a cryonics-based 
religious movement (where the concept of "religion" could be understood in 
a generalized sense not requiring belief in the supernatural), but again 
it's easier said than done. Such a movement, though, if it could exist on a 
sizable scale, might have sufficient resources to begin to help the needy 
who could not afford the arrangements even as it attracted more who were 
able to help others.

It was nearly 20 years ago (July 11, 1986 to be exact) that the Church of 
Venturism (name later changed to Society for Venturism) was started to try 
to do this sort of thing, and otherwise turn the world massively toward 
cryonics. (David Pizer must be given the main credit for coming up with 
this idea and implementing it as an Arizona-based, tax-exempt corporation.) 
The organization still exists but hasn't exactly had the success that was 
hoped. And I don't see the situation changing much, until scientific 
breakthroughs convince many people to take a different view than they now 
do. No amount of either promotional efforts or legal action can substitute 
for the tangible progress that must be made.

Mike Perry

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