Originally posted by LightFantastic
Originally posted by A Fortiori
Ok I see your point. So how do you feel about the millions of lifeforms you murder every time you tread on the grass, when you shower etc. These
bacteria communicate and struggle to survive like the rest of us.
They are "life" is my opinion.
Again, I am a spiritual person so I believe that everything will return to source, but there is a purpose (maybe evolution, maybe reincarnation) for
every sentient creature on this planet, or potential creature on this planet. Be it that this big cat is needed to keep down the prairie dog
population, or the polar bear to keep down the seals. Maybe that deer needs to eat a certain weed...all things have purpose. The bacteria helps the
higher lifeforms from coming down with further disease, or even give disease to potentially remove weaker "forms" from reproducing.
That life within the womb has a purpose as the top predator in the food chain, and potential purpose (provide the cure for cancer, become a musician,
a warlord...). When it's life is taken, and, yes, it is "life", that purpose is destroyed.
Everyone is a murderer.
No. Everyone is a destroyer.
A human being actually comprises more bacterial cells than human cells so you could say we are bacteria with a human bag holding them all
together. It would be logical to say that when you kill a human you are mainly killing bacteria.
If you were cynical, certainly.
The argument of cellular construction was never my point. Uniqueness was my point. If it makes you happy then, that particular set of human
and bacterial construction will never come again.
What level of lifeform would you say has no soul, and why?
I am rather gnostic in my view so I would say that everything that lives and does not live has the spark of the Divine.
Please don't think that I take abortion lightly. It is always a difficult choice for a woman that will affect them for the rest of their
life. But they should have the choice.
Your opinion is that they should have a choice based on what your understanding of the Universe is. What if you are wrong? What if the Muslims are
right? What if, since you speak of bacteria, the Jains are right? The Buddhists, the Hindus, the Gnostics, the Catholics...what if any of them are
right? Then it is more than a collection of cells that has been destroyed, it is a divine soul that was extinguished before it could fulfill its
karmic duty.
What if the atheists are right? What if, God forbid, there is nothing else out there? To me, that would be even worse for it would mean that the
beings total shot at existence for eternity is removed forever.
My opinion is that if something exists, there is a purpose and reason why. If vegetables are able to sustain and nourish the lifeforms above it, that
is their purpose. If the sperm and egg are able to come together in fertilization, the very purpose for sex in the first place, and that
fertilization does not end in miscarriage there is a reason for it and it should fulfill that purpose.
Beyond the uniqueness, beyond the purpose of the individual life form, there is also the ramifications to society. When we decide that wolves have no
purpose, for example, it has an effect on the landscape and environment that we are deciding for future generations. I ask you, who are we to do
that?
I brought up eugenics before because of the new movement for designer babies. What happens when we decide that we only want a race of superhumans?
What happens to the gays, the un-athletic kids, the un-pretties? Our Canadian friend would say that is eugenics and a different topic, but it isn't.
It is an unintended consequence to thinking of life in the womb as disposable if it is "unwanted". What if you don't want a gay child?
This is, obviously, an issue that has been decided by our nation, and has become rule of law. I am not arguing whether or not it is legal. I am
stating my own discomfort with it. I am stating that I feel that this is an issue that most people have not "white boarded" it out to the full
conclusion. My opinion only, I think the issue is far more complex than Pro Choice/Pro Life. For example, there is another thread on here about how
men that stated they wanted the girlfriend to have an abortion should have the choice to not pay child support. Another example, as I stated above,
is eugenics.
It is my personal conviction that we are not a nation that values life more than we value comfort.
Now, I am not out here to convince anyone. Those posting have made up their minds already and are implacable. I just wanted to state my own thoughts
on the subject as have others.
[edit on 13-9-2009 by A Fortiori]
