Is life sacred?

Sacred- 5 a : unassailable, inviolable b : highly valued and important

www.merriam-webster.com...

Is life sacred?

That's the question.

Brought about by the thread: Ineverknew

Many, although, not as many who posted in the thread, (reasons why many are opposed to polls )

Many may see it as not sacred.

Most definitions say that sacred means protected from (mainly violence).

But is it really protected from anything, life is full of, violence.

**** happens.

Is there anything guaranteed in this life, anything that should really be held sacred (not dogmatic), anything that we can really feel worthwhile in.

What is it?

In a most, non-depressing way, as how much I can put it. Is this life worth living? Honestly?





[edit on 10-10-2009 by Republican08]

Such a simple question can evoke such thought and response.
Only your own life experience will answer this question honestly.
Humans value life seemingly more so than anything, statistically, for other humans. Probably only because we follow a set of moral laws.
Those laws apply not to the plant and animal world, and we are guilty of taking life daily in that respect, as are they...
Is the life of a plant or animal not just as sacred as a human?
Why do we elevate ourselves atop the highest peak ?
I have seen animals who mourn the deaths of their fellow species, ie: chimps, elephants, dolphins..
To show this emotion of sadness must mean they value life, IMHO.
To answer this question truthfully though, one would have to know and fully understand the purpose and place of all things in the universe.
Sadly, we do not know that-

reply to post by AccessDenied


Surprised to see you respond to my thread!

lol

I know my own life experience will tell me what is and what isn't but my life will certainly not tell me of anothers.

I've taken my life, for granted in points, but in recent aspects.... I've stumbled upon a second forceable opinion....

Changing ways recently...

To answer this question truthfully though, one would have to know and fully understand the purpose and place of all things in the universe.
Sadly, we do not know that-

As we all do though, just a guess, all we can do, no?

We are glorified rocks floating on a ball hurtling around an exploding ball of gas.

Nothing is sacred, we have rules to make our short existences more pleasurable. We are extremely fortunate to have been born in such a time, when it wasn't just rock beat rock.

Disclaimer: I'm a theist but not of the Abrahamic faiths. I have minor biblical scholar and scriptural skills. Also I am not a scientific/legal or medical expert in any field. Beware of my Contagious Memes! & watch out that you don't get cut on my Occams razor.All of this is my personal conjecture and should not be considered the absolute or most definitive state of things as they really are. Use this information at your own risk! I accept no liability if your ideology comes crashing down around you with accompanying consequences.

Explanation: 1stly I disagree that most definitions of Sacred [freedictionary.com] mean protection from violence but I do conceed that Sacred Cows [freedictionary.com] does fit the discription the OP'er was originally intending!

Now "Does life actually have the actually have the existencial status of sacred cow?"....NOPE! Life dies [entropy] and that is clearly an afront to its sovereignty and any anthropomorphic sacredness on the part of any living individual entity!

The reality of this state of affairs [as pertaining to life on earth in exclusion] exists regardless of any of lifes individual or collective members subjective wish "that it was not the case!".

Personal Disclosure: I'm disturbed just as much as anyone else that there are no universal [carte blanche] positive morality allowed only laws! If it was like gravity or the EM force then this would all be a moot point. Bring on a universal scalar field of positive morality mediated by a boson of love I say!

Disclaimer: As above!

Explanation: Now having laid out in my above post my A PRIORI position, I will move on and answer the REAL questions posed by the OP!

RE:"Is there anything guaranteed in this life, anything that should really be held sacred (not dogmatic), anything that we can really feel worthwhile in.

What is it?

In a most, non-depressing way, as how much I can put it. Is this life worth living? Honestly?"

IMO and from a wholistic POV of all of time and spaces phenomena and comparing that with an absence of the former, then the former appears sacred to me from that POV in isolation! Existence will always have been how it was and thats truely inviolable and a sacred cow because of how it is now IS AS IT IS NOW!

Personal Disclosure: Flagged!

I've asked that myself quite a few times during my "Deep Thoughts" episodes.

While alive we need to keep ourselves alive much like animals. We work/steal/do something for money, they hunt/forage; We have sex and sometimes reproduce; they do the same thing but most of them do it for reproducing; We die, they die. Rinse and repeat with the offspring.

There is a very small percentage in the population of all living things that don't do those things but that's beside the point.

The point is that it's just a cycle. A cycle that has been repeated since time immemorial. The more you think about it, the more life doesn't feel sacred but a natural flow of nature.

Btw. This is just an everyday viewpoint. It is in no way contradicting the metaphysical, religious, and other miscellaneous elements of life.

My opinion is that everything is sacred, you are, I am, every stone or grain of sand, every atom.... Nature itself is sacred, that makes everything that is a product of nature (everything) sacred. Ultimately there are no things more or less sacred then others, it all belongs together like a puzzle.