Just curious, what do you believe happens after you die? That's it?
It's over?
Basically, who can know? The only reliable observers aren't talking.
Then what's the point to life? Or do you hold life precious
because it is over when you die?
Fact is, I'm alive, and it's pretty cool. I feel that way, and I hear that
from others. So yes, I have "faith" in the fact that it's worth it to
survive. An alternate view is that I share the natural instinct of
survival that all living creatures exhibit, and I cannot help but try to
survive.
And if that is true, then Can you
justify something like abortion?
Big leap there. Ok. First, we have to decide whether a fetus is "alive".
My personal feeling is this: if a human fetus is mature enough where it
should be able to live on its own, it's a human. Others define it
differently - from conception, up to the moment of birth, etc. For any
agreement to occur in the realm of abortion, that question must be settled.
Now, if we make all abortions illegal, will abortions stop? No, of course
not. Some women will still seek them or do them themselves. Some men will
force women to have them. When it's a black-market affair, with no
physician involved, there's no one to say to the woman "Do you really want
to do this? You can carry the baby, deliver the baby, and we can make sure
it's cared for" or whatnot. It's pony up the dough, and there it goes.
For these reasons illegal abortions are absolutely undesirable. But we
should not, as a culture, see abortion as the right course of action in
most cases. There are times when abortion is appropriate - when carrying
the fetus to term will endanger the life of the mother, or when it is a
point of fact that the fetus, once delivered, will not be able to survive
outside the womb and will suffer and die. In those cases, compassion for
the lives at stake necessitates a drastic measure.
Abortion should be safe, legal and extremely rare. I don't have a problem
making it extremely hard to get an abortion, but the medical procedure
must remain in existence for these reasons.
See, you deal with the same issues any other religion does, I think
being atheist is just as much a "religion" as any other.
But then, I'm guessing you disagree.
Of course I do. I don't look outside the facts or what I can reasonably
assume from my surroundings for guidance.
Here's an example. If we agree that it is beneficial to survive, then it
follows that since we are a clan-oriented species it is of benefit to have
those in our clan survive (unless it jeapordizes the clan to keep that
person alive). As we have progressed as a world culture, it has become
more and more clear that we, the humans on this planet, are interdependent
- essentially, one large "clan". Therefore, its is deducable that killing
is generally wrong, unless the action serves to protect more people than
it serves to harm.
Another - pain exists, science tells us, as a warning that injury has
occured or is occuring. If a person is going to die as a matter of fact,
is their pain necessary? We have three choices here:keep them pain-free to
minimize suffering before the imminent death, kill them to spare them
needless suffering, or do nothing and watch them suffer till they die.
The correct course of action, to me, is ideally the first option (in cases
where the person can still be productive and enjoy life) or at times the
second (when the person has requested it and there's no possibility this
individual can enjoy life through medication). The third option is rather
distasteful, as it shows a gross lack of respect for the individual.
Yes, there are a lot of debatable points above, and I'm aware of them
There's no need to point them out. Clearly, I am keeping things simple
here. The point is that big life decisions can indeed be made without
reference to faith beyond the assumption that survival is worthwhile.
In fact, most of them are to the left of me.