Quote:
Originally Posted by mapuc
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Going a little to the religious side-It's also a sin to take it's own life.
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Markus
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That's the rub. The religious restraint only really applies if you are a religious person and then only in the context of your particular religion; why should a person, who is not religious or who is of a belief that may in some way accommodate self-termination, be held to the constraints of some one else's beliefs? If one is a catholic, should they also be held to Jewish dogma, or if they are Buddhist, should they conform to Muslim law in all things? One's life, like one's beliefs, is a highly personal matter and both should not be unreasonably interfered with simply because someone else's 'religion' find some aspect unpalatable; if what a person chooses to do has no material effect/affect on another's well-being or physical existence, then what they choose do with their life is their own concern and, if what they choose is outside the law, then they will have to answer for it to the law. I have been lately 'gently' prodded by my physicians to establish some sort of 'end of life direction" plan to guide the doctors on my wishes should I be unable to give directions on my own due to a physical condition; I have no family at all and I have no one close who could act as my proxy for terminal decisions such as how far to take life-preserving efforts if there is little chance of a good outcome; I have already decided I don't want any out of norm or above minimum effort to be taken since my passing will really affect no one but me, and, if there is an afterlife, I would really hate to think efforts were expended on me in a terminal situation that would have been better exerted towards the relief of someone else who was more certain of a good outcome...
I feel the same way about assisted suicide; California has laws allowing assisted suicide and I am in favor of the law; if my physical condition were to deteriorate to a point were it was terminal and my prospects were for prolonged pain and/or the inability to care for my self properly, I would very much entertain the idea of a quick, merciful, and peaceful end over wretched, useless agony, and, again, I would rather have the resources that would have been used to uselessly prolong my life to be used for some who would find them a benefit; think of it as a very humble version of "Greater love hath no man..."...
A long time ago, when I was very young, I was at a cemetery where the tombstones and plaques were inscribed not only with the deceased's vitals, but also their religious affiliations; I noted that one person, a Catholic by their headstone, was buried next to someone with a Star of David on their headstone; I wandered around a bit and found a couple of other denominations represented; having been raised a Catholic and having been taught here was my 'right' religion and all those other 'wrong' religions, I was struck by how equally dead all the people were and by how each of the were as equally 'right' as their cemetery mates were 'wrong'; I also noted how there was only one person in each coffin or urn; death is solitary and there are no 'condominium coffins'; one to a box; now, if you go by the concept of religion, some of those people were very right and some were very wrong in life, but, in the end, all were very dead and their 'correctness' was out of the hands of the living; perhaps we would all be better off if the 'correctness' of our lives as we are living them were also not in the hands of the other's who are living; just live by a simple rule "Do unto others...".., which, if I am not mistaken, is somewhat a God-given directive, as is "The King will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”...
I am not religious myself and do not ascribe of any religion and do not have the temerity to presume to know what becomes of us when we shuffle off the mortal coil, so I guess I, like every other body in this world, will find out if I was right or wrong at my end, and, if there is some sort of reckoning at all, I'll be the one to answer for it alone; not a single cleric, shaman, religious leader, or anyone else will be there to answer for my 'transgressions' but me, so I see little need now to be concerned about their, or their acolytes, beliefs about how they feel I should conduct my life, or how I choose to end it...
<O>