Life is sacred?

[fractalfeline]

So I've seen this argument pop up before, in many different debates, and it's common enough that it merits discussion of its worth in it's own right.

Is life sacred?

Discuss.

(Intentionally left very open-ended to facilitate free flow of thoughts.)

 

[farscapeone]

Well when you look at our planet what do you see? Life. If there's no life this planet would be just another rock in the universe. So i guess, from this point of view, life is sacred.

 

[ah-blabla]

Well when you look at our planet what do you see? Life. If there's no life this planet would be just another rock in the universe. So i guess, from this point of view, life is sacred.

That is if you assume we are the only planet with life. The chances are there are more planets with life in the Universe than just the earth, in which case the Earth is just another one of the rocks with life in the Universe.

I myself do see life as sacred, but that's more due to opinion than to a conclusion of logical thinking.

 

[Nancy08]

Living gives you a better understanding of life. I would hope that my characters have become deeper and more rounded personalities. Wider travels have given me considerably greater insight into how cultural differences affect not only people, but politics and art.


Life is just a chance to grow a soul.

 

[bradym]

Well, that is a serious question. First, let's settle on a definition of the word "sacred." This is from dictionay.com
SACRED
1. devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose; consecrated.
2. entitled to veneration or religious respect by association with divinity or divine things; holy.
3. pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to secular or profane ): sacred music; sacred books.
4. reverently dedicated to some person, purpose, or object: a morning hour sacred to study.
5. regarded with reverence: the sacred memory of a dead hero.
6. secured against violation, infringement, etc., as by reverence or sense of right: sacred oaths; sacred rights.
7. properly immune from violence, interference, etc., as a person or office.
Which one do you want? Personally, I hold that life is sacred, or rather, my life is sacred, in the sense of the first definition. God has created me, and my purpose for living is to glorify Him. In pursuing that purpose, I find joy, happiness, contentment and fulfillment.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
All the commandments can be summed up in two: Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.
I started my post by saying that "my life is sacred" not because I dont think anyone else's life is sacred, but because I can't speak for anyone else. I certainly hold all human life as sacred, but if sacred means set apart for God, then only each individual can attest to that for themselves. Unless, of course, you would hold to a different definition of the word sacred.
Oh, well, I just realized that the original post was almost three weeks ago, and the original poster has not replied or clarified. Maybe no one is following this post? Anyway, I enjoyed clarifying my own thoughts on the issue.

 

[fractalfeline]

Well, that is a serious question. First, let's settle on a definition of the word "sacred." This is from dictionay.com
SACRED
1. devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose; consecrated.
2. entitled to veneration or religious respect by association with divinity or divine things; holy.
3. pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to secular or profane ): sacred music; sacred books.
4. reverently dedicated to some person, purpose, or object: a morning hour sacred to study.
5. regarded with reverence: the sacred memory of a dead hero.
6. secured against violation, infringement, etc., as by reverence or sense of right: sacred oaths; sacred rights.
7. properly immune from violence, interference, etc., as a person or office.
Which one do you want? Personally, I hold that life is sacred, or rather, my life is sacred, in the sense of the first definition. God has created me, and my purpose for living is to glorify Him. In pursuing that purpose, I find joy, happiness, contentment and fulfillment.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
All the commandments can be summed up in two: Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.
I started my post by saying that "my life is sacred" not because I dont think anyone else's life is sacred, but because I can't speak for anyone else. I certainly hold all human life as sacred, but if sacred means set apart for God, then only each individual can attest to that for themselves. Unless, of course, you would hold to a different definition of the word sacred.
Oh, well, I just realized that the original post was almost three weeks ago, and the original poster has not replied or clarified. Maybe no one is following this post? Anyway, I enjoyed clarifying my own thoughts on the issue.

LOL thanks for sharing! Since I posted this, it's been almost summarily ignored by most of the regular posters here. I'm guessing no one wants to touch a truly hot topic! :dunno: It brings disharmony and drama when someone broaches a serious subject.

I deliberately don't respond with my own opinions, because I'm not looking for an argument or "my opinion is better than yours." I'm just looking for good thought processes, logical debate, that sort of thing. I find that in forums in which this argument is brought up, typically it devolves into very, well, illogical format. Whether it's abortion, stem cells, war, this, that, the other thing... people will just Drop the Bomb with "Life is sacred." And everyone's left with confused ideas about what that means. What it means to one person is different from what it means to another! And you can't say "I'm anti-war because I believe life is sacred," and expect it to be a self-explanatory position.

So thanks for your input It's really what I was looking for. I like that you put up a definition of "sacred" and described which version of the word you use to justify your position.

I'm just looking for what people believe, and if they can back up their arguments.

For example: Nancy08 says: "Life is just a chance to grow a soul." I like how she related it to herself, so that it's a personalized viewpoint. I enjoy posts like that also, because it's insightful.

Another example: ah-blabla says: "I myself do see life as sacred, but that's more due to opinion than to a conclusion of logical thinking." I like that position, in that the OPINION of the matter is recognized, that it is not a FACT that can be proven one way or the other. And yet, he makes no actual stance on why he believes it!

Though, I haven't seen anyone take the stance of "Life is NOT sacred" yet. But it's a mostly dead thread. :dunno: Oh well. Expecting debate on Crossfire? Bah... wishful thinking. Unless it's about OS, browsers, mobile phones, or something suitably technophile, it doesn't get debated. I guess there just isn't much interest in ethics, philosophy, or even just debate for its own sake.

 

[bradym]

Though, I haven't seen anyone take the stance of "Life is NOT sacred" yet. But it's a mostly dead thread. :dunno: Oh well. Expecting debate on Crossfire? Bah... wishful thinking. Unless it's about OS, browsers, mobile phones, or something suitably technophile, it doesn't get debated. I guess there just isn't much interest in ethics, philosophy, or even just debate for its own sake.

Boy, that's a fact. I once got involved in a "debate" on pornagraphy, and was flamed so badly, I didn't bother keeping up with it. The person who flamed me even tried to drag my chosen career into the argument. Sure made me sorry I had ever introduced myself. Then there was a HUGE posting from someone on just exactly how a logical argument/debate is supposed to be made.

Oh well, I check back now again, and do enjoy a reasonable discussion. Thanks for being non-threatening. :happysad: Maybe I'll "see" you again in another thread somewhere. You're right, this one's dead. Threads are definately NOT sacred--in and of themselves.

 

[GaleRogers]

I realize that the last reply of this topic was over two weeks ago, but I wanted to share my thoughts anyway.

I believe that the answer to this question heavily relies on what perspective you take on it, and that there are primarily two perspectives: the perspective of an individual human being, and the perspective of the universe as a whole.

To the human being, life is most definitely sacred. It's really all we have right now. You can believe in any religion you want, but when it comes down to it, nobody really know what happens when you die. So, with the possibility of just plain not existing when you die, life could be the only thing you ever get to experience. To the individual, it just doesn't get anymore sacred than that.

On the other hand, to the universe as a whole, we are so small and insignificant that it doesn't really matter at all weather we exist or not. When you think about it, there are billions of galaxies with billions of stars. Scientists are finding that many of these stars have planets around them. So in my opinion, there is a really good chance that there are many planets that have life on them, even if they are few and far between. If the universe is sprawling with life, then our life really isn't all that sacred.

 

[compass]

bradym, those definition points from your post are great for continuing the discussion.

I am non-religious so for me the the points for discussion are 5, 6, and 7 (i.e. not associated with a deity).

In that respect, for me life IS sacred.
I guess the sense is that life is something special. Not mysterious, not mystic, not spiritual, just special.

I certainly take great delight in observing the various manifestations of life, I feel sorry to see, hear, or learn of life being destructed needlessly.
I enjoy the sight of animals, the majesty of trees, the beauty of flowers, I enjoy learning about the interaction of one life form with another or with its environment, etc.

 

[bradym]

compass, I too am enthralled with life and the living. The interaction, as you say, is amazing to notice and to study. I was reading a bit about cellular biology and at the cellular and smaller level it is even more fascinating.

I'd like to comment too on what Gale said. I'm not sure I agree. Just for the sake of argument, if there is other life in this vast universe, why would that fact alone make any singular life any less sacred? Can't it all be sacred?

 

[fractalfeline]

So, if I understand the position of compass (and Bradym who agreed with it): life is sacred for its own sake, for its beauty and endless variety, and does not need an attachment to a higher power or spiritual divinity in order to be cherished?

If I understand Gale correctly: from a outside perspective, life is not sacred because it is not unique, not special, kinda like dust or dirt? But from an individual standpoint, it is sacred TO YOU, and it does not necessarily matter if it is important to anyone else?

This is all starting to sound like The Little Prince. (I love that book, btw.) The rose is not unique, but it is HIS rose, which makes it the most valuable and important rose in the whole universe eh?

 

[wolflock]

It is a personal point of View. To an Ant, it's life may be sacred, But If you step on one, it probably wont even bother you thus making it non sacred. So The Sacredness of life depends on the individual.

 

[sedesign]

Hi all,

Im new here but i thought i would try and get involved in the community forums.

With regards to lift being sacred, i think it really varies from person-to-person, like wolflock said, whats sacred to one person maybe not be to the next.

So when does someone's life begin? the fertilisation of the egg? the birth? when the fetus can survive independent from its mother (breathing etc)? Some people believe that upon the fusion of the sperm and the egg life begins and others believe that until the fetus can function on its own it is merely a collection of cells.

I personally believe that life is sacred, not just human life but plants, trees etc any living, breathing organism is sacred however I dont believe that life begins with fertilisation, and one of the people that believes life begins when a fetus reaches the independence stage of a pregnancy.

I hope that makes sense, sorry if i rambled on a bit

 

[compass]

fractalfeline: you understand my opinion perfectly.

My position (as an atheist) is also that as long as religious people respect all life (in the sense of not making exceptions for "infidels") then, strictly from the "is life is sacred?" point of view, there is no practical difference between me and them.

In other words, for me, the reason why some people consider life is sacred is much less important than the fact that they do (or do not).

 

[ejweb]

Life itself; is sacred. No one has the right to abridge, inflict or interrupt my life to cause harm as each person's life is and should be "sacred" (see above #7). I also do not believe there's other "life" on other planets. I have a astonomer friend and have seen a study on the layout of the planets and solar system. What was interestingly pointed out that the earth is in such a specific point in its orbit that it can sustain life as we know it. If this planet moves roughly 5% closer or further away from the sun of it's orbital path; life will be destroyed. Also, the earth's rotational path around the earth is unique compared to the other planets in that we can see the cosmos, stars and other heavenly bodies because the astroid belt or the covering above this planet has what you may call a "hole" in it so we can see such stars. Other planets don't have such an opening thus no life can be sustained. Just hope there's no, big astroid hits this planet .

 

[xav0989]

I do believe that life is sacred (both from religious and non-religious views), and I consider that my life is sacred. However, I do believe that with some of medicine's advancement, we have started playing god. For instance, Nature's natural selection was making mankind progress in a way that removed from evolution all that made mankind regress and keep only what would make the society advance. Now, everyone (or almost) is kept alive, thus I believe that mankind is stagnant. I do not want to tell that some people deserve to die but I wish to tell that I think we are stepping in nature's way sometimes.

 

[ShadowmasterX]

Life is only sacred because life is controlled by time. Time also controls the meaning of life as well.

But life's sacreity (? i guess ) is sometimes ignored as we see on the news, and all around the world as things die for dumb causes.
Everything has its reason to live and its right to live, but we don't understand enough to embrace the fact that everything is sacred, like ants.

 

[fractalfeline]

Shadowmaster: I believe the word is sanctity I will try to remember the sanctity of the mosquito next time I slap it for sucking my lifeblood.

xav0989: You'd like the Hyperion Cantos series by Dan Simmons. One of the major themes is the stagnancy of humanity and how it ultimately leads to decay. Stasis vs. change so to speak.

ejweb: "Also, the earth's rotational path around the earth is unique compared to the other planets in that we can see the cosmos, stars and other heavenly bodies because the astroid belt or the covering above this planet has what you may call a 'hole' in it so we can see such stars. Other planets don't have such an opening thus no life can be sustained." Eh, wot? I had thought the asteroid belt was somewhere between Mars and Jupiter. We can see the sun just fine. How does viewing stars contibute to the balance of life on earth?

compass: (paraphrased) "My position .. is also that as long as .. people respect all life (in the sense of not making exceptions ... ) In other words, for me, the reason why some people consider life is sacred is much less important than the fact that they do (or do not)." Couldn't agree more.

sedesign: I find it interesting that you bring up the subject of "when life begins" because that issue is criticial in the abortion debate. It's also funny because "life is sacred" is a blanket defense used by anit-abortion types to justify their position.

Re both sedesign and compass: Isn't it strange that a lot of highly religious people will talk about how sacred life is one moment, and blow up an abortion clinic full of people the next? It makes you wonder if some life is more sacred than others, and how do you decide whose sanctity is greater?

 

[ShadowmasterX]

It is not yours to decide, and that is why many things die, because a person thinks that it is their job the judge and decide who and who is not greater... that is why people die and people suffer. They think that the other group deserves it.

 

[sedesign]

@fractalfeline - Yes its amusing how anti-abortion people use the whole "life is sacred" statement, its also amusing how they use the words like "murderer" when someone has an abortion, its the destruction of a collection of cells at that point, you could argue that taking medication to kill a virus or infection is murder, sounds silly i know but isn't a virus a living organism aswell?

I could get too carried away going down that path so i'll stop now haha.

I do agree with the "who are we to judge what is an what isn't sacred" statement though, from both a religious and non-religious point of view, the damage that the death of a loved one can have on other people's lives can be devastating and i feel that many people today are losing grip with that thought because you see on the news every day that a life is taken for no apparent reason...

@xav0989 - There are many life changing medicines available now which are prolonging life, beating cancers and lenghtening people's life's who suffer from diseases such as HIV etc.

I think medicine is an amazing thing, however i do not believe in people trying to clone animals and playing god in that sense as the results can be catastrophic.

But to be quite cheesey i have to agree with the band nikki sixx - life is beautiful!