Posted on 02/04/2002 2:32:02 PM PST by RobRoy
I believe that most, if not all of the threads I've seen on this subject are little more than an army of straw men. It's like asking the question, if Abraham Lincoln arm wrestled Plato, who would win? The answer of course is "who cares, and how would we know, even if we did care?"
Before I can have a passionate opinion on this subject, I have to ask two basic questions first: 1. What is this thing we call life and, 2. Why is it so sacred and precious?
And here are the corresponding answers:
1. Life is merely what could now be called highly sophisticated nano-technology, or a "Biological Machine."
2. Life isn't precious or sacred at all (and I believe Christianity supports this).
A Biological Machine (BM) is merely a collection of "non-living" atoms collected in such a way as to create a more complex organism, or machine, which is self replicating and self repairing. You could use this description for the Earth or the sun, but maybe not an individual rock, since it has no moving parts, other than those spinning within each atom - and if you break it even a little, it stays broken. Even Mars or Jupiter could be called living things using this definition, considering their flowing atmospheres and constantly moving magma, volcanoes, etc.
It is true that many groups and subgroups of BM seem to include some form of intelligence. But quite often, especially in the example of plants and insects, this is nothing more than the execution of a very simple computer program. In others, it is a very complex form of AI, as in the higher primates, whales and, yes - man. BM's can be very sophisticated. Take the human BM. Like a nano-machine, it ingests materials containing a myriad of molecules, all containing different combinations of atoms. This human BM then uses some molecules as-is and breaks down others to extract only the atoms it needs to produce the materials it needs, like blood, muscle, a spleen, or even another human. What it doesn't need, it passes out as waste (poop), much as a gold mine has massive mounds of it's own poop. This waste material is then used as input to other BM's, and so it goes.
A BM also uses some of these atoms to provide itself energy. This means constant chemical reactions to keep the ol' atoms spinning and convert the atoms from input molecules into molecules needed by the BM.. That's why BM's have a warm core or, in the case of plants, depend solely on radioactive stimulation from the sun. This would also imply some sort of evolution as energy is consumed and depleted. Much as a '56 Nash may rust away in a field, so evolution works it's curse on all of creation (the universe, for evolutionsts). But rust is not what created the Nash.
I am only scratching the surface of this concept here, but it begs the question, why is life so precious or sacred anyway. As I stated above, it isn't, EXCEPT… Except for man - not because of his BM body, but because of what that body contains.
Some of the new drone airplanes are so sophisticated in their execution of decisions as to fool the uneducated into believing they contain a pilot. However, a fighter plane is far more valuable than one of the new drone planes for two reasons. One is minor - it costs more. The other is the core of the difference: The fighter contains a human. If a drone is lost, we build another one. If a fighter is lost with it's pilot, an irreplaceable human BM has been destroyed.
So now think of the human BM as the fighter plane. That is, it contains something that no other living thing - be it animal (a monkey) or mineral (a solar system or planet) - contains. That thing is the human spirit. No, I'm not talking about the mind, memory or intelligence -, these are results of the wrinkles on a small part (the brain) of the BM contained in its upper extremity - it is a mere organ and a part of the BM. No, I'm talking about the eternal spirit that ALL human BM's poses. Without that spirit, a human BM is, as are all animals, so much meat and bone. And all that meat is just a very complex and sophisticated Biological Machine.
From my perspective, that makes all non human life nothing more than members of a group I call "Natural Resources," to be consumed, managed and otherwise exploited for the pleasure of man, who exists solely for the pleasure of God.
In a sense, we, and the universe we occupy, are Gods ant farm. And our bodies are to be treated with the respect the Bible instructs - Not for the preservation of the body itself, but because it is the "temple" of the spirit. It was created by God as the Spirits Earthly dwelling place, and it's span in years is not to be reduced by man for trivial reasons.
I think the only reason we have a hard time believing the trillions, in number and type, of BM's with which we come into contact every day are not actually created by God is that we have accepted their, and our existence as "natural" for as long as we have been able to call ourselves "conscious" - and because God, in his infinite wisdom, chose to neglect the application of a serial number or manufacturers logo. He must've thought it unimportant (and maybe entertaining to boot). Reminds me of the old joke, "how do you keep an idiot in suspense…"
To the creationist, among whom I count myself, I challenge you to show me anything I have written here that contradicts anything written in His Word.
To the evolutionist, a similar challenge. Does any scientific "proof" currently available contradict anything I have posited here?
The real question for me is, did God create the universe and what we call "life," or is there no God and our very existence is just coincidence. I'm sorry folks, but this is not an intellectual question as some would have you believe. You can no more answer this question with your limited "human meat" BM brain than can your dog. Go to a mountaintop, your car, your closet or a skating rink and call out to God, sincerely, and see what answer you get. Then go from there.
He is not in the closet. He is not in the parlor. He is not hiding in the water heater. And yet the entire structure cries out of His purpose and yes, His presence - within the design itself. Of all His creation, only we struggle with this truth. Why? Because as His heirs, only we are given the freedom to choose or reject him as our Father and Creator
... 2. Life isn't precious or sacred at all (and I believe Christianity supports this) ...Say what?
That's the ultimate question, isn't it. And one which no one can prove either way, as God, being supernatural, is by definition above the limits of scientific investigation. You either have faith and believe, or you don't.
Best regards...
You only responded to the opinion. You didn't respond to the reasoning behind it.
Yeah, that's kind of what I was trying to say at the end. This thing is long so I have to accept that most of the readers will not get that far.
I saw a show on sleep depravation about 20 years ago on PBS that concluded the part of our body that needs sleep is the brain. Now I see sleep as my nightly defrag. And dreams ar just dissimilar memories randomly connecting briefly as data is re-orged and indexes are rebuilt (I guess those are mainframe terms).
I think it's a good idea.
You didn't respond to the reasoning behind it.I don't understand the reasoning behind it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.