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25 new of 254 responses total.
drew
response 69 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 06:41 UTC 2006

Re #49:
    Life begins at erection.
kingjon
response 70 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 10:25 UTC 2006

Re #67: No, because even in heaven (and, mind you, Catholics put such beings in
"Limbo" -- between Heaven and Hell, sort of an eternal dull nothingness) people
of that sort wouldn't be able to enjoy heaven to the fullest. If you *knew*
that a person would grow up to choose Hell, it could arguably be better for him
or her to never have been born, but there's no way for human beings to predict
that.

marcvh
response 71 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 15:35 UTC 2006

The Catholics got rid of limbo.

If you put it into a "burning building" scenario then I suppose it means
that, given a choice between rescuing from a fire two people, one a
Christian and one a Buddhist, it would be morally preferable to rescue
the Buddhist because the Christian will go to heaven anyway, while the
Buddhist will not but may yet come to accept Jesus if he lives.
richard
response 72 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 15:46 UTC 2006

re #63 Roberts and Alito are on the Court for life, they have need to worry
about appearances or anything of the like.  I think they'll take the case.
jep
response 73 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 16:06 UTC 2006

re resp:51: I've never been in a burning room containing a young child 
and a bunch of blastulas.  I don't know why I would be in such 
circumstances.  I don't know why, if I was, I would be unable to get 
both out of the building.  And I don't know what any of it has to do 
with abortion.

If I were in a burning building containing an assembly of people, I 
would prioritize rescuing them in approximately this order:

1) Pregnant woman
2) Child
3) Other woman
4) Helpless man
5) Me
6) test tubes full of "blastulas" (if I knew what that was; I have in 
the past, I do today, but there have been gaps; if the test tubes were 
labeled "viable human fetuses" it would help me)
7) dog
8) cat
9) cockroach
10) Osama bin Laden

I'd give bonus points to some types of people such as relatives, people 
I like, those who can be saved, those who could help me save others, 
those with obvious societal merit, and so forth.  The real world is 
pretty complicated.  I like to think I'd try to help everyone I could.  
When it comes down to it, it's possible that I'd run away and say to 
heck with anyone/anything else.  Or panic and die.
jep
response 74 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 16:07 UTC 2006

re resp:57: I think we are talking moral values here, aren't we?  
People do and probably should base their values on their religion, if 
they are religious.
richard
response 75 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 16:16 UTC 2006

re #74 no, people should base their moral values on their *instincts*  Basing
moral values on religion is tantamount to saying "base your moral values on
what someone else says"  You need to go on instinct, on what you yourself
known instinctively is right or wrong
edina
response 76 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 16:41 UTC 2006

I never had a lot of formal religious training - it's been slap dash at best.
However, I did notice that I have listened to the soundtrack to "Godspell"
my whole life.  If I take my moral guidance from that, is it religious?  Is
it broadway?  
jep
response 77 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 17:07 UTC 2006

re resp:75: You mean everyone should shut out whatever others are 
saying and come to all of their moral values independently?  You 
shouldn't start with any kind of moral framework at all?  That's what a 
religion provides to many people, after all.

I don't find it to be a workable methodology, if that is what you 
mean.  If it isn't, I don't understand what you do mean.
rcurl
response 78 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 17:13 UTC 2006

We acquire our moral "instincts" throughout life, especially in early years,
from many sources. Those reared in lives constrained by religious doctrine
mostly grow up with narrow concepts of morality. I acquired by moral
"instincts" from both the principles that I was taught and observation of how
life works: but not from "instinct" alone, as that can be too easily mistaken.
klg
response 79 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 17:48 UTC 2006

1.  How many cells are there in a toddler?

2.  If human life is continuous and does not necessarily start at 
conception, are you saying that it doesn't necessarily stop at death?  
And, if so, what does that mean for Robert's and Alito's terms on the 
Supreme Court?  (Just asking.)

3.  It is oxymoronic to say that we acquire instincts after we are born.
rcurl
response 80 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 18:28 UTC 2006

1.  illions

2. Obviously when a cell dies its life has ended. I think you can 
extrapolate that to whole persons.

3. Not at all. I wrote "instincts", meaning to imply both innate and acquired
responses. Instincts technically are genetic, but we learn other responses
after birth that might as well be "instincts" for the control they have over
our behavior. 
happyboy
response 81 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 18:34 UTC 2006

klingon is ignorant about buddhism.  big sooprize.
jep
response 82 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 19:26 UTC 2006

re resp:78: What do you mean by "narrow-minded"?  How do you 
distinguish between "narrow-minded" morals and morals with which you 
agree?

I think that all people acquire moral beliefs throughout their lives, 
with their most basic beliefs beginning in their youth.  All people 
have some beliefs that are instilled in them as children by their 
parents or other adults, and which will never change.  All people have 
some beliefs which change through the rest of their lives. 

It is possible for anyone to be trained (or come by) reasonable, 
workable, useful morals, which collectively I will define as "good".  
Anyone can come to have "bad" morals as well (which lack those 
characteristics).  It is possible for anyone to have good or bad 
morals, regardless of their religious background.  I am sure all of us 
know people from both groups who are good people and also people from 
both who are not so good.
jep
response 83 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 19:26 UTC 2006

(Wow, an abortion item is moving away from abortion.  I am not sure 
I've seen that happen very often before.)
jadecat
response 84 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 19:35 UTC 2006

resp:83 well, religion/morality came into it, and that's pretty much the
other stand-by for us. ;)
klg
response 85 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 20:13 UTC 2006

Curl - Your reply to #2 did not respond to the question.
keesan
response 86 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 20:25 UTC 2006

John, why would you help a child or a woman before a helpless man?

Conception is the fusing of two living cells to make one living cell with the
same total number of chromosomes.  Death is the destruction of one or more
living cells, that need not be independent of other cells (body cells die and
are replaced continuously).  Death of an organism is the end of its ability
to function as a unified whole, leading to the death shortly after of all the
individual cells (loss of ability to function and integrity).
cyklone
response 87 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 21:46 UTC 2006

Re #85: Now if you'd just apply your new-found powers of perception to your
own "answers."
tod
response 88 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 22:19 UTC 2006

re #58
The piece of your equation that you're missing is the "blame" factor.  The
person would save the toddler and then have the blame of the blastulas' deaths
put on the parents through some spin on magic show scriptures gobbledygook.
richard
response 89 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 22:33 UTC 2006

Those persons who hijacked the jets and flew them into the WTC and the
Pentagon on 9/11 were basing their moral decisions on their religion, on what
they were TOLD BY OTHERS should be their morality.  I would argue that if they
had not been religious, if they had developed their morality based on their
own instincts, that they would not have decided to become kamikazes.
tod
response 90 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 22:39 UTC 2006

Do you believe GW prays before every major decision?
rcurl
response 91 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 23:29 UTC 2006

I think Timothy McVeigh thought up his morality pretty much on his own,
though perhaps with a little encouragement. Can't blame that one on religion.
happyboy
response 92 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 23:39 UTC 2006

sure you can, HE WAS CATHOLIC!
tod
response 93 of 254: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 23:46 UTC 2006

Turner Diaries and Jolt cola as I understand it.
Plus, it didn't help we buried those fuckers alive and then the VA didn't want
to admit we could get PTSD after that kind of horrendous shit.  Believe me,
it had no links to morality being thought up..
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/marine_b/marine_b_refs/n55en071/Testimony_bradf
ord
_0507gulf.htm
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