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Isa
Administrator
Posts: 6,995
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Post by Isa on Oct 26, 2006 6:57:20 GMT -5
Well, I think the Bush administration has done everything it could not to separate church and state anymore, from what I hear. It really creeps me out when world leaders come up with statements like "God is on our side" - it's like it only serves to justify their most debased actions and decisions.
As for euthanasia, I think that in some cases it should be permitted. Science has done a great job of making people live longer but not always in good conditions. When it's a disease that affords no hope of cure or of getting better, and when the patient is of sound mind, I think it's only human to put an end to that person's suffering if that's the patient's wish. But the law would have to be cristal clear in order to avoid any kind, shape and form of abuse - that's the tricky part.
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Post by Dominique on Oct 26, 2006 17:52:21 GMT -5
I agree Jefie, there's such a big room for abuse and corruption with Euthanasia. Some old people don't have the full mental capacity they once had and it's sometimes very easy for unscrupulous people to manipulate them. Also like people who have had severe accidents and stuff their relatives coould, theoretically, say well they said they would rather be dead than live a life like this once and that's not really a proper decision. I'm for it when people make a proper, informed decision with a proper amount of operating mental capacity, but I'm not sure if that would always be the case or not. Maybe there needs to be a fair bit of criteria before they let someone do it? I'm not sure it's such an iffy area.
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Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
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Post by Kristie on Oct 26, 2006 18:44:10 GMT -5
I like the laws the Netherlands and Belgium have for euthanasia. There are very strict rules one has to follow. I wrote a paper on this last year (yeah, I like talking about the controversial papers I guess) and I found out a lot about these laws. In the US we have the Do Not Resusitate order that you can get from a lawyer stating not to put you on life support, therefore ending your life. I don't know if you can give specifics as to when not to resusitate you or something, but yeah.
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Post by Dominique on Oct 26, 2006 18:58:23 GMT -5
yeah i think we have that here as well. I think the reason countries haven't adopted Euthanasia is not only the whole Christian/conservatist tack but also because it would be so hard to legislate for.
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Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
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Post by Kristie on Oct 26, 2006 19:08:21 GMT -5
true true...again with separation of church and state. i guess i like writing about topics that deal with that...
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zeldafitzgerald
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
ancora imparo
Posts: 1,948
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Post by zeldafitzgerald on Oct 26, 2006 21:19:16 GMT -5
Bush's lack of separation of church and state is ruining the values our country was founded on. (Ironically, he believes the opposite).
I'm from a small town in the midwest and I get SO sick of people I grew up with adopting their parent's archaic views and never stopping to think for themselves. I came across a current issue of my high school paper (that was basically my child my last two years there) and there was a column from some homo-phobe jerk who wrote an opinion column and his main point against gay marriage - "It will lead to the depopulation of the earth and the end of the human race." I'm not making this up. That was his main point.
My best friend is gay and it really hurts me to see him denied the same rights.
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Post by Dominique on Oct 26, 2006 21:28:13 GMT -5
that would suck.
Yeah the church is very focused on populating the world. That's why their against contraception as well. Kinda silly in modern times where populating the world isn't really an issue anymore...
See this is an example of what I think: the church uses hell as a method of scaring people out of doing things they don't agree with eg: gay people.
I mean look at Roman Catholicism's history. They want to wipe out paganism, so paganists will go to hell according to them (they mainly wanted to wipe it out to replace it and get people to convert btw).
Church of England people were going to go to hell at one stage according to them. Again another example of the church using hell as an excuse to satisfy their own desires: more followers for them.
They've made God out to be a vengeful God just to scare people into not doing stuff. Who says who gos to hell and who doesn't isn't entirely based on their agenda as an institution?
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zeldafitzgerald
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
ancora imparo
Posts: 1,948
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Post by zeldafitzgerald on Oct 26, 2006 21:35:57 GMT -5
They've made God out to be a vengeful God just to scare people into not doing stuff. Who says who gos to hell and who doesn't isn't entirely based on their agenda as an institution?
Very good point. I'm still not sure I believe in hell. I don't have a problem with people practicing religion any way that they want to, as long as they don't try to force or nag me into the same practice. I dislike religions/people who think their way is the only correct way to worship. My favorite quote about religion, and the one that best expresses how I feel, is: "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind." -Albert Einstein
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Post by Dominique on Oct 26, 2006 21:47:42 GMT -5
yeah i agree with you .
The other thing is a lot of the really bad people out there who do messed up things are mentally challenged, or they had a bad up bringing, or something terrible happened to them. It doesn't seem right that they should go to hell for turning out in a way that mightn't be their fault.
I'm not sure I believe it exists either.
Lol the funny thing is that I'm not even sure it exists but the idea of possession totally freaks me out. I think I have a phobia of possession. Logically I know it's probably not even real and it used to just be people's way of explaining other people with mental illnesses, but thinking about it or watching a possession movie = no sleep. It's weird the reaction religious myth evokes in some people huh?
The other thing I don't get is if Jesus is so forgiving and kind and stuff, how is God vengeful. If Jesus is loving than wouldn't god be loving since Jesus is spreading God's loving image? I don't get it?
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Bina
First novel published
Posts: 2,472
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Post by Bina on Oct 27, 2006 8:24:03 GMT -5
I actually did a report on euthanasia for my philosophy class and I lived in the Netherlands for some years and while their approach seems good they had some serious problems with legislation and cases where greedy relatives took advantage and murdered their parents or grandparents.
The Bush administration isn´t too popular around here . Bush sounds like he is the chosen one. Can´t believe he was voted for twice. I know some people in uni who wear t shirts that say "the Bush demolition tour" and then list countries and dates. Like a concert t-shirt. That pretty much sums up how most people my age feel. Being anti America is very in.
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Isa
Administrator
Posts: 6,995
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Post by Isa on Oct 27, 2006 10:44:58 GMT -5
lol, I'd love to have one of those t-shirts! Yeah, I guess the Bush administration has done a good job of sparking an anti-America feeling throughout the world. Even in Canada it's quite perceptible, even though we still entertain close relationships with the US. What bothers me is when people lump up all Americans together and judge them the same way they judge Bush. Not all Americans have voted for him! Lord knows I'd hate to be judged according to our current prime minister... Zeldafitzgerald: just for a bit of comic relief on this really sad subject, I once heard a guy argue in favour of gay marriage by saying that 1 in 2 marriages end up in a divorce so if you're against homosexuality the best thing to do is to let gay people get married, it's the fastest way to break up their relationship Oh and just for the record, I don't believe in hell. Nor do I believe in resurrection. I think they're just man-made concepts that were developed to push people into certain directions. I don't need the threat of hell or the reward of resurrection to motivate myself to act kindly towards other people and live a life with good moral values and standards. That was my two cents for today!
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bookworm148
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
"Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of a sky of a tree called life."
Posts: 671
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Post by bookworm148 on Jan 31, 2007 11:36:22 GMT -5
I'm a Christian. I believe in Hell, the Resurrection, God, Jesus, all of it. I do think it's extremely interesting to see what everyone else believes.
I think we could learn a lot if we just listened. lol
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Post by gilmoreren on Jan 31, 2007 15:34:23 GMT -5
I'm a Christian. I believe in Hell, the Resurrection, God, Jesus, all of it. I do think it's extremely interesting to see what everyone else believes. I think we could learn a lot if we just listened. lol I'm a Christian too and I agree with you bookworm
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czarval
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
Posts: 607
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Post by czarval on Jan 31, 2007 16:33:41 GMT -5
I don't have any religion, which I guess is a confusing way to say I'm an atheist. The whole idea of a god or many gods just doesn't make any sense to me.
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