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?