X-Message-Number: 16024
Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2001 08:20:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Scott Badger <>
Subject: Re: Partners with differing viewpoints

> Steven L brings up the very important topic of how a
> cryonicist
> should deal with the situation in which his or her
> spouse is
> not a cryonicist.  He also notes that he's an
> athiest and his
> girl friend is not.
> 
> As a preliminary i guess i should point out that
> cryonics is
> compatible with religion.  That is, the fact that
> Steve's girl friend
> is not an athiest shouldn't be any barrier to
> becoming a cryonicist.

I'm in the same boat. My theist girlfriend supports my
decision but she won't sign up. She'd just as soon die
and join her god. This world doesn't impress her and
the future scares her more than excites her. She
yearns for the peace she believes will come with
death.

I've heard the argument that cryonics is compatible
with religious views, and that's true for the most
part I suppose but the fundamental concept underlying
cryonics is life-extension and what does a Christian
do in a future where science has learned how to stop
the aging process? If you're not going to die, you're
not going to heaven and you're not allowed to kill
yourself so you're trapped in the physical
world...cut-off from your god. I suppose one could
make the choice to not take advantage of medical
technology and go ahead and age "naturally". But
wouldn't that be another form of suicide? How do
Christians define suicide? If you have a choice
between life and death and you choose death...how is
that not suicide? What if you refuse medication that
will save your life? What if you choose a life style
that puts you at high risk? Putting a gun to your head
is faster and more dramatic but we make lots of
life-shortening choices all the time. It's just a
matter of degree. Anyway, I just wondered how
Christians deal with the paradoxical prospect of
indefinitely extended life spans.



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