X-Message-Number: 18383
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 10:02:22 -0800 (PST)
From: Scott Badger <>
Subject: Re: Religion and Cryonics

George Smith wrote:

> Cryonics is NOT a religious decision at all.
> 
> Cryonics IS simply a MEDICAL choice intended to
> extend physical life.

On the surface this seems true, but I have taken a
rather informal poll of Christian-minded individuals
with the following questions:

Imagine there's a pill that could keep you young and
healthy for as many years as you wanted to stay alive,
and the only way to die is to somehow kill yourself on
purpose.

Q #1: Would you take the pill

Now, imagine that each pill only keeps you young and
healthy for exactly 50 years. (You can't stock the
pills to take later)

Q #2: How many pills would you take? 

The great majority say no to the first question
because suicide is too heavy of a sin and they might
not get into heaven, but if they stay on earth they're
not getting there either.

The great majority answer the second question by
saying, "one pill". A few say "no pill" and a few
brave ones sometimes say 2-3 pills. Practically no one
thinks in terms of thousands of years. For Christians,
our time on Earth is meant as a test. The reward is in
heaven so there's little point in staying here longer
than necessary. They are, by definition, deathists.

Choosing cryonics isn't really like choosing other
medical procedures, because cryonicists will most
likely be reanimated into a young and healthy body
that will not be subject to natural death. It means
one is saying yes to Q #1 above. That's very different
than saying yes to a heart operation that will extend
your life another decade or two.

One solution might be that the church could adapt to
the coming end of biological aging by changing it's
view on or interpretation of suicide.

In the meantime, perhaps Cryonics organizations should
suggest to potential cryonicists that they should make
explicit their preferences with regard to being
reanimated in a healthy body that "does" or "does not"
have an indefinitely extended lifespan. 

Scott Badger

"Vita Perpetua"

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