X-Message-Number: 20025
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2002 10:05:05 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: CryoNet #20018 - #20023

A small point about religion:

Besides believers, atheists, and agnostics, there is another class to
which I belong. I believe the whole issue is irrelevant, not just to
cryonics but morally. There is no creature, no matter how powerful
and all-knowing, who can make my own intellectual and moral judgements
for me. I must do all that myself. 

If there is a God, not than any God has yet brought himself, herself,
or itself to my attention or tried to openly intervene in my life,
I would be happy to tip my hat to him, her, or it and continue about
my own business. "Pleased to meet you," seems the most appropriate
response. Any God who (or which) tried to impose their judgements
upon me would by that act make him, her, or itself no more than an
enemy and no more worthy of respect, not to mention worship, than
any other tyrant. If a God addressed me as another person, and gave
me advice rather than commands, I would naturally consider that
advice just as I consider advice from any other person. The same
is true if that God decided to tell me some facts about the world;
they would receive the same treatment as any other statement by
any other person. They may or may not turn out to be true. What is
there about a God, especially the one talked about in the Christian
Bible, the Koran, or any other theological work, which makes what
they say inevitably true. As I've just said, I must make my own
intellectual and moral judgements for myself.

And so the 4th category, besides religionists, agnostics, and atheists,
is the irrelevantist, who has no special belief about existence but
rather believes that whether or not there is a God, or Gods, he or
she must deal with the world and their problems with their own
intellectual and moral judgement, no one elses.

		Best wishes and long long life to all,

			Thomas Donaldson

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