X-Message-Number: 29573
From: 
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:37:10 EDT
Subject: Muslims, Catholics, etc.

Again, this is marginal, but I'll make a brief reply to Rudi Hoffman's  
latest remarks.
 
Among other things, he notes that radical Islam is murderous. But it does  
not follow that WE have anything to gain, on balance, by attacking Islam or  
religion in general.
 
He also mentions Catholics following the Papal line and the downsides of  
some of that, in the context of looking at actions instead of professions of  

faith. But in Italy, the heart of Catholicism, MOST Catholics do NOT follow the
orthodox line on birth control and many other matters. Most are "cafeteria"  

Catholics, picking some and leaving some. We want to make it easier for them to
 choose cryonics, not harder. We don't make it easier if we appear to imply 
that  only idiots express faith.
 
It is true that religious belief has impeded stem cell research to some  

extent in the U.S., but it does not follow that this can be remedied by a  
general 
attack on faith.
 
Rudi notes that some people have changed earlier views to join  the cryonics 
revolution, and therefore such change of outlook and defiance of  tradition 
and training is possible. But it just does not follow that we can make  our 
point, without cost, by broadsides against faith.
 
One of the main points is that we make our case by logic, with appeals to  
the "selfish" elements of the psyche. This is enough of a challenge. 
 
Most religious leaders have learned to bend to the breeze, that  something is 
better than nothing. If we look e.g. at Christianity, Islam,  and Hinduism, 
clearly a leader or devout follower of any one must regard  the others as 
hopelessly misguided, yet they usually claim to respect each other  and avoid 
confrontation. It's just politics, the art of the possible.
 
On occasion one can wave a sword and blow a trumpet and achieve a  desired 

result. But such occasions are rare indeed, and I don't think we have  one here.
(Well, trumpet OK, but not sword.)
 
Again thanks to Rudi for his outstanding record of practical help for  
cryonics.
 
R.E.
 



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