X-Message-Number: 6413 From: Randy Smith <> Newsgroups: alt.atheism,sci.cryonics Subject: Religion, Sanity, Cryonics, and the Sting of Death Date: Fri, 28 Jun 1996 16:15:05 -0700 Message-ID: <> One of the leaders in the cryonics movement opined in a recent article that one of the reasons religious beliefs are so prevalent is that many people would go insane with worry and fear as they grew older and came to fully realize the inescapable fact that they were going to die. I would say this is the highest price we pay for having this wonderful big brain. We, alone among the beasts, know we are going to die. I suppose this is one of the main attractions I see in cryonics. If I am conscious in my dying moments, I will know there is some chance that it may NOT be all over. I seriously doubt if I'll be paraphrasing Shakespeare--"death, where is thy sting"--with current freezing techniques cryonics is probably still a long shot, so the sting of death will still be there, I'm sure. But I'm afraid I am far too much of a cynic and skeptic to look to the supernatural to ease that sting: I'd rather put my faith in science and the human species, imperfect as it is. -- Randy Smith do not go gentle into that good night rage, rage against the dying of the light Dylan Thomas Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=6413