(no subject)

[sophiaserpentia]

Some of you have rightly taken me to task for the sweeping and hasty comments I made yesterday about the Pope's pronouncement regarding the treatment of people in 'permanent vegetative states.'

I should perhaps clarify what I see as one purpose for this journal. I am not in any way pretending to be a pundit; I spell out my views as they occur to me, and though sometimes it bruises my ego I welcome feedback of all sorts. My ego needs to be bruised sometimes; it strengthens and hones the sharpness of my intellect, and of my compassion. So let me state explicitly, that no one need ever fear offending me simply by offering an opinion that differs from mine. Having friends who will rebuke me when I need to be rebuked is a blessing. I ask only that you be civil when doing so.

The nature of this medium, LiveJournal, is that it favors the recording of passing thoughts. It has been immensely useful to me in helping me to see the way my thoughts have evolved over the past two years. Even when I take the time to organize my thoughts before posting, my posts are still often quite raw, as they are works in progress. For me, who used to jealously hide rough drafts of everything until I was willing to let someone else peek, this has been a way of learning to open up, to see that I don't have to be considered an expounder of flawless wisdom.

Comments

[yud.livejournal.com]

My only fear in posting comments to your entries is that I might inadvertantly reveal the vastness of my own ignorance on these matters. Though I was raised Christian and went to church every Sunday for 18 years of my life, I have never really studied it to the extent that you have. Which is the reason why I am so interested in reading your entries, so that I can learn more about the religion that I was raised to believe.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Well, as "they" say, the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked. I often tend to forget which terms or facts people may or may not know; and so if anything is confusing don't hesitate to ask. Really. I'll answer if I can.

And, I'm just a student of all this, too...

[yud.livejournal.com]

Fortunately I've had some basic lessons in Gnosticism, primarily through reading/discussing some of Philip K Dick's books, as well as one really cool NPR segment they had about it ( http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1286543 ). But while I know some of the basics, I have gotten nowhere near any of the details. Most of your posts don't confuse me, they fascinate me. And they reveal how little I've actually learned about Christianity despite all the sermons and sunday school lessons. I really should read some books on it, or at least go back and read all of your livejournal posts.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I'll have to take a look at that NPR feature.

Bear in mind that most Gnostics would probably consider my views outside of the ordinary. But you are welcome to read my bookmarked entries.

If you read books on the subject, I recommend starting with The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels.

[yud.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I just checked the local library and while they have the book, someone has it checked out right now. The library has five books by her, but only one them is available: The gnostic Paul : gnostic exegesis of the Pauline letters.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

The Gnostic Paul is an excellent book, but I don't recommend it for people just setting out to explore Gnosticism. It's very technical.

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

I have no firm opinion on euthanasia myself because every case is so individual. That being said, I think or the Pope or anyone to try to make one standard for all families going through such horrible trauma and excruciating decision-making is very cruel.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

It's also something of an unusual position for a church that normally prefers to tell people to "let nature take its course."

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

As in, you would expect, "If God wanted them to wake up and live, he would wake them up?"

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

More as in, I would expect something a bit more consistent with their positions about birth control, abortion, in vitro fertilization, and so on, where medical intervention is seen as immoral and unnatural.

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

From the church, you want consistency? (Cynical laughter)

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Their positions on these matters highlight the problem of defining a set of ethics which starts with a set of absolutes. I do not believe in moral absolutes; I do not believe that there are "sacred cows" in ethics that override every other principle they come up against.

Like paying a ransom.

[t-head.livejournal.com]

Let me offer you some morsels for thought.

In my country, kidnapping for ransom is in some urban areas, quite quotidian. There have been some very high-profile cases involving victims from all points of the socioeconomic spectrum, and most of them are not solved like in the movies. Most of the time the kidnappers win; Mexican law enforcement is basically learning as it goes.

So a Mexican researcher did a study on how kidnapping affects a family. He found out that, contrary to many adverse (even traumatic) experiences, kidnapping destroys a family like nothing else can. The reason for this is the ransom negotiation.

See, when the kidnappers put a ransom on a person, that person realizes that their life has a price. And when the rest of the family dithers and delays, they signal to the kidnapped that they don't think their life is worth that much. The family may have a dozen good reasons to not pay a ransom immediately, among those the lack of guarantees that the loved one will be returned once the ransom is paid.... but all that a person can do is think, "I know full well that paying this ransom would sink us into poverty, but my family would rather risk my life and have me simmer in this living hell of fear and doubt than to give up their lifestyle."

Hence a family is destroyed; once a price is set on a human life, no amount of rhetoric can make the human in question believe she is priceless. Once you pay the Danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane.

The parallels to the situation regarding vegetative persons are clear. And if the situation is morally equivalent, the only moral thing to do is pay, pay promptly and keep paying, even if the kidnapper wears green scrubs and wields a sthethoscope instead of a gun.

When the Holy Father demands that more resources be spent in learning how to heal people instead of euthanizing them, he is doing no more than calling for more and smarter police to deal with kidnappers.

Re: Like paying a ransom.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

I do not think your analogy holds, for three important reasons.

The first, is that death is inevitable, while kidnapping is not. The second, is that catastrophic brain damage is not an intentional act of cruelty, while kidnapping is.

But the third and most important difference, for purposes of my argument, is that a family anticipates getting a kidnap victim back more or less as they were when they were taken, while someone who has suffered brain damage is most likely not going to return to the same kind of life they had before. Instead, that person, if he or she recovers to any level of consciousness, is probably going to return to a life with no privacy, constant dependency on others, and perhaps lots (and lots) of pain.

Now, while I have no doubt that the argument over whether to maintain a patient on life support can damage a family, the amount and kind of ethical culpability that comes with making such a decision is of a different sort than the ethical burden that comes with deciding whether or not to pay a kidnap ransom. The illness was not caused by the willful and malignant action of another person; it is something that simply happens to people. And, it is highly doubtful that, short of miraculous recovery, paying an exorbitant sum is going to restore the loved one to a level of life such as she or he had before.

Re: Like paying a ransom.

[pooperman.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this observation--it was interesting and I learned a new word today: "quotidian."

I agree with sophiaserpentia on this one, though, and for precisely the reasons she gave, that your analogy falls well short of describing the euthanasia issue.

In addition to her comments on your analogy I would offer this one: I haven't heard the Holy Father publicly proclaim his philosophy on how a family should deal with kidnappers and ransom demands. That would be an interesting epistle, I think!

(If they are in fact analogous or as similar as you say, I would think, especially given their frequency in such a Catholic country such as Mexico, that he would offer up something in this regard. Perhaps I missed it--he said something and the media didn't jump on it?)

[contentlove.livejournal.com]

Honey, say what you will: but you are so a pundit. Them's the breaks. Keep on writin'

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

But I don't wanna be a pundit. :-D

Thank you!

[beowulf1723.livejournal.com]

I'll second Content's motion. All in favor ... .

Seriously, you have written some of the most intelligent stuff on Christianity, Gnostic or Orthodox, and on religion in general that I've read, better than that of some of the so-called "experts." Keep those posts coming.