Interesting article

Here is a interesting and somewhat provocative article by the chair of the philosophy department at the University of Tennessee. He came and spoke to my CPE group about such notions and Euthanasia and a right to die. I did not agree with much of anything the man said, but here is the article:

http://web.utk.edu/~jhardwig/RightTime.htm

Please let me know what you think of this. I'd love to hear some outside feedback.

Comments

Voyager said…
This is an interesting, albeit somewhat disturbing, article.

The man has made some good solid points on the right and the duty to die; from a strictly rational standpoint, it might be hard to argue against his statements.

However, his entire argument against the religious aspect of assisted suicide, et al, doesn't hold water with me.

One of the staples of the Judeo-Christian outlook on life and on God is that mankind has free will, and the very argument that he makes flies in the face of this belief.

I don't intend to turn this response into a big debate on free will, but here is how I feel about the concept in question (and how this man apparently perceives it).

Not everything that happens does so according to the will of God. That's the blessing and the cursing of free will; we have the opportunities to screw it up.

The Bible clearly tells us that it is God's will that NONE SHALL PERISH. This does not imply that no one is going to pass from this world, that implies that God wants for all of us to accept life in Jesus Christ and enter into the kingdom of heaven.

This man is attacking the very doctrine of Christianity with a fallacy of Christianity.

Well, before I rant further, I will call it an evening. :)
8/02/2005 9:06 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on the 'Connecticut 6'

For some weeks, I have had several friends (mostly non-Episcopalians surprisingly) wanting me to voice an opinion on this Connecticut 6 (sounds like a fleabag motel) business. If you are unfamiliar with this fiasco, for lack of a better term, let me describe it as best as I understand it. There is so much spin going on (from both sides I might add) that I have been having trouble discerning fact from fiction. As I understand the situation, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Smith is the Bishop of Connecticut. Well, at least he has a pointy hat, I do not think he is particularly acting like one. Likewise, as I understand, there are Six rectors of churches (at least they have collars, but likewise are not acting like it) that have applied for DEPO oversight (i.e. another Bishop to oversee them.) The best way I know how to describe the hoohah is as follows: The Feloniously Rev. Smith is trying to defrock the Superciliously Reverend Rectors. Darth Smith claims they have abandoned communion and has shadil...
Read more

My board gaming journey, pt. I

Image
     Something a bit different today than my normal reflections. I thought I would delve a little bit more into a topic that is not necessarily theological in nature. I am a real person, and not some ethereal doctor in an ivory tower who gets to smoke a pipe and contemplate the infinite mysteries all day. So, today, I thought I would delve into one of my personal hobbies: board gaming.      Now, do not tune me out because you hear "board gaming" and immediately default in your brain to your brother overturning a table with Monopoly money flying everywhere because the game has gone on for hours and overturning the table was the only option left other than murder. Most people, including myself at one time, thought of board games as those boring or frustrating games that seem stuck in 1952. You know the usual suspects: Clue!, Monopoly, Scrabble, Chess, maybe even more saccharine games like Life or Candy Land, i.e. those games that everyone owned at some p...
Read more

The History of the Football helmet

Image
NCAA.com put out an interesting editorial about the evolution of the football helmet that can be found here . This is in part due in my estimation to the current buzz (one might go so far as to describe it as hysteria) about concussions in contact sports, particularly football. I have always found this an interesting evolution. Long gone are the days of strapping on your leather helmet: In the 50's and 60's, the helmet evolved into, basically becoming a metal then hard plastic version of the leather helmet with the addition of a rudimentary face mask (which was really just a bar at first): Gradually, the helmet's face mask itself began to evolve: Combines with new space age style lightweight plastics and foams, the helmet mask ultimately became a type of full, goalie style face mask (This little number costs just under $1000 to purchase new): Ironically, being a military history major, the football helmet evolution followed the pattern of design that helmets worn...
Read more