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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E who wrote (30628)	2/10/1999 6:52:00 PM
From: epicure	Respond to of 108807

Actually I'm an agnostic- not a bit spiritual. But I see humans as not a very big part of anything, and not very important- except to themselves. Individually I am selfish- and want the best for my family- in some ways this makes me give benefits to people I would ordinarily not aid, in an attempt to make the world a better place for my offspring. I like things that promote law and order and stability- I am gamboling that my children won't turn out to be on the wrong side of the law. Its all a crap shoot- and while it matters to me on a personal level (mostly for me and my family) I merely meant human life only has the importance we give it- which can be relative. My families lives are important- everyone else - less so. I am not being cruel- but it is the way I am. I think if people were honest most people would tell you something similar if they had thought about it and could articulate it. If the death penalty were being applied to one of my kids I would probably become an anti-death penalty crusader- but that would be an emotional decision. My support of it may be an emotional decision too- how can I know?

To: E who wrote (30628)	2/13/1999 9:55:00 AM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 108807

<None of it matters very much" is a new contribution to the discussion. Although Christine did say, "I don't believe depraved savages deserve much of my time or attention, and I do not think it damages me spiritually that they die," which displays a similar sensibility, I guess. I hadn't considered it all in this light before. Silly me, I had thought it mattered greatly! Maybe we atheists are a bit foolish about what happens here on earth. I must get spiritual-- it will help so in the peace of mind department!> I am really curious as to how whether one is an atheist or not has gotten relevant in the death penalty discussion. I think it is an absolutely separate issue. For the record, I have no religious beliefs at all, and would note that many anti-death penalty advocates campaign because their religious beliefs tell them to do so. So your seeming suggestion that atheist religious beliefs are a natural part of an anti-death penalty philosophy of life is puzzling, at best. I think there has been quite a bit of exploration here at Feelings on the difference between believing in a deity and an afterlife, and simply acknowledging that there is a spiritual side to our existence, (spiritual in this sense meaning "life of the spirit" as opposed to mind and body alone), and that the spirit requires nurture. So when I am saying that I don't think it damages me spiritually when depraved savages die, I am saying that I can lead a life full of love and tolerance and happiness and still support the death penalty for murderers. I do think it is really pathetic that some of the relatives of the murdered believe that they will find relief when the killers die. I don't think anything really ever makes it okay when a loved one is butchered--all the family members and friends are lifelong victims. Of course, to me this is yet another reason to advocate quick execution after fair trials, because murdering anyone is so vile that the murderer becomes a complete waste of space.