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Richard Dawkins Interviews the Bishop of...

A truly fantastic discussion that`s not akin with what you might expect for what`s deemed the norm on talking with religious persons. You`ll be more of a human for viewing it.

  • Vizreel
  • posted by Vizreel
  • Date 11/8/2009 1:08:16 PM
  • Views: 349
  • All Ages
  • All Ages

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2 Comments

Current View: 15 / Show all Comments

Vhorthex : LVL 14: VP 2.3: said:

Vhorthex

1 votes NegativePositive

12 days 16 hours ago...

It should be one`s right to ends his life, is he so wills it.

As to if, or not, doctors should be allowed to do it, that`s another story.

Cheers,

exploder : LVL 50: VP 5: said:

exploder

1 votes NegativePositive

12 days 10 hours ago...

What an excellent interview, absolutely top notch. A very welcome departure from the stuff we normally hear. I think this was the most enjoyable talk on the topics I`ve seen for a long time.

This is real progress on all fronts. We atheists can never disprove god or spirituality, that is clearly logically impossible. But we can help in honest debates like this one, by helping to eliminate the frauds and pretenders, and shine light on the ignorance and past mistakes. What is left is a clearer, purer vision of what god or spirit might actually be, if they do exist, or how to find them for real instead of being caught up in old superstitious mumbo-jumbo.

On the Bishop`s idea that euthanasia is a potentially valid exception but that we can`t legislate for it: it is therefore logically inconsistent to ABSOLUTELY legislate against it, which is the current situation. Right now it is 100% first degree murder in the eyes of the law, there is no allowance whatsoever for the real exceptions that should be made. That cop will go to jail if he shoots the burning lorry driver, even if it was the humane action by everyone`s standards.

I personally feel that a well balanced solution is to leave the opportunity in the hands of the patient and their family, and if there is no family then allow willing doctors to assist. In other words, if you are terminally ill, and you request to die, and your doctors approve, then your family can administer your death if they are willing. If you have no family, then a willing doctor can do it. I think that would strike a balance with the interconnectedness the bishop speaks of, because it would allow the whole family to participate, and to intercede against the possibility of doctors pushing for death. It`s a line that we draw somewhere, and that seems like a kinder place to draw it than the absolute ban we currently have.

I watched one grandfather lose his mind to many tiny strokes (same effect as Alzheimer`s), and beg to die as he suffered losing his mind. It took years of crazy shattering suffering, until he finally rotted as a vegetable for many more years in an expensive hospital bed. There was no dignity, terrible suffering, and incredible waste. But we would have risked long jail for murder to help him die. He was the first in our family to die horribly, and having seen his suffering, we WILL intervene the next time if we must.

My other grandfather killed himself, because his lungs were shot from chlorine gas exposure, and after years of partially successful treatment, and years of severe pain, he had finally had enough. He told us how and where he was going to do it, and he did it. He drove too fast on a long remote icy highway, tempting fate until it took him. He was happy with his death, and while we sorely miss him, so were we happy for his swift passing chosen with dignity. But I have to ask if there could not have been a kinder, gentler way, if we only had kinder laws.

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Entry Dates: 9/8/2007-9/14/2009