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Happy New Year Twenty-Ten
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--- On Fri, 1/1/10, Ivo da C.Souza <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>Scientifically, human life begins with the conception, therefore abortion >is
>a murder. Science has Averthanus D'Souza is doing a good job by >guiding the
>readers in the right path. Let the readers have better guides >in the New Year.
>
I hope readers are guided by truth, accuracy and sound information in the new
year, as far as the natural world is concerned. The claim made above on behalf
of science is bogus. Science has never concerned itself with the pious beliefs
about the beginnings of life of any particular religious denomination. The U.S.
National Academy of Sciences has clearly stated in a strong resolution that the
above claim regarding human life "cannot stand up to the scrutiny of science",
and that it is basically a "matter of moral and religious values". The
academy's position has been supported in an independent petition by more than
1200 eminent scientists, including 6 Nobel Laureates, one of whom is David
Baltimore, a current member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. They stated
that this claim is "a misuse and a misunderstanding of science," and that
"science cannot define the moment at which 'actual human life' begins".
What science has done, however, is it has completely rejected the antiquated
medieval ideas of vitalism, vital force, life energy, kundalini, chi, etc. It
has shown that these speculations have no value in explaining the
self-sustaining material and energetic processes that take place within every
cell of the body, including the fertilized egg.
Science certainly has nothing to do with the determination of what constitutes
murder. But in a secular democracy its definition cannot be dictated or
hijacked by the parochial sectarian beliefs of any religion or creed. Those who
try to do it are simply using it as a political weapon to demonize people of
other religions and beliefs who do not agree with them.
There are many religions and religious organizations that have explicitly
stated views that are in support of embryonic stem cell research. Other
religious entities have refrained from stating their support or opposition to
embryonic stem cell research, recognizing the diversity of personal moral
positions adopted by their adherents based on their own life experiences and
understanding. These two types of religions and religious organizations are as
follows:
Judaism
Episcopal Church
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Islam
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.
Buddhism
Anglican Church
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Hinduism
National Council of Churches
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Santosh
