Some time back I wrote down this thought, " dreams are the shadows cast by possibilities. " I rather like the idea of that. I believe we dream about what is possible. At the same time we need to separate that from what is probable. We should work toward the probabilities, and dream of the possibilities. The struggle is to recognize one from the other. Man has made great achievements that can't be denied. In the areas of science, the arts, and technology we have, as a species, dominated the world. Some would say we have dominated to the point of destroying! There is evidence to support that opinion, although I don't believe that.
Is man capable of destroying the world? Yes, certainly we are. That became evident when we unlocked the awesome power of the atom. When we figured out how to make a " big bang. " Problem being our big bangs sole purpose is to destroy, not create. Creation is left to whom? That is where man fails miserably. We may dream of that possibility, but the probability is very low. I say that because duplicating something isn't the same as creating it? For me, in my thinking, God alone has the patent on creation. The best man can hope to do is, duplicate.
Now we may indeed figure out a way to " manufacture " the parts we need to restore our bodies. We could grow new limbs and organs. It seems like a possibility. The concept of cloning seems viable, it has been accomplished with animals. But even that was just a duplication, and not a very good one. There were flaws in the process. We haven't cloned a human being; yet. Will we? Yes I believe at some point we will try that too. Given the moral direction I see the country heading, I can't see any other path. If we decide we can " kill " and that is a moral choice, how could creating life be an immoral one? That is a logical course of reasoning. The question for me is, if we clone a human being, will that duplicate have a soul? That is the big mystery isn't it? Or will that duplicate only react to the world the way it is taught to react, lacking a soul?
First we have to decide whether your conscience and your soul are the same thing. I say they are closely related but not the same thing. Our soul is created at birth, it is a gift from our creator. Our conscience is formed by the world around us. That is the only explanation I can offer. If I grew up in a society, in a world where stealing was a part of the culture would my conscience bother me? No, I don't think it would. I may know, inherently, that it is wrong. What teaches me that? I'd say it was our soul. That is what is given to us, as a gift. The choice to use it or not is ours. What we call free will. Our soul conveys those unalienable rights we Americans are so proud of. So does the rest of the world, no matter how they define that. Can a soul be duplicated? No, I just don't think that is a possibility. Man has tried to manipulate the choices people make. We call it mental health. Success, I would say, has been limited at best. Even after thousands of years we still have " self-help " because we just don't know what to do. We can medicate, alter responses artificially, again with limited success, we can punish, rehabilitate, offer religious instruction and institutionalize! Still, people do bad things, things contrary to the soul. They do so by choice. And man, in his arrogance, still attempts to control that.
And what has that to do with my thought, " dreams are the shadow cast by possibilities. " I think we should work toward what is probable. That is what I'm thinking. The probability of changing human nature is non-existent. We need to bear that in mind when making our choices and decisions. It's a beautiful dream to think otherwise. To " have faith " in humanity. It is the dream Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of. He spoke eloquently of working toward that dream. He also knew it had to begin with probabilities, possibilities will follow that. " Every man lives in two realms, the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live. " ( Martin Luther King, Jr. ) I say the internal is what is given to us as a gift, the external is just the medium in which we work.
In reading a bit of what Martin Luther King, Jr had to say I stumbled upon another quote of his. " Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see. " I just saw that for the first time this morning. I'd suggest to the Dr. that it is we that are casting the shadows.
Is man capable of destroying the world? Yes, certainly we are. That became evident when we unlocked the awesome power of the atom. When we figured out how to make a " big bang. " Problem being our big bangs sole purpose is to destroy, not create. Creation is left to whom? That is where man fails miserably. We may dream of that possibility, but the probability is very low. I say that because duplicating something isn't the same as creating it? For me, in my thinking, God alone has the patent on creation. The best man can hope to do is, duplicate.
Now we may indeed figure out a way to " manufacture " the parts we need to restore our bodies. We could grow new limbs and organs. It seems like a possibility. The concept of cloning seems viable, it has been accomplished with animals. But even that was just a duplication, and not a very good one. There were flaws in the process. We haven't cloned a human being; yet. Will we? Yes I believe at some point we will try that too. Given the moral direction I see the country heading, I can't see any other path. If we decide we can " kill " and that is a moral choice, how could creating life be an immoral one? That is a logical course of reasoning. The question for me is, if we clone a human being, will that duplicate have a soul? That is the big mystery isn't it? Or will that duplicate only react to the world the way it is taught to react, lacking a soul?
First we have to decide whether your conscience and your soul are the same thing. I say they are closely related but not the same thing. Our soul is created at birth, it is a gift from our creator. Our conscience is formed by the world around us. That is the only explanation I can offer. If I grew up in a society, in a world where stealing was a part of the culture would my conscience bother me? No, I don't think it would. I may know, inherently, that it is wrong. What teaches me that? I'd say it was our soul. That is what is given to us, as a gift. The choice to use it or not is ours. What we call free will. Our soul conveys those unalienable rights we Americans are so proud of. So does the rest of the world, no matter how they define that. Can a soul be duplicated? No, I just don't think that is a possibility. Man has tried to manipulate the choices people make. We call it mental health. Success, I would say, has been limited at best. Even after thousands of years we still have " self-help " because we just don't know what to do. We can medicate, alter responses artificially, again with limited success, we can punish, rehabilitate, offer religious instruction and institutionalize! Still, people do bad things, things contrary to the soul. They do so by choice. And man, in his arrogance, still attempts to control that.
And what has that to do with my thought, " dreams are the shadow cast by possibilities. " I think we should work toward what is probable. That is what I'm thinking. The probability of changing human nature is non-existent. We need to bear that in mind when making our choices and decisions. It's a beautiful dream to think otherwise. To " have faith " in humanity. It is the dream Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of. He spoke eloquently of working toward that dream. He also knew it had to begin with probabilities, possibilities will follow that. " Every man lives in two realms, the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live. " ( Martin Luther King, Jr. ) I say the internal is what is given to us as a gift, the external is just the medium in which we work.
In reading a bit of what Martin Luther King, Jr had to say I stumbled upon another quote of his. " Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see. " I just saw that for the first time this morning. I'd suggest to the Dr. that it is we that are casting the shadows.
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