Stem cell research is a big controversial topic concerning peoples morals and advancements in science. Stem cells, which can be used to cure diseases, cloning, and many other much needed advancements in technology, come from human embryos. Many people who support it, such as scientists and individuals, consider the practice to be very reasonable, whereas many religious figures and people basing their lives strongly around spiritual morals think it verges on the lines of corrupting human morals and ethics. A lot of it is similar to issues on abortion, people don't want to it to be OK to kill what could be a potential human being.
Puritans and Rationalists had a similar argument. The Puritans believed that everybody was born sinful, and only the few who were "chosen" would be sent to heaven, allowing those who are elected to gain great power and interpret the will of god freely and denying these people or not following the belief system would be seen as sinful and would be condemned to hell. The Rationalists although, believed the world was open to interpretation, thinking that if there is a god, he had made this world for us to explore and advance rather than to repeat history in one set of ideas.
The rationalists today would probably be in favor of stem cell research because of their beliefs to advance in life and discover new techniques. Puritans today would probably be very against stem cell research thinking that you shouldn't try to be the creator, rather your supposed to live how god has already put it before you, and trying to create what god has supposedly created would deeply go against their beliefs and in their minds would probably anger god to great extremes.
"Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity," (History of Plymouth Plantation) Puritans believed that no matter what, if you confessed to god or begged for mercy, God would decide your ultimate fate, perhaps saving you, replacing the idea that humans had actually survived themselves. Although despite this, they have "a natural desire to do good", getting rid of the idea that you a predestined and you must earn your right to be saved.
The Puritans in a way were kind of hypocritical as are the stem cell research opposers. Much of the text from "Of Plymouth Plantation," shows that they were perfectly capable of having to discover new lands, meet new people and form a society, but they still had doubt that those desires were controlled by a natural need to survive physically and not morally. Squanto, a Native American, at one point was the reason for these men's survival, directing "them how to set their corn, where to take fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknown places for their profit" (Plymouth Plantation). However, Puritans claimed that he was a special instrument from God sent to help them rather than being a person of survival and skill choosing to help.
Stem Cell opposers today carry somewhat of the same problem. Opposers for one think it's playing god, which is impossible and some opposers of it today probably think much like the puritans and that its not possible to do anything outside that will of god. Despite that, we already have made moral sacrifices that have benefited us today and has for sure benefited these opposers in one way or another much like the Puritans getting helped from the Natives but took it for granted by thinking it was help sent directly from God.
New studies shown by exhibit A , that the whole embryo does not have to be destroyed within the process of getting stem cells, "There is no rational reason left to oppose this research" as said by Dr. Robert Lanza. Not to menchon these cells could possibly be cloned(Clones Meets World)making even more research possibilities and possibly giving people who can't have kids the ability to have a baby thats related to them. Ethical issues should no longer be of much concern since the research is entirely pro-life.
The opposers possibly biggest leader, George Bush, has also caused some huge controversy over the idea of being pro-life and many people and this French Muppet from Exhibit C, can be qouted saying "Bush is Pro-life Til Birth," because of his carelessness towards the war and the troops that are dieing over there. Comics have also served a way to explain the controversy of Bush's opinions showing him in a tree-house with a sign "Embryo's Welcome" while a man in a wheelchair sits outside and Bush sadly explains "Some life stages are more sacred than others." So in a way, you could tell opposers that they are anti-life because they won't support the human being's already living and making this world today.
Men from the age of reason were able to realize that meaning could be found "everywhere in the natural world,"(Age of Reason) and that the world was not in fact controlled by some all powerful being that"morality is capable of demonstration," meaning that all you religious beliefs could be explained, as said by John Locke. "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man."(Alexander Pope) This quote helps show more that Rationalists, apart from Puritans, believed they were able to help themselves rather than be in need of some God.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Exhibit D
This Comic shows George Bush messing with "Billy" a man in a wheelchair, saying he'll embryos in the club because he's pro-life, while letting someone who obviously has more immediate disabilities get something out of it is not important.
I think it presents a really true idea to show the hypocrisy behind the people not supporting Stem Cell Research.
I think it presents a really true idea to show the hypocrisy behind the people not supporting Stem Cell Research.
Exhibit C
French Muppet Against Bush
When Bush vetoed the bill to support stem cell research, some saw him as hypocritical. The Muppet in this video goes off about how Bush will save unborn lives but not the lives of those living today. He thinks his morals are offtrack and says "He thinks he talks about all spiritual and stuff and then goes and bombs other countries."
This muppet is right on target for another attack on the hypocrisy shown by the people not supporting stem cell research.
When Bush vetoed the bill to support stem cell research, some saw him as hypocritical. The Muppet in this video goes off about how Bush will save unborn lives but not the lives of those living today. He thinks his morals are offtrack and says "He thinks he talks about all spiritual and stuff and then goes and bombs other countries."
This muppet is right on target for another attack on the hypocrisy shown by the people not supporting stem cell research.
Exhibit B
Clone Meets World
These people show all the benefits that could be supported by stem cell research. They presented situations such as where gays or infertal mothers would be able to have childrent that are related to them. Other Pros were getting rid of diseases where they show a girl coughing and the doctor claims that what she has can only be helped by stem cell research, and also maybe even raising the dead or atleast cloning them.
They present alot of benefits that I liked especially because some of them were actually Pro-life aspects of stem-cell research where it involved cloning. All of the things presented in the video show what I think are very possible results that could come out of stem cell research.
These people show all the benefits that could be supported by stem cell research. They presented situations such as where gays or infertal mothers would be able to have childrent that are related to them. Other Pros were getting rid of diseases where they show a girl coughing and the doctor claims that what she has can only be helped by stem cell research, and also maybe even raising the dead or atleast cloning them.
They present alot of benefits that I liked especially because some of them were actually Pro-life aspects of stem-cell research where it involved cloning. All of the things presented in the video show what I think are very possible results that could come out of stem cell research.
Exhibit A
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Hypocrisy
Scientists have been looking for a way to continue with stem cell research while appealing to people with ethical problems concerning the study, and they found a way. Once the embyro aquires 8 cells, one is able to be taken away while not destroying the embryo altogether, allowing it to be reimplanted into the womb and continue to live. “There is no rational reason left to oppose this research,” as said by Dr. Robert Lanza, and despite this there is still strong protest against pursuing the research.
I think its awesome they've found a way to get past the ethical issues. The people who oppose it don't have much to stand up for now and it's going to die fast and stem cell research will probably take a huge leap.
Scientists have been looking for a way to continue with stem cell research while appealing to people with ethical problems concerning the study, and they found a way. Once the embyro aquires 8 cells, one is able to be taken away while not destroying the embryo altogether, allowing it to be reimplanted into the womb and continue to live. “There is no rational reason left to oppose this research,” as said by Dr. Robert Lanza, and despite this there is still strong protest against pursuing the research.
I think its awesome they've found a way to get past the ethical issues. The people who oppose it don't have much to stand up for now and it's going to die fast and stem cell research will probably take a huge leap.
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather was an influential Puritan Minister who wrote many books and pamphlets. He was born February 12, 1663 and died February 13, 1728. He is also vonnected with the Salem Witch Trials, providing spectral evidence. He was also the son of the very influential minister, Increase Mather.
Named after his Grandfather, John Cotton, he went through school and managed to graduate at the age of 15. Afterwards he joined his father as an assistant, taking his place once he died. He helped the nation bring on its second and third generation of Puritans and influenced people who had come over from England to bring back the theological roots of Puritanism.
He wrote over 450 books many of them being very important literary works brought out of Puritan Beliefs. The "Magnalia Christi Americana," composed of 7 different books, would be looked at by several different American writers who would see the books as a huge cultural signifigance to people of New England following the American Revolution. He would write his works drawing from the bible to enterpret it for his audiences. He tried to compare stories from the bible and life situations to try to connect it to historical events to make their venture seem more significant.
Cotton Mather was also involved in the Salem Witch Trials, providing spectral evidence, although he also said that his evidence wasn't something you could decide a case on. Afterwards though, he wrote that he would be thankful to god for the outcome of the trial.
He also happened help out in science being one of the first people to discover hybridization. He one day observed that part of his field had different color corn. His friends Indian Corn had mixed with a good few rows of his own corn. He also tried to help with a small pox epidemic in Boston. One of his slaves explained to him that he had been inoculated as a child. It was unsuccsesful at first but when he urged one doctor to carry the procedure out on his own family, the family recovered in about a week. Many people believed that it was actually spreading the disease rather than getting rid of it and forbade him to ever do it again.
Mather's Slaves also happened to be a bit different than your average slaves. Believing it was his duty to introduce slaves to christianity, he opened up an evening school to try to teach Blacks and Indians but it was only open for about 3 years. He also did not offer instructions on how to write only wanting them to know how to read the scriptures of the bible.
Named after his Grandfather, John Cotton, he went through school and managed to graduate at the age of 15. Afterwards he joined his father as an assistant, taking his place once he died. He helped the nation bring on its second and third generation of Puritans and influenced people who had come over from England to bring back the theological roots of Puritanism.
He wrote over 450 books many of them being very important literary works brought out of Puritan Beliefs. The "Magnalia Christi Americana," composed of 7 different books, would be looked at by several different American writers who would see the books as a huge cultural signifigance to people of New England following the American Revolution. He would write his works drawing from the bible to enterpret it for his audiences. He tried to compare stories from the bible and life situations to try to connect it to historical events to make their venture seem more significant.
Cotton Mather was also involved in the Salem Witch Trials, providing spectral evidence, although he also said that his evidence wasn't something you could decide a case on. Afterwards though, he wrote that he would be thankful to god for the outcome of the trial.
He also happened help out in science being one of the first people to discover hybridization. He one day observed that part of his field had different color corn. His friends Indian Corn had mixed with a good few rows of his own corn. He also tried to help with a small pox epidemic in Boston. One of his slaves explained to him that he had been inoculated as a child. It was unsuccsesful at first but when he urged one doctor to carry the procedure out on his own family, the family recovered in about a week. Many people believed that it was actually spreading the disease rather than getting rid of it and forbade him to ever do it again.
Mather's Slaves also happened to be a bit different than your average slaves. Believing it was his duty to introduce slaves to christianity, he opened up an evening school to try to teach Blacks and Indians but it was only open for about 3 years. He also did not offer instructions on how to write only wanting them to know how to read the scriptures of the bible.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Mayhem Within Mayhem
Mayhem within Mayhem
Black Metal, a sub-genre of Heavy Metal focusing on Satanism, the Occult, and almost anything else that seems inhumane, has spawned some artists that have gone to extremes to make themselves seem more “real” to the fans who enjoyed the dark life, especially within the Norwegian Black Metal scene. Most fans of the genre
wanting to stand up for their roots against Christianity would probably never go to the extremes of actually performing sacrifices, arson, and murder that had been seen in Norway, but these few had goals to be the most powerful beings man has ever seen.
With the rise of very prominent Black Metal bands in Norway came one band, called Mayhem, involved with some of the biggest incidents, such as over fifty supposed church burnings, that have come out of the Black Metal industry. Euronymous, one of the founding members of Mayhem, started Deathlike Silence Productions, the first record label to only support Black Metal, and also opened up his own record shop called “Helvete”, which became a big outlet when it came to Black Metal records. The band was dead center in the middle of the scene and often would come up with ways to exaggerate the ideas people who took the whole Satanist thing seriously.
One member of the band, nicknamed “Dead”, has gained publicity through self mutilation and was heard saying things like “I Like the way people react when they see my blood spewing everywhere.” Dead shot himself with a shotgun Euronymous owned leaving a letter that only said, “Excuse all the Blood” which began one of the biggest stories in Mayhem’s history. Upon finding the body, the band members were said to have taken pictures and pieces of his skull to make into a necklace. The pictures were stolen and used as a cover for a bootleg Mayhem album. People have also heard that parts of his brain were used for a stew but that was denied by the band but admitted they had in fact made necklaces from his skull.
Another member, Varg Vikerness, bassist at the time, is one of the most extreme people of almost anybody known in the genre. Euronymous and Varg, although band mates, had somewhat of a rivalry. Varg openly claims he thought Euronymous was weak and pitiful, speaking as if he was unfit to be such a big name in Black Metal and that he himself was somehow better than everybody else. The murder of Euronymous was committed by Varg in what he claims was an act of self-defense, but when explaining the situation on his website, it doesn’t seem like he was that bothered by killing him at all, in fact you could even say he had fun. Varg’s story explains that Euronymous was unhappy with Varg and actually plotted to kill him; Varg overheard this from a friend and began to play along with Euronymous’ set up. Making a trip to meet Euronymous he arrived at the building and as he walked in Euronymous’ door Varg made him jump causing him to kick Varg in the chest, starting the fight, it ended with Euronymous running from Varg who had a pocket knife and stabbed him in the forehead when he caught him, killing him.
There are still some bands today that claim to support insane acts such as this, most of this can probably be brought down to a publicity stunt, and the only band with any real controversy right now is Gorgoroth. When one of their shows in Poland had sheep heads, pentagrams, crucified nude models, a an 80 liter bloodbath, which was seen as a religious offense, it was prosecutable under Polish law. Many Black Metal bands today actually support their folk roots, and will glorify the aspects of their religion and acts involved in folk mythology usually fueled by the wave of Christianity that took over their countries in the old days. Black metal, having lost most of the serious evil that swarmed about it is more enjoyed for its sound and influence rather than finding the ultimate life of evil to claim power over everybody else.
Black Metal, a sub-genre of Heavy Metal focusing on Satanism, the Occult, and almost anything else that seems inhumane, has spawned some artists that have gone to extremes to make themselves seem more “real” to the fans who enjoyed the dark life, especially within the Norwegian Black Metal scene. Most fans of the genre
wanting to stand up for their roots against Christianity would probably never go to the extremes of actually performing sacrifices, arson, and murder that had been seen in Norway, but these few had goals to be the most powerful beings man has ever seen.With the rise of very prominent Black Metal bands in Norway came one band, called Mayhem, involved with some of the biggest incidents, such as over fifty supposed church burnings, that have come out of the Black Metal industry. Euronymous, one of the founding members of Mayhem, started Deathlike Silence Productions, the first record label to only support Black Metal, and also opened up his own record shop called “Helvete”, which became a big outlet when it came to Black Metal records. The band was dead center in the middle of the scene and often would come up with ways to exaggerate the ideas people who took the whole Satanist thing seriously.
One member of the band, nicknamed “Dead”, has gained publicity through self mutilation and was heard saying things like “I Like the way people react when they see my blood spewing everywhere.” Dead shot himself with a shotgun Euronymous owned leaving a letter that only said, “Excuse all the Blood” which began one of the biggest stories in Mayhem’s history. Upon finding the body, the band members were said to have taken pictures and pieces of his skull to make into a necklace. The pictures were stolen and used as a cover for a bootleg Mayhem album. People have also heard that parts of his brain were used for a stew but that was denied by the band but admitted they had in fact made necklaces from his skull.
Another member, Varg Vikerness, bassist at the time, is one of the most extreme people of almost anybody known in the genre. Euronymous and Varg, although band mates, had somewhat of a rivalry. Varg openly claims he thought Euronymous was weak and pitiful, speaking as if he was unfit to be such a big name in Black Metal and that he himself was somehow better than everybody else. The murder of Euronymous was committed by Varg in what he claims was an act of self-defense, but when explaining the situation on his website, it doesn’t seem like he was that bothered by killing him at all, in fact you could even say he had fun. Varg’s story explains that Euronymous was unhappy with Varg and actually plotted to kill him; Varg overheard this from a friend and began to play along with Euronymous’ set up. Making a trip to meet Euronymous he arrived at the building and as he walked in Euronymous’ door Varg made him jump causing him to kick Varg in the chest, starting the fight, it ended with Euronymous running from Varg who had a pocket knife and stabbed him in the forehead when he caught him, killing him.
There are still some bands today that claim to support insane acts such as this, most of this can probably be brought down to a publicity stunt, and the only band with any real controversy right now is Gorgoroth. When one of their shows in Poland had sheep heads, pentagrams, crucified nude models, a an 80 liter bloodbath, which was seen as a religious offense, it was prosecutable under Polish law. Many Black Metal bands today actually support their folk roots, and will glorify the aspects of their religion and acts involved in folk mythology usually fueled by the wave of Christianity that took over their countries in the old days. Black metal, having lost most of the serious evil that swarmed about it is more enjoyed for its sound and influence rather than finding the ultimate life of evil to claim power over everybody else.
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