Feb
20
Can one support the science of cryogenics and still believe in the God of the Bible- What say Ye?
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10 Responses to “Can one support the science of cryogenics and still believe in the God of the Bible- What say Ye?”
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can of worms!
No, of course not.
Yes, why not.
there is a basic reality to science, and yes, science is important. but science is being proven wrong every single day. every day we hear on the news or something that a common belief about health or about the solar system- that everyone has taken as a scientific fact for years on end- has just been proven wrong. most of science is man-made and man is not perfect. G-d is.
you have to freeze them so that they will be fresh for the giant hell-fire BBQ… (that answer is just as sane as your question)
I don’t believe that this is possible. Everyone thought it was a great idea to mate a horse with a donkey, to get a work animal that is much larger, and can do more work. This worked out great for everyone but the mule, who turns out to be sterile, as created creatures cannot cross breed. This is Gods Law, and any transgression of such results in calamity at some point. We are given one life, and that life has limits. To attempt to manipulate this is transgression of Gods Law, and has its own consequences. Be well.
Who the hell cares? Science trumps religion in less time than it takes to blink.
NOMA pretty much solves any dispute between science and religion.
I am almost certain that you do not MEAN **cryogenics**, which is low temperature physics: “The branches of physics and engineering that involve the study of very low temperatures, how to produce them, and how materials behave at those temperatures”. I expect that what you MEAN is “cryonics”.
As with many modern technologies, cryonics is not mentioned in the Bible. When heart transplants were first performed there were many people who objected to this form of medicine on the grounds that it is “playing God”. But the same argument could be made against any practice of medicine. Is it “playing God” to use penicillin? Why should God be opposed to modern medicine? The Bible is silent on this matter.
Cryonics is a life-extension strategy, much like medicine extends human life. Cryonics differs from medicine, however, in the fact that it relies on technologies that do not currently exist, but seem likely to exist decades in the future, such as rejuvenation, cures for all diseases and molecular repair of cell damage. Cryonics is also more ambitious than modern medicine insofar as it aims to extend human life hundreds or thousands of years. With rejuvenation technology people could remain young and healthy for hundreds or thousands of years.
Average human lifespan has doubled in the last couple hundred years, and there is no evidence in the Bible that this is against the will of God. Nor is there anything in the Bible that would indicate that God would be offended if humans lived hundreds or thousands of years. Methuselah reportedly lived 969 years. What is a few thousand years in the face of eternity?
The Catholic Church is opposed to the destruction of cryopreserved human embryos because they are believed to have been given souls at the moment of conception. Human embryos could be stored in liquid nitrogen for 100 years before being placed into the uterus of a surrogate mother. This is not necessarily so different from cryopreserved adults who could be restored to life after 100 years. Or from a child whose heart has stopped while being hypothermic in a frozen pond. Does that mean that their soul was in heaven or hell for an hour until it was brought back? Is that so different from a cryonics patient being “restored to life” after being cryopreserved for 100 years? What is the difference between one hour and 100 years in the context of eternity or in the mind of God?
There is no reason one should concern the other. Christians who are “frozen” in hopes of being “unfrozen” when a cure for whatever problem they have is found are fine (though, with the current state of cryogenics, I doubt they have any chance of “resurrection” prior to actual resurrection).
If the resurrection of scripture occurs while they are still frozen, they will be resurrected! If not, then they have a second chance at life - supposedly. How they could expect to have each and every cell wall repaired is a question I would like to ask anyone thinking about being frozen, as this is clearly far more damaging to the body than any disease we know. Still, I don’t see how cryogenics can in any way be in any kind of opposition to scripture.
Jim