Latest Older All Life is Sacred 2005-04-23 - 7:44 p.m. I got an email from someone that was having a Crisis of Faith. They were having a hard time with one of the Tenets of Wicca - All Life is Sacred. As a believer in Capital Punishment, they felt that their beliefs were in opposition to one another. The following is the email I wrote back to them. First, I'm with you on the capital punishment thing. With 6.2 billion people in the world, I don't think we're going to run out of assholes any time soon, so why pay for storing them? Still, Charles Manson at least serves as an example of how not to be. If everyone in the world were good, the 'less good' people would be seen as bad! "All Life is Sacred". The statement is a lot more complicated than it appears on the surface. Life is sacred because it is the way we get to experience the wonder of creation. It is the vehicle we use for our journey. It does not mean (IMHO) that life cannot be taken. If I find a wounded dog by the side of the road, beyond all help, should I leave him there to die slowly and painfully, or help him pass over quickly? With more mouths in the world than we can reasonably hope to feed already, is it really right to bring in another one, simply because you got pregnant? If a person has a mental sickness that causes them to continually hurt and prey on other people, should they be allowed to live, when there is no hope of anything coming from them but more pain? All Life is Sacred means All Life Deserves Respect. You should not make the above choices lightly. All Life is Sacred and you cannot draw a line in the sand and say everyone on this side of the line doesn't get to play anymore. All Life is Sacred, so when you are making a decision that may end a life for someone, it should not be a decision you make alone, and it should not be a decision you make lightly. All Life is Sacred means that if you are the one charged with the decision of deciding if this dog/baby/criminal lives or dies, you must attempt to find out if there is a way for that life to be worthwhile. Can the wounded dog be saved and cared for? Can the unborn baby be plaved with a family that can give it a good home? Can the habitual criminal be rehabilitated? Generally speaking prisons don't try to rehabilitate criminals, so we cannot be surprised if they revert to their old ways when they get back out. And if that is how we as a society choose for things to be, then it is better all around to end the cycle quickly and as painlessly as possible, I think. And when we decide kill thse people, they deserve to die with dignity, even if they did not show that to their victims. I believe this because I believe nobody is born bad. They become bad because they are mistreated or abused or forgotten or marginalized as children and latch onto anything as adults that may give them power or a sense of belonging. Whatever horrible things people do to one another, we are all of us partly responsible. We are responsible when we ignore a child's cry for help, or when we are careless with our garbage, or when we don't vote. So if we are going to kill our citizens, we will not brutalize them in the process - we have already done that. The world is not a great place right now. We all know that, yet we feel powerless to fix it as individuals. Yet in truth, the only way society changes is as a result of the behavior of individuals. If individuals (and the companies they work for) decided not pollute our lands because it can harm the animals, plants and humans in the immediate area, then the land would be cleaner, our water would be purer, and our flora and fauna would be healthier. By treating Life as Sacred, instead of Money, we can change society for the better. All Life is Sacred. That means that whatever you do, think about what impact it is having on those around you. Yes, there are too many people in the world. Yes, there are way too many selfish, greedy individuals in the world. But this is the world we have made for ourselves. The only way we can make it better, is to get involved, and to remember that All Life if Sacred. Catpewk, out. Name: Catpewk Age: 43 Status: Separated Kids: Yes Cats: Yes Fish: Yes Dogs: No Lemurs: No Profession: Geek Passion: Writer Religion: In Progress Photos Leave a Note Email Catpewk All Your Comments are Belong to Us Profile PaganNews.com Start a Diary Write a Note Previous Next