Medical Torture and the Definitions of Sin

i beg to differ (slightly, at that), but 'love thy neighbor' was part of some Oriental faiths for quite some time before Jesus.



Confucious expounded an identifiable form of the Golden Rule some 600 years earlier, for instance.



the problem lies in defining who 'thy neighbor' really is.



for the Jains, who also began some 600 years before Jesus, it included any form of life deemed to have consciousness, including all animals and not a few plants. it included scarves worn over the mouth to keep from breathing in airborne life, and a small broom to sweep insects out of the way.



death by vitamin deficiency and sometimes malnutrition occurred. this doesn't detract from their piety, and their will not to harm others.



and this is an extension of 'thy neighbor' which the Judaeo-Christian-Muslim tradition has never attained to.



The Jains still exist.



for the Buddhists, who likewise arose 600 years before Jesus, the goal was to awaken the 'Buddha-spirit' within 'all sentient beings'. this work for the benefit of all is by extension a form of love, and is thereby yet another definition of 'thy neighbor'.



on the other hand, morals are herd behavior.



i don't care for herds. i prefer ethics.



just because a crowd agrees on something doesn't mean it's right. the past ten years are proof of that.
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