(January 27, 2021 at 12:01 pm)John 6IX Breezy Wrote: one could objectively argue that this life would be misery without pain. Pain allows us to avoid harm, it engages important withdrawal reflexes, and it motivates us to rest and protect an injured limb to allow healing (Connors, 2016). There's a reason why being diagnosed with diabetes places you at risk of limb amputations: because nerve sensitive wears out, and risk of injury increases. In conclusion, I disagree with the argument you hate on various fronts as well. But it is clear that in our current state pain exists for our benefit: living without pain is not a blessing.
Not chronic pain which can last for decades. It is estimated that over 40% of Americans suffer from chronic pain and one fifth of them will suffer it for more than 20 years. Chronic pain affects more people than cancer, heart disease, and diabetes combined. It can be hugely debilitating.
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
