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Monday, October 25, 2010

Would a Cloned Human have a Soul?


(Taken from an article by John Clayton in "Does God Exist")

"Cloning is not new. Clones from fetal cells have been known for a long time, and in a sense twins represent a kind of clone. Producing clones from adult cells is relatively new, but the implications are still basically the same. In very simple terms the genetic material from a cell is transplanted into an evacuated cell so that what results is a form containing whatever the genetic material that was transplanted dictates. The things that the genetic material can dictate are physical criteria. Do you remember Dolly the sheep? The cloned sheep that was produced had the same color and texture of wool, the same eyes, ears, and nose and if there were any genetic defects in the adult from which the genetic material was taken, those defects would be in the cloned sheep as well.
Could this be done with a human being? The answer from a scientific standpoint is definitely yes. There is no physical reason why this could not eventually be done. Should this be done?" There are certainly many medical reasons put forward in favor of this being done, but ethics and religious issues become a problem.
My question to you is - Would a cloned human have a soul?

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Wild Women of the World - Who Was She?


(taken from "Uppity Women of Ancient Times by Vicki Leon"

In 480 B.C. war was being waged between the Persians and the Greeks (remember Spartacus). The great Persian King Xerxes had assembled an enormous fleet of ships that he thought were invincible. But just to be safe, he asked Queen Artemisia of the kingdom of Cara to cough up some support for the war effort. She did some better than that. Queen Artemisia showed up in full battle armor with five of her own triple-decked warships and a land army to boot.
In the first naval battle, Artemisia fought bravely but the Persians still suffered a great loss. She warned King Xerxes that the Greeks had superiority on the sea, but he did not listen and ordered another naval battle. After the first battle, the Greeks placed a bounty on Queen Artemisia's head - 10,000 drachmas for anyone who could take her alive! During the fierce battle that ensued, she rammed and sank one of Xerxes ships and managed to get away.
Even though the Persians lost the naval battle, King Xerxes was so impressed with her he awarded her a suit of Greek armor and said "My men fight like women, and my women fight like men". Wow, what a woman!
My question for you is - Should women participate as soldiers in warfare?

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Peruvian Princess - Yma Sumac



Born in 1922 in the town of Ichocan, Peru - a descendant of the last Peruvian Ruler Atahualpa - largely self-taught by listening to the sounds of the jungle and the birds high in the Andes - she took the world by storm in the 1950's with her stunning 5 Octave voice. Not only was her vocal range extraordinary but what is also remarkable is that she was able to keep her voice up through her older years. Even though she could not read music, her arrangements were classified as Exotica and so incredibly haunting that they are still used today. She could do things with her voice that just leave you breathless - she could mimic animals and birds, and go through all 5 octaves in one song. She sang before Queens and presidents around the world and was the only Peruvian to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

My question for you today is - had she been trained professionally - would it have made a difference in her voice? Did her extraordinary voice and unique style come because she was self-taught? What say you?