Mageth

If you observe the "wild", you should be able to notice that killing a harmless lifeform for pleasure will go unpunished.

If one observes the "wild", one notices that killing harmless lifeforms for "pleasure" rarely occurs. Doing so often does not go unpunished in the "wild." An animal that kills indiscriminately for "pleasure":

- wastes energy
- wastes resources (killing off too many members of one's prey species risks starving oneself)
- risks injury (an injured predator quite often becomes prey itself, or risks starvation)
- etc. (other possible dangers I can't think of off the top of my head)

In the wild, killings "for pleasure" do occur, but are typically between rival members of a species (e.g. in territory or mating disputes) or between competing species (e.g. the lion-hyena "wars" in some areas of Africa). These killings typically have some potential, and significant, survival/reproductive benefit. But in most species, fights to the death are relatively rare.

Evolution has produced a beneficial, survival-enhancing "moral" in most species that indiscriminate killing is "wrong" (i.e. may be punished.) H. Sapiens is a species that has, quite often, lost sight of that natural moral lesson.

The bottom line: we don't need religion to teach us that indiscriminately killing "harmless" lifeforms for pleasure (or other reasons) may be "punished." In fact, I would credit modern science and the Environmental movement (Rachel Carson, Edward Abbey, John Muir, etc.) with pointing this out to us, more than religion.

[ November 17, 2002: Message edited by: Mageth ]</p>

xeren

bump.