21 JUN 2012 by ideonexus

 Anesthesia Thwarts the Will of God

It is a curious and painful fact that almost all the completely futile treatments that have been believed in during the long history of medical folly have been such as caused acute suffering to the patient. When anesthetics were discovered, pious people considered them an attempt to evade the will of God. It was pointed out, however, that when God extracted Adam's rib He put him into a deep sleep. This proved that anesthetics are all right for men; women, however, ought to suffer, because of ...
Folksonomies: science religion
Folksonomies: science religion
  1  notes

But Biblical precedent is found in the book of Genesis to allow it for men.

10 AUG 2011 by ideonexus

 How the Church Cuts

“But they were cutting-” Lyra couldn’t bring herself to say it; the words choked in her mouth. “You know what they were doing! Why did the Church let them do anything like that?” “There was a precedent. Something like it had happened before. Do you know what the word castration means? It means removing the sexual organs of a boy so that he never develops the characteristics of a man. A castrate keeps his high treble voice all his life, which is why the Church allowed it: so usefu...
Folksonomies: religion dogma
Folksonomies: religion dogma
  1  notes

In the fictional universe, the Church cuts children from their souls, but in our own history they have castrated boys to preserve their ability to sing in the choir.