Pre-desecrated ikons
A distressing report from National Geographic: Elephant poaching for ivory is growing alarmingly, devastating elephant populations, and the demand for elephant ivory is for making holy objects. I don’t understand this at all. How can anything made from the illegal killing of an African elephant for its tusks’ ivory be holy? How is that poaching for making ikons not sacrilege to Christians and Buddhists? How can the buyers worship using an ikon made from such desecration?
Well, if God tells you to render elephants extinct, or kill your first-born son, what are you supposed to do? That’s at least a plausible explanation for the Christians, I’m not sure about the Buddhists. Maybe life is suffering, with or without elephants?
Personally, I’d prefer worshipping of live elephants, respectfully, from a distance.
Comment by Jeremy Leader — 21-Sep-2012 @ 16:33
I guess there is that reincarnation thing going on. If it was a good elephant, it’ll be reincarnated into a higher life form, if it was bad, a lower one, but it’s not *gone*. Belief in a soul persisting after death makes a life less valuable.
Comment by jlm — 21-Sep-2012 @ 18:13