Towards the end of the cross-country ski season, a friend mused, “Does snow feel pain when I jab it with my ski pole?”

            We all laughed.

            “Why not?” she persisted. “Aren’t we all made of the same stardust? Everything in the universe came from the Big Bang. Whether it’s snow or trees or me, we all consist of the matter that was created 14 billion years ago. So why should I assume that I’m the only one who feels pain when I get jabbed with something sharp?”

            Snow is water. Crystalized water. Ice. Common sense says that water doesn’t feel pain, can’t feel pain. Water can be a solid, as ice; a liquid; an invisible gas.

            I don’t think I hurt water when I dive into the lake in summer. And I don’t think water yelps in pain when a glacier calves, and great chunks of ice come crashing down.

Common components

            But my friend is right about the stardust.

            A physicist will tell you that all matter is made up of particles. For convenience, we call them electrons and protons. But there are no exclusively human electrons and protons; no uniquely human quarks or gluons. At the sub-atomic level, water is made of exactly the same stuff as humans.

            So why can’t water feel pain?

            You could argue that water contains no carbon. All life forms on earth, as far as we know, are carbon-based. That’s why the science that deals with carbon compounds is called organic chemistry.

            But carbon itself proves nothing. Diamonds are pure carbon. So is the graphite in your pencil. The difference is only the shape of the carbon crystal. A cube pattern forms diamonds; a hexagonal pattern, graphite. Does a diamond feel pain when it’s cut and polished? Does your pencil feel pain when you scrape it across a sheet of paper?

            I assume not. Because they’re not alive.

            I’m not satisfied with dictionary definitions of life. They usually include a requirement for being able to reproduce itself. The planet’s biosphere cannot reproduce itself – not without colonizing another planet. Does that mean it doesn’t live?

Life and pain

            The proof of life, I suggest, is that something can die. Trees can die. Fish can die. Maggots can die. Even planets will die, eventually.

            But water cannot. You can boil it, freeze it, pour it, and it will never turn into anything else. It will always consist of two atoms of hydrogen linked to one atom of oxygen. Even when an exploding sun fries Earth to a cinder, those hydrogen and oxygen molecules will disperse into space. Un-dead.

            Therefore water is not alive.

            If I may generalize, living things can feel pain; non-living things cannot. Even single-celled amoebas – usually considered the simplest life form -- can feel pain, apparently. They have no nerves, no sensory organs. But amoebas will retreat from electric shocks, for example.

            Does feeling pain mean that trees, and bugs, and birds can also feel happiness? Joy? Love?

            I have some doubts about bacteria. And mosquitos. But I’m quite sure that dolphins, crows, and puppies can enjoy themselves. And can feel love.

            I don’t know about trees or tomatoes. But since I am sure they too are living things, I prefer to treat them with respect. I don’t dare assume they can’t feel pain and joy.

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Copyright © 2017 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.

                  To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca

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YOUR TURN

I’m surprised. I rather assumed that my declaration that I didn’t believe in hell would precipitate quite a bit of mail – whether agreeing with me, or vigorously disagreeing. If I received any of those letters, my spam filter must have dissolved them.

            Indeed, two of the three letters I received dealt with a typo:

            From Hugh Pett:   “I hadn't realized the Christian community had dwindled to only 2 million people.”

            And from Bob Scott: “You mentioned two million Christians and you missed about two billion.”

And George Brigham, in England, thought Canada was a bit behind in its confection sales: “Easter eggs [only] go on sale at the start of Lent in Canada? I saw the first ones in my English supermarket on 23 December 2016. This is usual these days -- always a sure sign that it’s almost Christmas.”

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PSALM PARAPHRASES

This Sunday’s designated reading is Psalm 95.

1Come and climb up to the top of the rock;
Stand on top, and stretch your arms out to the sky.

Reach out to the holiness that wraps its breath around you. 
In grateful silence, soak up the shining light of life.

God is the rock upon which we live;

All the earth is God's: 
From ocean abyss to mountain pinnacle,

From polar icefield to tropical rain forest, 
God lives in every subtle link of life.

Bow your head before the wonder of it all; 
Feel the strength of the rock rise through your feet.

We are not alone; 
We are one in God.
Lichens and trees, ants and people--
All are held in the circle of God.

Do not isolate yourself from God's creation. 
Do not consider your own concerns first.

You will cut yourself off from the source of your creation; 
You will think of yourself as god.

Your struggles will lead you further astray; 

You will sink further into a morass of your own making.

In your loneliness, you will begin to believe that there is no God; 

You will never know the peace that passes understanding.

For paraphrases of most of the psalms used by the Revised Common Lectionary, you can order my book Everyday Psalms from Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.

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YOU SCRATCH MY BACK…

•        Ralph Milton most recent project, Sing Hallelujah -- the world’s first video hymnal -- consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at www.singhallelujah.ca

•        Isabel Gibson's thoughtful and well-written blog, www.traditionaliconoclast.com

•        Wayne Irwin's "Churchweb Canada," an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://www.churchwebcanada.ca>

•        Alva Wood's satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town are not particularly religious, but they are fun; write alvawood@gmail.com to get onto her mailing list.

•        Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” -- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at twatson@sentex.net

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TECHNICAL STUFF

If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, jimt@quixotic.ca.

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            My webpage is up and running again -- thanks to Wayne Irwin and ChurchWeb Canada. You can now access current columns and about five years of archives at http://quixotic.ca

            I write a second column each Sunday called Sharp Edges, which tends to be somewhat more cutting about social and justice issues. To sign up for Sharp Edges, write to me directly, jimt@quixotic.ca, or send a note to sharpedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca

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