> So where does this leave you? You seem to be playing both sides of the net... you support technological advance and all that, but you are against its consequences? Not that I'm attacking you, certainly - I'm just unsure of your position here...

Okay; this is a fair question. I don't want to play both sides of the net, but I also want to acknowledge the complexity of the issue. I'll certainly be in favor of the deployment of some technologies, and opposed to others. Knowing that, I'd hate to come across as being either "pro-technology" or "anti-technology." Without being given a particular scenario, I couldn't make a decision, and speaking about it in the abstract has apprently made me come across as a little wishy-washy.

> Even so, we can't very well poll all of creation or anything like it to discover what is or isn't an acceptable sacrifice. So, my original question stands: Who decides where to draw the line?

Here's an answer that sounds like a cop-out, but I mean it quite seriously: God gets to decide where to draw the line. Of course, for us ethicists, then, the problem simply gets pushed back one further step to, "how do you tell what God has decided?" Here again, it's a complicated question. Scripture provides very clear-cut answers to some moral and ethical questions, but at other times it seems to point us only to the process of developing maturity and wisdom, and coming to know God personally so that we can better understand what His character demands of us.

The lack of clear-cut answers on many issues has led to serious disputes and differences of opinion among believers whom I hold in equal esteem; the Protestant Reformers are an obvious example. I am generally satisfied if each person holds his/her conscience accountable to God and tries to maintain a teachable attitude, which is essential to the process of maturity. I suppose this is as much as to say that rather than prescribing solutions to every problem personally, I am content if the problem is being handled by people who have mature spiritual lives with God.

Hopefully it will be obvious to all readers that what I've said assumes a position of faith in God and adherence to the Bible as the divine word to humanity. Of course, if these qualities do not describe you, then your response will be entirely different. You might suggest, for instance, that no one is in a position to decide "where to draw the line", or that the powerful are in such a position, or that each person has the ability to decide for him/herself. I'm aware that I'm speaking to a limited audience, just in case anyone felt the need to counter this post simply by saying that "I don't believe in that."

Iss
(This is way too much fun, and I have GOT to get back to work!)