As I noted in a previous post
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"I respectfully ask, where is your evidence that this has happened?"
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Is there any evidence?
I can see your stand and I respect it but, it seems to me that conclusions are being made on "whatifs, maybes, and possibilities".
Well, aren't yours? I posted one example, above, from the Indian media, of an Indian astrologer who predicted his own timing and manner death. This prospect so upset him that he committed suicide in advance of his due-date.
Surely this says to you (a) that a death prediction even by a pro is supect. If Vedic death prediction actually worked, suicide would have been impossible. And (b) even a society with a profound religious belief in reincarnation will have individual members who fear natural death to commit suicide. (
contra the cultural relativism argument.)
I cited above an example of a young poster who was terrified because an astrologer "friend" told the poster his mother would probably die because his progressed moon moved into the 8th house. I no longer recall the details or I might search and link it. He just couldn't let go of the idea that this prediction might be valid.
A distressed young woman from eastern Europe (where dire fortune-telling may be more common) posted in distress because an "astrologer" or fortune-teller (I wasn't clear which) told her she would die by suicide. This young woman said that she was, in fact, feeling suicidal.
But this is a misleading question, because nobody will return to this forum to report back about their subsequent demise. Many horary questions give no feedback. Many suggest that the horary astrologers were wrong. "No, I didn't find the keys where you said they should be, but I'll keep looking."
I recall another thread, where a woman was in a late-stage of cancer, and she eventually went to the hospital for what she believed would be her final journey. She was asking for medical astrology advice about natural health remedies (not a death prediction). About the best we could do was be emotionally supportive. Then her posts stopped.
Mercifully the number of death prediction requests so far have been low, and Tim already bans admittedly suicidal posters.... that is, when he's on line to catch them. (I think this isn't such a hot idea, BTW, because you can direct such people to suicide hot-lines, suggest United Way agencies with low-cost professional counseling services, keep them talking, &c.)
We often see threads by people who are upset, lonely, confused, in poor health, and very young. Significant self-esteem problems are extremely common. So we know the vulnerable ones are out here.
Unknowns abound in ethical decision-making. A given treatment may have some potential benefits as well as potential risks. They've worked out how to make decisions under such circumstances. Professional medical ethicists and end-of-life professionals have protocols on how to deal with these unknowns.
They never come on the side of "Indulge your hobby, and 'the devil take the hindmost.'"