On Sep 21, 5:13 am, Joe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 1. Love God (who is Love). > 2. Love those around you just as you love yourself. > > Please clearly define "absurd" and "unattainable."
We probably agree on what those words mean, but more importantly, we disagree on what specific bits of a moral system would be unattainable. (I'm not even going to bother arguing what's absurd because it's obviously a personal judgment call.) The most immediate bit I can think of is the Christian admonition against lusting or coveting. Not just that we must refrain from acting on bad thoughts that come to us, but holding us guilty for having bad thoughts in the first place, even if we don't act on them. Unfortunately thoughts are internal, so it's difficult to prove whether it's likely or possible to prevent all bad thoughts from arising, whether any saints or masters of minds can eradicate certain kinds of thoughts from themselves. The best I could do is suggest that people consider their own experiences about whether they can prevent bad thoughts from sometimes arising, or consider whether anyone they know seems to have reached that level of "control". I don't think it's attainable. I think even the most moral people have bad thoughts now and then, they just don't act on them, and I think it's perfectly "forgiveable." It's so common and difficult if not impossible to prevent, that just thinking shouldn't be considered a sin in the first place. That seems to be the way the mind works, another detail of our world that Christians teachings have gotten wrong, like the motion of planetary bodies and the age of the Earth. I guess if you're willing to believe that the mind is a spirit and other stories in spite of your own experiences, this is the kind of understanding of the world that you'll be stuck with. That's an example of what I meant by absurd and unattainable standards. Meanwhile, even if it is attainable, I see no reason to strive for attaining that goal, since it's just another tradition from the people who brought you regulations endorsing slavery, women as property, genocide ordered by religious characters, arbitrary food laws, stoning children to death for blasphemy, etc, rules which have been selectively ignored or set aside by many Christians and Jews anyway. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "A Civil Religious Debate" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/a-civil-religious-debate?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
