gilberto wrote: . God's omnipotence doesn't imply for me that morality can be arbitrary.
Richard. How could anything that God does be considered arbitrary when He always warns a people before he destroys them; and without His permission, nothing can occur? "And of old destroyed we generations before you, when they had acted wickedly, and their Apostles had come to them with clear tokens of their mission, and they would not believe: - thus reward we the wicked." (The Qur'an (Rodwell tr), Sura 10 - Jonah, Peace be on Him!) And an argument can still be made that certain actions are intrinsically right while others are intrinsically wrong. As there is no power greater than God; and as nothing can withstand His power; all must submit; including that which men may call "instrinsically" of worth or not of worth. All worth or value, as I am certain you are aware, is dependent upon the will of God. In Greek philosophy there is the famous question, "Do the gods order men to do "the good" because it's good? Or is the good good, because the gods order it?" Personally I would lean towards the first, while Bahais seem to lean towards the second. What is the worth of the sayings of men before the Word of God? Would I rather find my way in the dark with a flickering candle or have the dark dispersed by the light of the sun? I think I would also distinguish between rituals changing and certain ethical principles. So for instance, I think the qiblah change is more a matter of obedience, but something like the abolition of slavery is more related to moral reasoning. Could we depend upon "moral reasoning" rather than the Revelation of God; most certainly He would have revealed it and given us guidance upon the identification and application thereof. But, thank God, as the reasoning of men is flawed and the guidance of God is without error, He in His infiinite Mercy has provided us with the Guidance which allows us to dispense even with our own error. Adieu! Richard. -G The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments thereto ("e-mail") is sent by the Johnson County Community College ("JCCC") and is intended to be confidential and for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be protected by federal and state privacy and disclosures acts or other legal rules. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error please immediately notify JCCC by email reply and immediately and permanently delete this e-mail message and any attachments thereto. Thank you. __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu