Again, I'm not sure what your goal is in responding. I've been feeling like we should be able to agree, or at least agree to disagree but for some reason it seems like you are pushing towards something else.
On 5/10/06, Richard H. Gravelly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Gilberto, What I would say is that humans have *some* capacity for moral reasoning.
Richard What ever capacities man may have have been created by God for His purposes.
Gilberto: Ok. So why do you seem so hesitant and reluctant towards recognizing the validity is this capacity? Richard: Why, if God has given man no guidance to
man on an issue, should man seek to investigate it?
Gilberto: I don't think you can help it. As human beings in the world, we are always confronted with different decisions. Not everything is neatly covered by simple legal rules. There are times when we have to make difficult decisions and it is not certain which way to go.
Gilberto So that just means, that to some degree acts are intrinsically moral or immoral, and we have some capacity to make that determination apart from revelation.
Richard. How is it that these "acts" have been invested with "intrinsic" value? Would you say that "they just are"? No power created them? Would you posit that these "intrinsic values" exist independent of and cannot be abrogated by God?
I would go back to the original example. Even before Bahaullah freed his slaves and banned slavery, morally sensitive people were already thinking that there is something wrong with slavery. That suggests something immoral in the institution, at least as it was practiced at that period in time, which other people could recognize. -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: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