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My point was that some of them don't and use that verse wrongly to refuse to help others. Not all, obviously, since so many food pantries and soup kitchens are based out of churches. I usually have heard the sentiment from individuals, not from pulpits.
Well it seems smug faced people are just people....and not just Christians as you would suggest. Why the label?
You don't see how that could cause a problem? When they abuse people and say it's God's Love? I would think a believer would have a bigger problem with that than an atheist.
Nobody is telling me that. Why is it my problem if they believe that? They may believe lots of things about me as well - that i am not white so i cannot be American. That I am a woman so my health cannot be entrusted in my own hands. Those are far more dangerous and can cause harm to me than a belief in God. Physical abuse is criminal and those who do should be charged.
These are two different separate things. Just because it is discussed in this forum does not mean we can confuse the two - personal liberty and rights, and religious belief.
That said i believe forced conversion of any kind should also be criminal, if it is not already.
Well it seems smug faced people are just people....and not just Christians as you would suggest. Why the label?
Oh let's see...why the label? As if you are opposed to labels? You don't realize that the vast majority of christians label themselves to be Baptists or Methodists or Catholics or Mormons? It's okay for them to label, but not for others to label?
[...]I believe there are benefits and harms to any course of action -- both immediate and long term, both personal and societal. "Good" is a label we give to a measured course that properly balances immediate and long term, personal and societal consequences so as to maximize benefits and minimize any harms over time. "Bad" is failure to achieve a sustainable balance. "Evil" is a theological term where "Bad" is connected with "Sin" (alleged disobedience to an alleged god), and other theological concepts, to attempt to construct some sort of coherent hamartiology. And mostly failing. [...]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave_n_Tenn
You taking something simple and wrapping it in complexity. "If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself."
Murder is evil. Saving lives is good... as an example. Do we need a short list?
No list needed, but I might argue that mordant was the one who was simplifying. To use your example, "Murder is bad. Saving lives is good." Isn't that even easier for our six-year old audience to understand?
Now, we might say that "bad" isn't bad enough, so perhaps we need a word to describe those actions or people that go above and beyond, as in this definition for EVIL:
Quote:
Adjective: profoundly immoral and wicked. ("his evil deeds")
Noun: profound immorality and wickedness, especially when regarded as a supernatural force. ("the world is stalked by relentless evil")
If we all stopped with that first usage ("profoundly immoral and wicked"), no problem. The problems (and, I would argue, that unnecessary complexity you don't like) enter when theology introduces the supernatural as some external guiding or underlying force (e.g., Satan or "the work of the devil"). For which we have no evidence. And no need... people can be really, really bad or "evil" all on their own.
Last edited by GoodNightGracie; 04-16-2024 at 12:22 PM..
Uh, because only Christians would quote what Paul said as authoritarian. Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews do not quote from Paul's writings.
Whaa?
So quoting a Christian Biblical prophet makes Christians smug faced? Now that's just plain stupid. If a Muslim quotes Mohammed are they smug faced too? Have you ever quoted someone to illustrate a point?
No list needed, but I might argue that mordant was the one who was simplifying. To use your example, "Murder is bad. Saving lives is good." Isn't that even easier for our six-year old audience to understand?
Now, we might say that "bad" isn't bad enough, so perhaps we need a word to describe those actions or people that go above and beyond, as in this definition for EVIL:
If we all stopped with that first usage ("profoundly immoral and wicked"), no problem. The problems (and, I would argue, that unnecessary complexity you don't like) enter when theology introduces the supernatural as some external guiding or underlying force (e.g., Satan or "the work of the devil"). For which we have no evidence. And no need... people can be really, really bad or "evil" all on their own.
You know this is hard to respond too when y'all are jumping in and out to questions asked of another.
I will use the words that best describe someone or someone's actions. I get to use the words I feel are appropriate based on my understanding of reality and truth.
To identify a problem ACCURATELY is 90% towards resolution. I'm convinced in the existence of evil. Assuming you don't believe in evil, how does one explain or reconcile the existence of Stalin, Hitler, or the Khmer rouge? What signs or understanding have you received to suggest they're 'bad' and not evil? I need to know that.
If evil exists, wouldn't evil want people to keep evil hidden by saying ... I don't think evil exists? Evil would want us to use a different pronoun... like 'bad'. That's intellectual camouflage. . We're not talking about big foot here. The signs are clear. Saying something is bad as opposed to evil, is believing that some benign social construction exists to explain the worst part of human behavior.
Well it seems smug faced people are just people....and not just Christians as you would suggest. Why the label?
Um...because it's never non-Christians spouting 2 Thessalonians 3:10. Smug-faced non-Christians might voice the same sentiments about not sharing food, but they aren't quoting Bible verses to back it up.
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