tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post4631835436737275664..comments2023-06-15T09:13:45.467-04:00Comments on Liberty's Torch: Some Symmetries For Your Sunday (Vaguely Ruminationish Cogitations)Francis W. Porrettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862584203772592282noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-4456965748484763642016-04-25T10:58:40.407-04:002016-04-25T10:58:40.407-04:00Please forgive the playing with html tags... they&...Please forgive the playing with html tags... they're just fun. Also, I don't see a preview button, so I hope I close them correctly.<br /><br /><b>Whence do these notional responsibilities arise?</b><br />Why, from the new commandment, of course. But, as with all things, it's dangerous to cherry pick from a complete set of instructions. The natural rights and the natural responsibilities go together. Each one is important and necessary to the others. I've always found it instructive to look at Jesus' advice to the rich young man. He recommended that the rich young man <i>voluntarily</i> sell his possessions and give them to the poor. He didn't tell the Apostles to go take the rich young man's possessions and distribute them to the people who bribed them best. So, governmentally forced observance of the responsibilities is clearly not the answer, if you accept that the responsibilities are of a divine source.<br /><br /><b>Does God Exist?</b> I've always thought it would be more productive for people of both stripes to leave off the discussion of <i>mythos</i> - does God exist, or does he not exist? Each position takes a great amount of faith, though I'd argue that Occam's Razor argues for belief in His existence.<br /><br />The more critical question is, Which <i>ethos</i> works best? Which one, applied err... faithfully results in more freedom? More happiness? More dignity? Christianity wins hands down.<br /><br />So, why do so many people reject it? I'd guess that an attachment to at least one of the Seven Cardinal Sins figures in most answers. Along with an inability to see that working to destroy that attachment would lead to more happiness and effectiveness for the individual who is ultimately responsible for his own choices.Weetabixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06106614092497408546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-21668305820798503802016-04-24T17:56:42.278-04:002016-04-24T17:56:42.278-04:00But Fran, by the time I got to the end of the piec...But Fran, by the time I got to the end of the piece, you had said everything I was gonna say. Boundaries... Deuteronomy 11... C.S.Lewis... Isn't there two parts to the 'fallacy'? ...or perhaps I don't really know the answer, after all. What I have discovered is that to be a Christian, I must --be willing-- to give up all I have, or be, or will every have, or be. I am willing, because I believe in the Promise and the Good News. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795222563523474963noreply@blogger.com