Thoughts on Evil
Cultures are competing groups, and each of them has an ethical system to ensure internal cohesion. Some ethics are common to our primate ancestry - all societies consider killing within a group (murder) as highly evil, but sanctioned killing outside the group (war) as meritorious, chimpanzees do the same. Mostly, however, each culture has its own definitions of good and evil based on its ethics. Thus for a medieval Christian and a modern Muslim it would be evil not to kill an apostate: for most of us today it would be evil to do so. The only objective measure of "good" and "evil" on this basis is cultural success or failure. Even today many Christians believe that virtuous unbelievers will go to hell, that seems a pretty evil idea to me.
Cultural competition is thus not different from a wider view than biological competition through natural selection, the latter shows altruistic behaviour as well as unspeakable cruelty. The world is amoral, there is not an ounce of justice except as created by our own myths.
Trouble is, if you believe this, you end up either a cynic or a fascist. Is there any way out? Possibly it seems in preaching universal love and damn the consequences, as Jesus and Buddha, and many mystics seems to have done. It doesn't work very well, but what other hope is there?
Cultural competition is thus not different from a wider view than biological competition through natural selection, the latter shows altruistic behaviour as well as unspeakable cruelty. The world is amoral, there is not an ounce of justice except as created by our own myths.
Trouble is, if you believe this, you end up either a cynic or a fascist. Is there any way out? Possibly it seems in preaching universal love and damn the consequences, as Jesus and Buddha, and many mystics seems to have done. It doesn't work very well, but what other hope is there?
Labels: Religion
posted by Total Issues at 10:37 pm
3 Comments:
" . . . for a medieval Christian . . . it would be evil not to kill an apostate . . "
Perhaps you can point to one single, solitary scripture from the bible that supports this statement?
anonymous: "If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying: Let us go and worship other gods (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other, or gods of other religions), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people." (Deuteronomy 13:6-9)
Also, note that Paul was putting apostates to death before his conversion. The stoning of Stephen indicates that the Jews he affronted considered him apostate. Indeed, couldn't you argue that Jesus himself was killed--in the minds of some--for being apostate?
Wow. Where to start.
First, Deuteronomy sets forth part of the Mosiac Law. The Mosiac Law was followed by Jews, not Christians. If fact, Jesus said that he was the fulfillment of the Law; it came to an end with his death.
Second, you are correct, but mistaken. Paul was putting (jewish)apostates to death BEFORE his conversion to Christianity, not after.
Third, absolutely not. The Romans were acting in their own self interest. The Jews viewed Jesus as an apostate. Neither of those groups were Christian.
You have yet to put forth one scripture supporting the quoted statement.
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