There could be a valuable discussion here if you would let go of the emotionalism and look to the nature of man to do what he knows instinctively to be wrong, yet justifies according to his own needs and or wants.
There are those who want to demonize Bin Laden.
To do so is of course unnecessary in a society of real of law and justice. Demons are not necessary if law and justice according to the law are put above emotionalism and religious differences.
You and I have very different world views, both practically and theologically.
I can certainly understand your perspective. I simply don't share it, nor do I believe it ultimately lends itself to a free and democratic society where all faiths can live peacefully together.
I see little chance for societal evolution when personal religion and associated beliefs trump secular law, when hatred can be justified on the basis of religion.
I see the world filled with people of various faiths who all claim to have some absolute criteria for judging right and wrong on the basis of an action itself, yet even a rudimentary freshman ethics class presented to an open mind logically destroys all such absolutism on the basis of an action alone.
I quoted Dr. King today who presented the basis of his own theology, where he believed it to be absolutely and categorically wrong to hate another human being. I agree with his position, as hatred is a motivating factor, not an action itself.
In "more civilized" days in Judeo Christian America where hatred was directed primarily to the American Indian, when a white man was sentenced to die by the legal process, it was common for all to say a prayer to God to have mercy on his soul. Imagine that, compassion for a person who broke the law.
While Jews, Christians, Muslims, etc. all claim to have the ear of God and God's blessing to kill their enemy, I view them as all the same essentially. The rationalization required to justify the hated they feel toward each other is the same mechanism of rationalization used by the man who steals the bread for his family, or Bin Laden for directing death and destruction, or for anyone who breaks even the most minor of laws.
The punishment needs to fit the crime of course, and in our justice system we do take into account the circumstances in which any reasonable man would act.
I fully believe in the absolute power of God, that only God will judge our soul...not man, and that no man has the position of ultimately knowing what is in another man's heart and mind when he engages in any action. You may believe fully that Bin Laden is a demon, but it is logically possible that God is directing his actions for reason we don't and are incapable of understanding.
For this reason, when I see conflict that results in killing and suffering that ultimately has its origin in religious beliefs systems that clash, I can take no position but secular reasoning and law.
The man who sins is the man who sins, and all sins are against God, not man. God decides ultimately who is a sinner or a Saint.
Consequently, I view all men as fallen, sinful, and therefore quite equal in the eyes of God, redemption coming only with His Grace.
If all men are thus equal in the eyes of God, I see no reason to look at one man and declare him as evil in order to make me conversely good.
I do believe there is absolute morality, no doubt, but God is the judge of that.
Lacking His input, I favor secular reasoning in law which doesn't require religious condemnation, vengeance, self righteousness, or a holier than thou approach to mankind's actions that harm others.
The right has demonized the left for moral relativism, but this is done from a platform of moral absolutism, which would require them to be God to do so. The reasoning is circular and lacking evidence of proof in which to generate application to other human beings.
Thinking oneself to be God, is not something I wish to do, as many Saints over the course of time have said that to do is a greater sin than killing a thousand men.
Moral relativism works when applied properly, as it is based in practical day to day living, common sense, common experiences of all human beings of all faith and no faith.
It really is the only way if we are going to live in a world that tolerates differences of personal faiths.
God gave man the ability to reason for a reason, for a very good reason....He had already created the animals....to His children he gave the greatest gifts, the power of reason and the ability to love and forgive.
There are those who want to demonize Bin Laden.
To do so is of course unnecessary in a society of real of law and justice. Demons are not necessary if law and justice according to the law are put above emotionalism and religious differences.
You and I have very different world views, both practically and theologically.
I can certainly understand your perspective. I simply don't share it, nor do I believe it ultimately lends itself to a free and democratic society where all faiths can live peacefully together.
I see little chance for societal evolution when personal religion and associated beliefs trump secular law, when hatred can be justified on the basis of religion.
I see the world filled with people of various faiths who all claim to have some absolute criteria for judging right and wrong on the basis of an action itself, yet even a rudimentary freshman ethics class presented to an open mind logically destroys all such absolutism on the basis of an action alone.
I quoted Dr. King today who presented the basis of his own theology, where he believed it to be absolutely and categorically wrong to hate another human being. I agree with his position, as hatred is a motivating factor, not an action itself.
In "more civilized" days in Judeo Christian America where hatred was directed primarily to the American Indian, when a white man was sentenced to die by the legal process, it was common for all to say a prayer to God to have mercy on his soul. Imagine that, compassion for a person who broke the law.
While Jews, Christians, Muslims, etc. all claim to have the ear of God and God's blessing to kill their enemy, I view them as all the same essentially. The rationalization required to justify the hated they feel toward each other is the same mechanism of rationalization used by the man who steals the bread for his family, or Bin Laden for directing death and destruction, or for anyone who breaks even the most minor of laws.
The punishment needs to fit the crime of course, and in our justice system we do take into account the circumstances in which any reasonable man would act.
I fully believe in the absolute power of God, that only God will judge our soul...not man, and that no man has the position of ultimately knowing what is in another man's heart and mind when he engages in any action. You may believe fully that Bin Laden is a demon, but it is logically possible that God is directing his actions for reason we don't and are incapable of understanding.
For this reason, when I see conflict that results in killing and suffering that ultimately has its origin in religious beliefs systems that clash, I can take no position but secular reasoning and law.
The man who sins is the man who sins, and all sins are against God, not man. God decides ultimately who is a sinner or a Saint.
Consequently, I view all men as fallen, sinful, and therefore quite equal in the eyes of God, redemption coming only with His Grace.
If all men are thus equal in the eyes of God, I see no reason to look at one man and declare him as evil in order to make me conversely good.
I do believe there is absolute morality, no doubt, but God is the judge of that.
Lacking His input, I favor secular reasoning in law which doesn't require religious condemnation, vengeance, self righteousness, or a holier than thou approach to mankind's actions that harm others.
The right has demonized the left for moral relativism, but this is done from a platform of moral absolutism, which would require them to be God to do so. The reasoning is circular and lacking evidence of proof in which to generate application to other human beings.
Thinking oneself to be God, is not something I wish to do, as many Saints over the course of time have said that to do is a greater sin than killing a thousand men.
Moral relativism works when applied properly, as it is based in practical day to day living, common sense, common experiences of all human beings of all faith and no faith.
It really is the only way if we are going to live in a world that tolerates differences of personal faiths.
God gave man the ability to reason for a reason, for a very good reason....He had already created the animals....to His children he gave the greatest gifts, the power of reason and the ability to love and forgive.
Quote from Rearden Metal:
Indeed, Bin Laden committing mass murder against thousands of unarmed civilians is quite comparable to a hungry man who steals to feed his family. Absolutely brilliant analogy.
Quite similarly, I point out that some people do not properly throw their used soda cans in the trash, but instead they throw <b>litter</b> on the ground. During WW2, Adolf Hitler did essentially the same thing. He <b>littered</b> Europe with millions of corpses. Who are we to judge which example is the more heinous of the two? Both men broke the law, and this is all we ivory tower intellectuals need concern ourselves with.