Comment on Academic Freedom Strikes Again! by george.
To Sean
“Of course people make moral choices that are either in line or out of line with their own consciences.”
Agreed. And everyone’s moral choices are not necessarily the same are they? Societal morals are called law, which is the objective standard for public morality. On an individual level each one must make their own choices right?
Here is an example. Do you consider Dr. Edward Allred to be a moral person? Would you in good conscience, even if the law allows it practice the same medicine as him? If so why? If not why? What objective standard are you relying on to make your decision other than your own conscience?
Here is another example: gay marriage. How do you apply your proposed objective standard of conscience to that concept? If my conscience says its OK and your does not what then is the objective standard to apply?
I always get concerned when people want to dictate personal morality or conscience. It undermines the freedom to make individual choice. Why is your test – which seems quite lovely – preferable to others? For example what if someone proposed that the appropriate objective test for conscience in a free society should be ‘live and let live’? Why is your test objectively better than this proposal? Moreover, apart from public morality enshrined in law, who decides?
Interested to hear your further thoughts on this topic.
Cheers
Table of Contents
george Also Commented
Academic Freedom Strikes Again!
To Sean and Wes
“As far as the claims of Jesus, if He was not actually God, as He claimed to be, then it follows that He was bald-faced liar who condemned His followers to untold suffering and brutal deaths. That’s either deliberately evil or mad. It’s not something that a good person or someone in their right mind would do or say… if it weren’t actually true.”
Is it as black and white as that? For example would you say the current Dalai Lama is a liar or mad based on Buddhist beliefs?
This is the problem with religions. They have no tolerance for other religions and their deities. Each one has to be right to the exclusion of the others. Me, I don’t have to label Jesus, the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, etc. mad for what they believe about themselves. If there conduct is moral and good they are good, period. Why defame goodness? My god is better than your god…. this is what leads to great evil rather than tolerance and love, in my secular estimation.
Live and let live and try to do good.
Academic Freedom Strikes Again!
To Sean
“Science is able to detect “miracles” when they happen. ”
Really? What legitimate scientific field or discipline recognizes miracles? I studied a lot of science but never came across the study of miracles!
Academic Freedom Strikes Again!
To Sean and Wes
Gentlemen,
Throughout history many people have claimed or others have claimed that they were divine. Many claimed to be the messiah. Were they all divine, some, none?
Does the amount of followers determine divinity? Does self sacrifice determine same? If so should we give credence to David Koresh? Jim Jones? – whose followers were willing to die for them?
Can science empirically determine if any human being is divine or does this take a degree of faith?
Never seen or encountered a God before. In my practice I have encountered individuals who believed they were so. Interestingly, when I gently question my religious friends about their beliefs they mostly say it comes down to faith and feeling. That’s fine. Who am I to challenge their personal, subjective experiences?
On morality, I have already extensively commented citing Hume, Kant and Sartre. Don’t forget utilitarianism as well. Sean, as strongly as you feel about your test for the basis of morality, I respectfully point out that other moral theories abound. Your test is a fine one but not the only one. I trust you can at least acknowledge that as you seem very adamant in your position in this regard.
Bye for now.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=people+who+have+claimed+to+be+divine+throughout+history&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=RFHMWcHlLqri0gL2hKjwCA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants
