To Sean and Wes “Again, the only real morality that exists …

Comment on Academic Freedom Strikes Again! by george.

To Sean and Wes

“Again, the only real morality that exists is the motivation of selfless love. Without this universal standard, morality simply doesn’t exist – and neither does a useful conscience. ”

Sean, I respect your theological opinion but gently point out that all moral philosophers would not necessarily agree with your universal test. However I do not wish to belabour the point and am pleased to grant you last comment on this topic.

“Re. your mentioning Jesus in connection with conscience, I’m not exactly sure I caught your point, but I think I caught the drift. If it was that Christ obeyed the Jiminy rule and proceeded by His preternatural conscience, in the same manner He was an award-worthy teacher, I would have to conclude you haven’t read the gospels as conscientiously as you have Hegel and probably Derrida.”

Wes, guilty as charged on the diligent reading of the gospels! In terms of biblical knowledge and hermeneutics, I play a poor, screeching, single – stringed fiddle in the back alley, compared to your and Sean’s majestic Stradivariuses in the front row of the Christian orchestra.

My comments on Jesus were not meant as a juxtaposition between him and Gryllus Jiminyconsciencatus – rather on his courageous, principled moral teaching and leadership under the most dire of circumstances. By all accounts very likely the most significant person who has ever lived. And although I don’t think he was divine, as depicted by the biblical narrative, he exemplifies the the very moral best in humans. I respectfully disagree with CS Lewis’s – Tolkein’s colleague and friend – comments in this regard. A person should neither be judged good or bad upon beliefs alone but rather on conduct. Perhaps what we often consider madness or eccentricity in certain extraordinary, historic individuals can in retrospect be viewed as genius and greatness in many spheres of human endeavour. Think of all the great artists, scientists, writers, inventors,etc that at certain points of time were considered crazy. Mendel, Einstein, Darwin, Melville and Van Gogh immediately come to mind.

But I digress and say bye for now

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