Comments | winters500: What I'm doing instead of looking for a job

winters500

What I'm doing instead of looking for a job

Feb 07, 2006 10:13

Last week I read this opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer. It was written by Richard Dawkins, otherwise known as "Darwin's Rottweiler." I've been more troubled by this piece in the past week than I ever would have expected. For a while, I wasn't sure why Dawkins got under my skin so much. After all, I've read Bertrand Russell's Why I Am ( Read more... )

Comments 5

storyofthealamo February 8 2006, 20:37:48 UTC

Thanks Jonathon. I will read this again.

skooshje February 16 2006, 23:03:00 UTC

I've been reading this post over and over for the last five days now, and although there's more I could respond to (veganism, state secular education vs. private religious education vs. state religious education), I think I've already written more than enough for now. So here's a response, in four parts.

How can you believe in some things Jesus says ("blessed are the poor," "turn the other cheek" "let him who is without sin cast the first stone") and reject others (his apocalyptic eschatology)?

It's easy enough, as long as you don't believe it just because Jesus said so.

My point here is that the milieu of 21st century America is predominantly secular. I believe it is the task of the 21st century Church -- that it is my task -- to carve out some sacred space, and I haven't been doing it.Try praying five times a day, no matter where you are. Seriously. I remember as a kid when my family went on road trips on the interstate, we would pull into service areas at the appointed time, and my dad would pull out the prayer mat and ( ... )

winters500 February 17 2006, 16:53:54 UTC

First, thank you for the personal testimony, if I may call it that.

Second, a confession: I knew better than to use "anarchists" in such an imprecise way. But "Spanish Anarchists" sounds much better than "Spanish leftists." Say them both out loud; you'll see what I mean.

The point of the comparison was not that the Inquisition was worse than leftist violence or vice versa, but that, as you said, the real problem is not religion. On the contrary religion, if it is true religion or "pure religion" in the sense of James 1:27, mitigates against the evil and violence of "the world ( ... )

skooshje February 21 2006, 06:48:26 UTC

I like how our responses are getting shorter and shorter. Soon, perhaps, nothing more need be said ( ... )

A shorter response winters500 February 21 2006, 18:15:54 UTC

You're right, I don't have much more to say, actually. I don't think I have a good answer to your moral delimma. It does seem paradoxical. I don't think you should be afraid to get your hands dirty to do good. But on the other hand, things eventually get so "dirty" that they stop being good, despite our best intentions.