Dear visionaries, John’s post (with regard to the substance of it) was right on the money. As we are fond of saying in our circles, theology comes out your fingertips — and whatever comes out your fingertips is your theology. Please remember that the issue that prompted all this debate was the fact that our …
Cole Porter, Ethicist
Dear visionaries, Susanna wrote: “Alternative visions like slavery, Doug?” To which I respond: Sure, given relativism, why not? Susanna needs to stop opposing slavery and racism as “her personal preference” (binding on no one) and start opposing it for principled reasons, as I do. Abandon your principled defense of relativism, which cannot be distinguished from …
Alternative Visions
Dear visionaries, I am concerned about the growth of absolutist fundamentalism on this list. Susanna listed a whole bunch of things that I am apparently “guilty of” that she appears to think are bad in every circumstance. Where is relativism when you need it? Let’s all work harder at embracing alternative visions! “Apologetics in the …
The Slavery of Relativism
Dear visionaries, Susanna has outed me. Was that nice? I ask you. First things first: she says, “In my ‘simplistically relativist’ world some things are always wrong . . .” I do not want to say that anything was wrong with your history courses, but something was seriously askew in your philosophy and ethics study. …
Busy Pants Liberals
Dear visionaries, Joanne finds that what I have written in the past on the Confederacy is “morally repugnant.” I see that I will have to begin abbreviating. BWS? By what standard, henceforth BWS? Having a fixed standard of right and wrong found in the Scriptures enables me to admire that which was noble about the …
Stuff
Dear visionaries, Jon opposes the death penalty for various reasons, but one of them is that the innocent have sometimes been punished. But this is no reason for opposing the death penalty — it is an argument for judicial reform. We don’t want the innocent spending the rest of their lives in the slammer either. …
Audio Reading of Post
Whose Truth?
Dear visionaries, Jennifer asked: “And whose truth are you speaking of? Yours, Ted’s, Charles Manson’s, Martha Stuart’s, Joe Blow’s, Jane Doe’s? Are you the sole arbiter of what’s true?” I don’t object at all to this question — because it is the same question I have been posing since I began posting to this list. …
Universal Acid
Dear visionaries, Stan responded, “But consider the case of a murder colony . . . the law in the USA would NOT allow such conduct.” Unless, to take one obvious example, the murder colony is called the bombing of Dresden. Stan also said:” “He would have to fight against and oppose almost all wars the …
Somebody’s Karma Ran Over My Dogma
Dear visionaries, Thomas raises some interesting points. “Is there social harm from dogmatic fundamentalist views that will not admit . . .” But if there is demonstrable social harm that results from dogmatic fundamentalism, I wonder what the appropriate penalty might be? I don’t have to report to a reeducation center yet, do I? Seriously, …
Death Penalty II
Dear visionaries, Jamison asks if I support the death penalty for abortion clinic bombers, if the bombing were to result in the deaths of any inside. The answer yes, I do. At the same time, I do not support the death penalty being applied to children inside those same clinics. In short, I support the …