This is getting interesting indeed! *bows to everyone* (and regrets it's too late here to make a longer post... which probably is just good for the discussion)
Yay Hakon! Very good points indeed! But how should one interpret them?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Hakon
To address your question Alatar, we as humans label it good and evil. As you said in the animal kingdom murder and rape occurs, but as humans label it as evil.
|
So like they say in the Genesis: Adam and Eve ate the apple from the tree of knowledge of good and bad? That's what differentiates us from the other animals who roam free and without a conscience nagging at them, and we were thrown out from the paradise eg. the state of moral ignorance because of that?
Some progressive-liberal lutheran (some other protestant) theologians have probably raised that point already I believe. It is a nice argument!
But let's not muddy it up with the more traditional argument that humans are unique as they know good and bad as such - unlike the other animals! And let's not get too happy with that progressive argument either...
Now the progressive Christian view would say it is that we are able to name or call some actions good and bad, to label them that way, and therefore we feel bad of some of our actions and good from others - and that might guide us nearer to God's will. As it was her divine plan from the beginning we should learn these differences to make individual choices.
But looked from that angle, eating the apple was the actual "receiving" of the free will according to morals itself, which was what God willed to us in the beginning? But she somehow decided to use the Devil to lure us into getting it and did not bother herself to do it? Hmm... Interesting.
Did God or did she not will us to have free will on matters over good or bad? If she wasn't willing it, we should have stayed as other animals who act mainly on instinct - and all this talk about good and evil is just led by Satan? So did God dislike us being able to label things as good or bad? At least she cursed the mankind for it... Or are we actually just acting on instinct and just able to deliberate on our choices more the other animals do because of language?
It reminds me of the status of Judas in the stories relating to Christ... so did he actually enable the whole redemption stuff and got lost himself while Christ just ascended to glory making Judas the real martyr, or what is it - and who was Christ then if Judas was the one "bringing the balance" (sorry)? Anyway, if God is omniscient he anyway knew and thus sacrificed Judas, right? Sorry. But you should think about it one day.
Back to the original stuff. The traditional view holds there is a universal truth with good and evil... but if God herself doesn't like us to know it as she blamed Adam and Eve from acquiring that knowledge? And if it is Satan who comes forwards with it, what's the status of these "ultimate truths" about Good and Evil?
Looking at today's extremists: suicide-bombers, al-Qaida, taleban, newly-born political christians, sionists and other orthodox jews, nationalists all around the globe... all those who think their "opinions" on universal good and bad are God-given or otherwise beyond any doubt... Well, if anything, they surely sound like doctrines that were handed to us by Satan herself wishing to undo all that is good in this world!