Gashgul:
I am bewildered.
I have never had a harder time getting a simple point across. You say that you do not agree with my argument, and I can only assume that you mean you think it is illogical. Yet, you did not show me where it falters. The argument you gave about swine and the argument I gave about homosexuality would be seen as perfectly valid inductive arguments in any logic book since the time of the classic philosophers.
In form it is purely Aristotelian. I never claimed that it was deductive. In fact I mentioned that it was an "implied conclusion" and that it needed an assumption to work. But in form it is perfectly valid...and if you disagree with this, you and I might as well be talking nonsense.
About the Bible...I will refer you to one of Tirinor's previous remarks: In short, many of the "antiquated laws" and commandments in the Bible are indeed not utilized or strictly followed today by Christians. However, the reason for these laws and commandments and The Law in general, is to show the need for salvation through Christ. The Scriptures cannot be separated into what is relevant and what is not or what is truth and what is not. For the scriptures themselves claim to be the whole, infallible truth, relevant to all at all times. To take mere pieces of the scripture as truth or relevant would be to undermine the whole scripture.
But yada yada yada yada...
If you would like to discuss this further, send me a private note and we can exchange thoughts, emails, phone calls, whatever.
The only point that I have made is STILL this: given Tolkien's belief in the scripture, and given the scripture's view on homosexuality, Tolkien would PROBABLY not have written any gay characters into the LOTR.
|