'The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy'

[Lush]

Lush, you’ve made a characteristically provocative assertion – that people who suppress their immoral impulses are worthy of scorn because they not only have the urge, but they are hypocrites in some sense for not at least honestly following through on the urge.

Nah, nah, nah, as much as I like to stay in chatacter when jabbering about illegal substances and whatnot, what I really meant was:

It's wrong for a person that doesn't do drugs to judge a person that does. It's wrong for us to judge Frodo for screwing up at the last minute. As I see it, it's wrong to judge in general.

Naturally, in order for our society to function somewhat (though whether or not it has really ever functioned is a question I'm still trying to answer for myself), we must bring criminals to trial and punish them according to law.

In that context and in many others, it is therefore our responsibility as human beings to search for that which constitutes morality.

I just don't think that any one of us will ever be wholly successful in that regard.

That doesn't, for one second, mean that we shouls stop trying however.

How's that for a conundrum?

Anyway, having decided on the ultimate failure of secular reasoning en masse, I join the good Professor in leaving the final answers and decisions up to God and the individual together (in my view, religion is an intimate, one-on-one conversation).

My apologies to anyone that isn't satisfied with the progression of my pseudo-logic.