A simple religion,....

Philosophy Forums Religion and Spirituality
21

I make my assumptions based on the terms you use.

The posistion you have taken, only humans have souls, only human life has value, is a posistion taken by certain segments of society, christians being among them. When you take that posistion I know you are standing in line with the series of thoughts that lead to that conclusion, simple really, if not totally accurate.

So, Jerry, have you thought this out for yourself, or have you joined in lockstep with some perceived hero of your’s?

Are you sure that you want to subordinate the value of other creatures to your own without at least acknowledging their sacrifice?

Thanks for your time, Jerry.

If I missed something that you wanted answered, please ask again. I don’t always read what you have written(I read what I think you wrote.), nor is what I have written necessarily what you have read. It may lose or gain things in the translation.

22

What specific terms did I use that caused you to make the assumptions you made?

I may or may not hold this position. What have I said here under this topic that stakes out my position with regard to this issue?

I think this describes the way anybody takes a position, doesn’t it? What does it really mean?

How has it become clear to you that I am doing this?

23

The reference was to other life forms having as much value in their lives as any other life forms. including trees, who may not run, or play much, but are clearly still alive.

Yes, all things have been mapped out by the people before us to greater/lesser acclaim. It is just a matter of deciding which camp you fall into.

By dismissing my assertion on those grounds,…

24 
 But if anyone believes that their role in life in to be a murderer, you feel comfortable proclaiming that they need mental help? Why? What's the difference between murder and stamp collecting?
  Also, what makes you think you can determine right from wrong for [i]yourself[/i] anymore than anybody else? I mean, I know it's popular to say stuff like that, but really when you think about it, why assume that?

It’s not the blasphemy of value judgements, it’s the blashphemy of contradiction you are falling into. It’s “wrong” for me to decide what’s right or wrong for someone else? How more self-contradictory can you get? So far, you’ve declared
1.) It’s wrong for other people tell others what’s right and wrong.
2.) It’s wrong for other people to kill.
3.) There is an almighty pure Being, and being like It is what’s right.
4.) Jerry is pathetic for having beliefs that resemble (to you) Christianity.

In fact, it seems to me that you are quite the moralist, quite the pronouncer of how others ought to live their lives. That’s fine, we all do it. What’s not fine is you trying to say that deciding for others what’s right and wrong isn’t good, even as you go about doing that very same thing.

Er, you really think so? There’s nobody out there in the world, who does all sorts of horrible things to people- way worse than anything you or I would ever do- and laughs about it all the way to the bank? What about dictators? Crime lords? Abusive spouses? All these and more oftentimes live to a ripe old age, and die happy.

Also, one last thing:

You harp on Jerry because something he said reminded you of something you hear Christians say, and since all Christians are mindless sheep, you feel bad for him. Has it ever occured to you that these days, there is an equally large flock bleating “Baaaa, don’t push your morals on other people,” and “Baaaaa, free-thinking blah blah blah” and you sound like just another one of them?

25

But your assertion was that I “dismiss (other life forms) as irrelevant, another learned behavior,” one that I presumably picked up from “some authority (I) accept as valid,” choosing the “Christian ‘animals have no souls’ logic.”

How did you get all of that from this:

“Sounded good until the red meat thing. And the paper.”

And how does my dismissal illustrate to you that I do not “acknowledge their sacrifice”?

Can you see my problem with all of your assumptions? Uccisore’s right on the money about the hypocritical value judgments. But it’s even worse than that. You’re making value judgments without even knowing (or bothering to try to understand) the position(s) of the one your judging against.

26

Thank you for illustrating that for me, I agree that I was high handed in my approach to Jerry.

Sorry, Jerry,…

So, back to the topic, it seems that I am the only one willing to agree that this simple religion is a panacea, yet I’ve not read any specific reasons that the logic is not sound.

Why won’t suscribing to this simple life guide return earth to the paradise it was when no man ruled another?

It was a series of logical progressions from your dismissal of the assertion on the grounds that red meat is meant to be eaten. I like it, too, I just recognize that all life forms deserve respect, they are as alive as everybody else. I will continue to eat meat.

The reference was to being god’s avenging angel, and I would guess that the odds of that being the case are slim, though not impossible. The assertion that one should seek help if confronted with the notion that he/she could go around killing in ‘god’s’ name reflect those odds. I, of course, would be wrong, if I were wrong.

The difference between stamp collecting and serial murder is the lives involved. If you are to be a serial killer, and I advised you against that, I would be wrong, and I would suffer the consequences of having given bad advice, but those odds I’m willing to take, I don’t think that the ultimate good in the universe, and hence ‘god’, would be sending people to do the work of his chief nemesis.

As for being popular, never have been, probably will be in the future, but I think for myself.

I give credit to Ayn Rand, Kurt Saxon, L. Ron Hubbard where credit is due, but they have failed to bring world peace, either.

If you’ll read down this page, you will see the disclaimer that though I sound authoritarian in my speech, you must decide for you. I don’t mean to sound so judgemental, but it is a judgement that has to be made for me to be me.

Thank you both for having taken the time,…