Actually, most theists understand that one can have ethics without religion, because one has a stake in society as a human being, and therefore can derive basic rules for the interaction of individuals to conduce to peace, stability, and enterprise within society. Additionally, most theists understand that God is beyond any predicate used to describe Him, and outside of time and space, and therefore without a body. They are not anthropomorphists in any deep sense. However, by analogy, they suppose that of the things in their experience, He most resembles human beings. For the theist, morality is woven into the fabric of things, and is therefore available to persons from various faith traditions (as St. Paul refers to the "law written in the heart"). Only ceremonial or cultic rules are necessary to promulgate specially. Thus, even the ancient Rabbis spoke of the Noahides, the Sons of Noah-- non- Jews, who tried to live righteously, and were outside of the demands of the Mosaic Law in its ceremonial aspect. God is responsible for the moral law in the same way that He is responsible for the law of gravity, or the second law of thermodynamics, it is part of the fundamental order of things. Finally, the idea of God as Judge has little to do with controlling behaviour, especially given the reliance on mercy, and the Christian's reliance specifically on the redeeming power of the Crucifixion. Rather, it has to do with the idea that the moral order needs to be vindicated in the long run, as it is not clearly and visibly to us in this life, and therefore, in the end there must be some kind of accounting.........
To put it another way, the essay you post is beating more than one dead horse....... |
