"Why can't you have a discussion without resorting to name calling"
Although it may be suggested that my reference to you as saying something "stupid" was perhaps less than amiable, nevertheless it must be admitted that it is not in error; nor can it be pretended that your accusation against me of being immoral did not invite the apposite return. Indeed, as the clear implication of your remark that I have no basis for morality is to insult ALL non-Christians (from the Dalai Lama to the great philosophers and moralists past and present), it is rather difficult to allow such an insult to pass without comment.
As to your present paste which you aver shows me the "moral vacuuousness" of my position, it shows, of course, no such thing. What it does is highlight your consistency.
All people have a basis for their morality, and ALL people have a social structure to regulate behaviour. Whether someone believes in the "categorical imperative" of Kant or whether one believes in the simple Buddhist precepts of doing no harm to others or to self, one has a basis on which he or she acts. It may be possible for some rare individuals to believe that a distinction between right and wrong is unnecessary, but to accuse all non-Christians of such psychoses is rather too large for you.
I do enjoy this remark by Dr. Richard Taylor:
"I profoundly believe we should be loving, kind, and the other virtues he enumerated. In order to say that, do you need, do I need, to think that God is watching? Does any of us need to think that we are going to be punished if we are not loving, kind? Do we not see something worthwhile in being loving, kind, treating people in certain ways, and so forth, which doesn’t require us to talk about "objective standards," doesn’t require us to refer to Scripture, refer to any sermon that anyone’s ever heard? We can see this. We can see this because human beings are born with the capacity for this and are quite capable of seeing its propriety. No one would suggest that I have no reason for being loving, kind to those who are dear to me and, indeed, to my enemies. We can see this without God telling us that. We can see this without clergymen telling us this. We can see it because it is an inheritance of a wise culture, and it is the declaration of a refined mind, heart, and sensibility" |
