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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: average joe who wrote (86534)	8/26/2000 2:32:44 PM
From: jbe	Respond to of 108807

I did not make the distinction, AJ. Jesus did. He was talking about the specific case of a specific poor widow, not about the poor in general. Check it out (Luke 21:1-4). Jesus was NOT saying that all the poor have "good hearts," nor that all the rich have "bad hearts." (Although, one could argue that he was generally "prejudiced" against the rich: remember that line about the camel & the eye of a needle. As for "putting a dollar in the hand of every beggar you meet," remember his advice to the rich man: give up all you have to the poor, after which the rich man, who clearly could not do it, "went away sorrowful.) In any event, I personally am not a "Jesus freak." The only point I was trying to illustrate was that the spirit in which a good deed is performed is what distinguishes "altruism" from "selfishness" (or "enlightened self-interest," if you prefer). My post was in response to Neo's attempt to "get the ball rolling" on this topic. Did you read his post? In general, I would advise you to read more carefully before you rush into battle.

To: average joe who wrote (86534)	8/26/2000 2:44:35 PM
From: jbe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

[Continued] In fact, I would go further. In practical terms, it does not matter at all whether Bill Gates (is he still the richest man in the world?) funds all those great programs his foundation has launched (e.g., anti-malarial program in Africa) out of "disinterested altruism" or "self-interest." The important fact is that Gates is performing an immense service, and that is all to the good. It is only when we take part in that perennial debate over altruism vs. selfishness (and it is perennial; hadn't you noticed?) that we analyse actions in terms of their motivations, rather than in terms of their results. It is this debate that Neo was addressing.