Protestantism

» paper_turtle - Re Brian's Blog "left-wing Jesus?"

First of all, "leftist" and "liberal" are not necessarily synonymous. Personally, I would consider Mr Edwards a moderate liberal, but certainly no leftist.
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I would grant that there is a difference between micro and macro, but--as Prager himself implies (below)--they are not separate and distinct entities. Neither exists in a vacuum. What happens in the micro affects what happens in the macro, and vice-versa.
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Prager writes:
One example is when religious conservatives equate public and private cursing. While ideally one should refrain from using expletives in private as well as in public, there is no moral comparison between using such words in private conversations and using them in public. One trusts that if a religious conservative overheard a teacher using an expletive in a quiet conversation with one other person, he would not compare such speech to the teacher's using that expletive while teaching a class. The first may be a personal sin, but the second is destructive of society.
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Seems to me there's a double standard being implied. Let's take Pager's premise to its logical extreme. If its OK to swear in private, where it won't prove potentially destructive to society, then why isn't it OK for a woman to decide, in a private discussion with her doctor, to terminate her pregnancy? No one will know, so what's the difference?
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If its OK to swear in private, then it must be OK to steal, lie, or do whatever else might be expedient--as long as no one else sees it. (Well, OK, perhaps this person will have to work things out with God, but, according to Prager, this won't harm the macro-system.) Nope. That just doesn't wash with me.
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Yes, context is important, but turning the other cheek, or refraining from judgment, or going the extra mile have ramifications *much* beyond the purely personal. The problem is, as I see it, people don't have faith that non-violence will work. They like getting angry and using force. It feels sooooo good. They also (tragically) fail to understand that the time to begin the practice of non-violence is **long before** things get to the point of blows being exchanged.
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Among Jesus' parting words were "feed my lambs." Elsewhere in the Bible he says "anything you do to one of these you do to me," and he goes on to describe MACRO, not micro, actions (because they can be applied to groups of people and because failure to address these issues definitely is destructive to society).
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In the old testament justice is frequently equated with taking care of the poor, the ill, the orphaned, the naked, and the hungry. These are MACRO actions which I believe ANY person should feel called to do regardless of political/religious affiliation.
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And finally, how can a person expect have peaceful relationships with anyone (including himself) if he does not walk the walk, in every aspect of his life, whether or not anyone is watching?
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peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle