tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post7316395649523855816..comments2024-03-28T09:59:13.754-07:00Comments on bionic mosquito: The Promise of Natural Law bionic mosquitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-88455883191227012512022-11-21T03:50:30.683-08:002022-11-21T03:50:30.683-08:00Very good, cosmic.
We have examples of the apos...Very good, cosmic. <br /><br />We have examples of the apostles (certainly Paul, but others) arguing for the reasons of their faith. Paul gives a wonderful exposition on natural law in the opening chapters of Romans.<br /><br />As Peter wrote: always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you<br />bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-18840157272959157552022-11-16T20:43:22.036-08:002022-11-16T20:43:22.036-08:00There seems to be a lot of animosity towards the i...There seems to be a lot of animosity towards the idea of an objective reality that, though created by God, operates independently of any acts of will by God - and that therefore acting in accordance with this reality is, in a very substantial sense, acting in accordance to God's will. More specifically, there's a number of commenters claiming that discovery of natural law by Man's mind and senses is a false start, that it is arrogance, that obedience to God's revealed word is the higher, indispensable good.<br /><br />With regard to the current state of the Church and the Western world... I think these commenters have it exactly backwards. When rationalism began to take over the world of ideas during the Enlightenment, what did the Church do? Did they rescue their tradition of rational inquiry and conciliation of mind and faith? Did they seek to meet the atheists on the battlefield of ideas, to decisively check their main thrust, confident that truth was on their side, truth and God being the same thing?<br /><br />Maybe they did, but the atheists won out anyway. I don't know enough to say. What I *can* say with confidence is that I never got any sense of profound knowledge or wisdom emanating from the Church or churchgoers. Of all the arguments for going to church that I've heard, "it expands the mind and helps make sense of the world and our place in it" was never one of them. I've heard many variations of:<br />1) It's good to be part of a community of like-minded people;<br />2) Love, hugs, singing, joy, all that touchy-feely stuff;<br />3) If God doesn't exist, you're not losing much, but if he does, you get saved;<br />4) You should submit to God's authority.<br /><br />These are all arguments that appeal to the emotional, the pragmatic, and the obedient. For most of my life I assumed that faith was of interest exclusively to such people. That those who loved truth had to look elsewhere. How surprised I was when I started reading of things such as:<br />1) famous libertarians' faith in, or respect for, Christianity;<br />2) extremely sensible critiques of the idea of earthly salvation which underpins all Progressivism;<br />3) the Church's premier role as patron and preserver of knowledge during the Middle Ages;<br />4) the roots of the tradition of free inquiry in Christian theology;<br />5) the rational argument for the limitations of human reason;<br />6) the logical necessity of certain things beyond the mortal perspective.<br /><br />Men of faith were, once upon a time, also men of learning. In fact, they were THE learned men of their time. How far the Church has fallen since then! And yet here are all these people bent on making that hole deeper, even as the likes of Bionic are trying to climb out of it.<br /><br />Pooh-pooing the role of rational inquiry and natural law in finding man's proper place in the world is taking Christianity in the direction of Islam. Muslim holy men committed intellectual suicide centuries ago by affirming that, because God's will is supreme, the only thing worth thinking deeply about is how to best serve His will; everything else is pridefulness. Call me simplistic, but that doesn't seem like a good thing to aim for.cosmic dwarfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16562864681773374828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-51084915315363607062022-11-15T13:02:29.106-08:002022-11-15T13:02:29.106-08:00Ted, I agree. At the same time (and why I dive in...Ted, I agree. At the same time (and why I dive into the topic and connect it to liberty) is that it is the ethical behavior necessary if the libertarian idea is to develop in society.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-90990205405417615192022-11-12T06:53:21.056-08:002022-11-12T06:53:21.056-08:00Love the Natural Law conversation - Imho however, ...Love the Natural Law conversation - Imho however, the point of the law to reveal our sin, and our sin separates us from God. It points out to us how we need to act to please our God and to have a relationship with him. Whether or not we benefit from following the law "in life" as the saying goes will not matter as long as our relationship with God is on good ground.- that just may be the point of it - Ted C Columbus OhioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-53474556634762048532022-11-10T17:58:45.002-08:002022-11-10T17:58:45.002-08:00"At the end of the story, God judged him. I w..."At the end of the story, God judged him. I will take His word for it over yours."<br /><br />That is AFTER he repented [Job 42:1-6]. It doesn't get any clearer than Job 38; God condemned Job for presuming to judge God. If "Job did the right things", then there would be no need for Job to repent [Job 42:6]. The fact that he repented means he didn't do the right things.<br /><br />"Does the fate of the apostles count in your formula, or are these also isolated exceptions? The countless tens of thousands of Martyrs? The innumerable men of goodwill who have been slain for standing in the way of corruption?"<br /><br />Reads like an appeal to emotion with a flourish of hyperbole ("countless", "innumerable"). <br /> <br />Don't forget to add the billions of Christians who don't fall into the above category to the denominator, hence the original point about the fallacy of composition.<br /><br />The principle of obedience bringing blessing is foundational in scripture. And, to borrow your words, "I will take His word for it over yours."<br /><br />Enjoyed the dialogue.<br />Will the Thrillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-69866074748009264952022-11-10T14:46:19.555-08:002022-11-10T14:46:19.555-08:00Does the fate of the apostles count in your formul...Does the fate of the apostles count in your formula, or are these also isolated exceptions? The countless tens of thousands of Martyrs? The innumerable men of goodwill who have been slain for standing in the way of corruption?<br /><br />""Job did the right things." No he didn't."<br /><br />At the end of the story, God judged him. I will take His word for it over yours.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-59288598754198366272022-11-10T11:15:19.596-08:002022-11-10T11:15:19.596-08:00I agree. It isn't a one for one direct connec...I agree. It isn't a one for one direct connection.RMBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13603112499567064214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-61297153180048002532022-11-10T11:13:40.606-08:002022-11-10T11:13:40.606-08:00“Jesus Christ lived according to the natural law, ...“Jesus Christ lived according to the natural law, perfectly. He did the right things. The outcome for Him, in this ‘life’ was not so good.”<br /><br />(1) Exceptions don’t disprove a rule. Your line of argumentation is what is known as the fallacy of composition. Isolated examples don’t overrule general principles (i.e. the principle that obedience brings blessing).<br /><br />(2) The Bible says over and over again that obedience brings blessing [Deut. 28:1-14, Ps 34:19, Is 1:19, Ps 91, Eph 6:1, 2 Cor 9:6-11]. The scripture references are abundant.<br /><br />(3) Jesus actually considered it a good outcome (“for the joy set before him” - Heb 12:2) and did not regard the suffering he endured as “not so good.” I doubt many people would argue achieving one’s goal in life (providing it does not harm people) constitutes a bad "outcome." How many came into the kingdom during his lifetime? Did he lack clothing, food, or other necessities of life? He is characterized as joyful in his earthly life on multiple occasions.<br /><br />“Job did the right things.”<br /><br />No, he didn’t actually. <br /><br />(1) Job 3:25 establishes Job feared the very thing which happened to him. Fear is sin [Rom 14:23]. <br /><br />(2) Job judged God [Job 38, 42:1-6]. He placed himself as judge over God.<br /><br />The outcome of Job’s suffering was increased godly character and material blessing [James 5:11]. Clearly, that is obedience bringing blessing.<br /><br />Obedience bringing blessing, as a principle, is not a guarantee of an easy life or a life free from suffering. Yet, the presence of suffering does mean that blessing is not taking place.Will the Thrillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-46243767495322247392022-11-10T05:32:48.952-08:002022-11-10T05:32:48.952-08:00"The beginning of Romans is a wonderful expos..."The beginning of Romans is a wonderful exposition on the idea of natural law (many parts I won’t copy, because google will kill this blog)."<br /><br />Too bad. I suggest people transition away from using platforms that censor along ungodly lines, and cause us to self-censor in accord with their wishes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-89880916194339977422022-11-10T04:33:29.747-08:002022-11-10T04:33:29.747-08:00https://bionicmosquito.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-co...https://bionicmosquito.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-coming-flood.html bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-83531468910939708622022-11-09T16:21:02.782-08:002022-11-09T16:21:02.782-08:00I would say that following natural law, as an indi...I would say that following natural law, as an individual, opens up the possibility for success. For a society to succeed takes a lot of individuals to follow natural law, whether they individually succeed or not. But, then, as Bionic mentioned, we have to define success to determine whether it has been successfully reached. <br /><br />If we only view success as gaining wealth, power, and social status, then a lot of people in today's world are successful even though it is evident they do not adhere to the tenets of natural law. Rogernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-15011351587413190562022-11-09T10:10:10.122-08:002022-11-09T10:10:10.122-08:00And of course where you write "An idea I touc...And of course where you write "An idea I touched on before: ...They were ready only for milk, but they circumvented God and took the meat." you are referencing your excellent September post, where you quote St. Gregory of Nazianzus. Maybe a link to that post would be helpful for readers who encounter this one first?Mike in Bostonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-82237081035134096642022-11-08T14:27:44.905-08:002022-11-08T14:27:44.905-08:00I would say success in every way possible. In Pro...I would say success in every way possible. In Proverbs wisdom leads to financial and familial prosperity.RMBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13603112499567064214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-54987399709770984762022-11-08T11:09:15.851-08:002022-11-08T11:09:15.851-08:00"Following natural law sets you up for succes..."Following natural law sets you up for success all other things being equal."<br /><br />But this is the rub: define "success." And there remains the whole "in this life" issue.<br /><br />Inherently living in accord with natural law means living for the benefit of others (love/charity). Jesus turned the definition of success upside down.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-45179345659402120802022-11-08T10:30:43.782-08:002022-11-08T10:30:43.782-08:00Thank youThank youbionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-63366473223360018372022-11-07T15:40:04.793-08:002022-11-07T15:40:04.793-08:00Your right that living according to natural law do...Your right that living according to natural law does not guarantee good outcomes in this life. However, the two are linked. Following natural law sets you up for success all other things being equal. Paul makes that point to Timothy below. The concept is also found in many places in the Proverbs.<br /><br />1 Timothy 4<br />6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. 7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.<br /><br />https://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/RMBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13603112499567064214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-46942700834551164202022-11-07T07:29:41.026-08:002022-11-07T07:29:41.026-08:00I have been reading your commentaries for 3 years ...I have been reading your commentaries for 3 years now. this is your best. Nicholasnoreply@blogger.com