5 Sept., 2017<\/p>\n
A brief Apology for the Faith<\/p>\n
\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f43 \u1f14\u03be\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u00a0“Do what is lawful” (cf. Luke 6:2)<\/p>\n
Why?\u00a0 What is the motivation?\u00a0 Instinctually, the \u201cright thing,\u201d from a materialistic, even evolutionary point of view, is equivalent that which facilitates\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0well being, safety, and survival.\u00a0 Quite bluntly, this view would permit murder, cannibalism, robbery, lying\u00a0 \u2013 whatever is necessary \u2013 for\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0own survival and the propagation of\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0own offspring.<\/p>\n (Actually, even therein one does not necessarily find \u00a0a basis for interest in my own particular progeny since they are not \u201cI\u201d and do not necessarily facilitate\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0survival and well-being. \u00a0That is unless by mutual understanding and contract, the group forms some covenant agreement for mutual protection and survival to the benefit of the participants in a communal arrangement. Moreover, if physical or emotional [can\u2019t say \u201cspiritual\u201d?] pain is overwhelming, the liberty to perform suicide is absolutely\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0sovereign choice.)<\/p>\n So if doing \u201cthe right thing\u201d were to be guided by a Dawkins-like worldview, the Commandments would have no basis upon which to be embraced except that they might serve to restrain others from doing \u00a0me \u2013 the sovereign individual \u2013 harm.\u00a0 And, to the extent that I or any other assemblage of persons are thus in communion with others, the Commands might serve the community as a whole, facilitating the survival of its various members.\u00a0 Otherwise, the Commandments are irrelevant and can serve as no authoritative foundation for moral guidance and constraint for a community\u00a0in the moment,<\/em>\u00a0much less so for generations to come.<\/p>\n So just what IS the \u201cright thing\u201d?\u00a0 Can such a thing be known?<\/p>\n No. Not within this realm.<\/p>\n The source for morality, one may presume, must be\u00a0outside<\/em>\u00a0the material world. Whether it emerges from an alien source or the \u201cforeign\u201d spirit placed inside a man, it must come from without<\/em> as there is nothing \u201cwithin\u201d to be found for such.\u00a0 \u00a0Morality is grounded in Law and originates from Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0 God, we aver, has given this Law.\u00a0 This Law\/Truth\/Word is propositional.\u00a0 It is proposed that He has spoken through His prophets, confirming their authority with signs and wonders and culminating in the greatest of displays of power and revelation:\u00a0 the Resurrection of Jesus, that one predicted and recognized \u201cmessiah\u201d of the Hebrews.\u00a0 He has given us Truth by which we are able to interpret reality and live ethically.<\/p>\n The right thing is not discovered by referencing myself and my well-being, first.\u00a0 It is\u00a0revealed<\/em>\u00a0by God through His Word.\u00a0 I know what right is because God discriminates between right and wrong by His Law. \u00a0He declares one and the other by His very Word.<\/p>\n The right thing is that which God declares to be right.\u00a0 And the wrong thing is that which He declares to be wrong.\u00a0 It is not a construct which proceeds from my preferences or predilections or \u201corientations.\u201d\u00a0 It is not even what may seem to be \u201cnatural\u201d and good to my own sentiments or judgments.<\/p>\n No. That which is good and right is that which God declares to be such!<\/p>\n Shall we opt to do the right thing?<\/p>\n Why not?<\/p>\n Obey His Law, His Word, His Commands. And live. \u00a0Why will you die?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 5 Sept., 2017 A brief Apology for the Faith \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f43 \u1f14\u03be\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u00a0“Do what is lawful” (cf. Luke 6:2) Why?\u00a0 What is the motivation?\u00a0 Instinctually, the \u201cright thing,\u201d from a materialistic, even evolutionary point of view, is equivalent that which facilitates\u00a0my\u00a0well being, safety, and survival.\u00a0 Quite bluntly, this view would permit murder, cannibalism, robbery, lying\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,12,24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2328"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2331,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328\/revisions\/2331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}