Subject:
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Re: 4. Why are some nonbelievers admirable people?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 10 Mar 2000 18:44:28 GMT
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Reply-To:
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jsproat@SPAMCAKEio.com
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Viewed:
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1664 times
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Erik Olson wrote:
> If one of these jumps onto a train track to save a kid, I don't think,
> wow, Jesus is great. I see it as the actions of a brave person doing
> what they can. I believe in helping people generously, but not giving
> sacrificially. If a Christian is more motivated than the next guy
> (including me) to jump into a hopeless death trap for a stranger, I'm
> not persuaded he's onto something.
Don't rule out the possibility that he may be *on* something.
But I take it you see no benefit to self-sacrifice? Certainly no benefit to
oneself from a "rational" point of view, but how about from the POV of
society? Take, for example, the cliched story of someone who rushes into a
burning house again and again to pull many people out, and eventually dies in
the fire. Surely in the eyes of the community, the lives saved help account
for his / her own sacrifice? Or should he / she not have even attempted it?
> > You're only reacting to the loud people. Give the quiet ones the
> > benefit of the doubt.
> The quiet ones I take to include those who "pray continually". I hope
> I have given some indication that what I take exception to is faith
> and what they recommend for their spiritual, inner life. If they
> choose to deny themselves and take up crosses and preach the gospel to
> all creatures, or not, it's the root cause that still bugs me.
Again I recall a discussion I had in this ng. It's my contention that such
inner examination has done more for us than the so-called science behind
modern psychology. (It's also my contention that we give the cocaine-buzzed
Viennan social splash named Freud too much credit, but that's a different
topic altogether.) I call it prayer, you might call it retrospection. Either
way, we're listening to voices inside ourselves.
> I hope this fulfills the type of rational conversation you started
> this thread for!
I suspect that I am now reaping the whirlwind. :-,
Cheers,
- jsproat
--
Jeremy H. Sproat <jsproat@io.com> ~~~ http://www.io.com/~jsproat/
Card-carrying member of the Star-Bellied Sneech Preservation Society
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | 4. Why are some nonbelievers admirable people?
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| (...) I'm not going to debate this, because there have been a lot. Just like the Christian has to ask "Why are some atheists, Mormons and Jews decent people?" (DUCK NOW!) the atheist wonders "Why are some Christians good people?" The reality is most (...) (25 years ago, 10-Mar-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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