There are a few rulers so corrupt, think Stalin or Hitler, that justice for them will necessitate ending their lives so they cannot harm others. If they are allowed to continue, the tyrants further damn their own souls. Stopping an irredeemable tyrant is a severe mercy. They are, so far as human justice is concerned, beyond hope or redemption. But the tractors! Even the worst tyrants did good deeds, but the good done does nothing to justify the regime. I was... Read more
Plato could foretell the future, but he was no prophet. How? A wise person knows that a city or nation that sows injustice will reap hatred and nobody ever feasted on hatred. Hate is a crop that starves affection, withers jollification, and destroys civilizations. We should not need someone with supernatural gifts or even someone as wise as Plato to tell us what happens when injustice rules a city, but when we think in terms of short term gain, then... Read more
We should not commit any injustice, but we are imperfect in a world marred by broken people, so we do. When I do an injustice, and God help me, I have, then I harm others. That is a great evil, but a lesser wrong is that I also harm myself. This harm is less wrong, because I chose to do the injustice and so I should have accounted for the evil as one doing the deed. If I am unjust, then... Read more
God is the very ground of being and I am . . . Not, obviously not. This is a relief as any attempt at being God is both laughable and ludicrous. Christianity gives us a high view of humankind, so high that on weekends atheists accuse of elevating people too much and on week days of failing to be proper humanists. Being the very image of God is good, but I am not God. Obviously I am not God, lacking... Read more
If I can still blush in a discussion, I might still be capable of learning, though one need not blush to learn! Learning is not easy and comes with mistakes and a blush is a healthy sign that we have recognized our errors. If understood, a blush can be a first step to better ideas, at least it has been so for me. My learning disability, I find it difficult to articulate vowel sounds properly, has created more than a... Read more
Unjust people think that justice is weakness. The just person hides behind justice, even with someone he knows is unjust, because he lacks the nerve to get his revenge. This is not true, but part of the great appeal of injustice, see every revenge movie, is that justice does not have the courage to be just. This is a lie, but an appealing lie. Somewhere there is a strong man and he may be a bad man, but we can... Read more
“Is it better to be a happy cat or a discontented Socrates?” This question seemed easier in my first philosophy class where (I think) Dr. David Bassinger, an excellent teacher and guide, posed it to me than it does just now. Idealism is my default setting and I want wisdom, even if wisdom shakes up my dogmatic slumber. As I get older, the indolence of our cat Athena, her lack of guilt for her misspent youth, seems more attractive. I... Read more
They say that once there was a king who wished to marry a woman who really loved him. He gained a talisman of sincerity that would show him when someone really meant what she said as opposed to lying just to get access to money and power. Stop. Think about this. Nobody can pass this test not named Jesus from the city of Nazareth. When are we ever fully sincere? The quest for sincerity allows us to prioritize our judgment... Read more
Just Go Ahead and Embrace Injustice: An Example Imagine sitting in a meeting and hearing a “Christian educator” assert that some students, especially hicks, did not need the best education, just a credential. If you questioned this condescenion, then you were called an elitist, because why would you want to set high standards for “them.” If you grew up in West Virginia, you already knew that such people, our “betters,” would come and build houses for you, but not... Read more
Debate as a Life Strategy: No Formal debates may be good, I have done a few of them myself, but nobody should want the “debater” personality. Hang out with gifted people long enough and one meets the “grew up in debate and never stopped” guy. There are, I am sure, women with this hang up, but I have been blessed to not meet one yet. Formal debate did great good for my son-in-law, so I have also seen the good learning... Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In