"Good" (to Ian)

David Court (hoover1@NETCOM.CA)
Sun, 13 Apr 1997 20:04:03 -0400 (EDT)

Ralph Nielsen wrote:
>
> >> (DAVE 4/7) Ian: There you go again. How should one behave Ian?
According
> >> to what YOU say? You want values? Ok - devotion: Abraham to his God;
> >
> >(DAVE 4/11) Ian: You never answered my question here: how should one
> >behave Ian? Is there some template for behaviour we should all abide by?
> >Whose template?
> >
> >(Ian 4/8) Abraham's devotion to his god? Are you kidding? Do you mean to say
> >that if I tied up my son (or grandson considering my age) and placed him
> >on an
> >altar, raised my knife, ready to plunge it into his heart when someone
> >stopped
> >me, I could claim that god told me to do it? Oh! Well, I'm not a religious
> >person. I'm not a true christian. What if Jerry did it? Do you think he could
> >pass for a true christian?
> >
> >(DAVE 4/11) Ian: You didn't argue his devotion, just an act of his, in a
> >culture where this might have been looked at a little differently than here.
>
> RALPH
> So morality is just a matter of cultural differences, Dave? Maybe you would
> like to tell us just who it was that told Abraham to kill his little son
> Isaac.
>
> DAVE
> > I'm not sure the connection you all of sudden made to Abraham and being a
> >Christian - can you explain it?
>
> RALPH
> For starters, Dave, read Matthew 1:1; 22:32; Mark 12:26; John 1:1-4;
> Galatians 3:6-9; etc. I was always taught that God was the same, yesterday,
> today, and forever. Now you come along and tell us that what God says and
> does depends on the cultural setting.

(Ian 4/12) Dave, did I miss that second request to argue devotion?
Please, if you would read the entire story of Abraham, the only logical
conclusion one could come up with is that the guy was bonkers. Let me
explain. This story was handed down by word of mouth from Abe through
who knows how many people to Moses. Assuming that all the people who
handed this story down through the ages told the truth and didn't
embellish on it (Hardy Har Har), Abraham allegedly pimped his wife when
she was 65 years old and again when she was 89 years old to two
different heads of state. She was so old and dried up that even Abe and
Sarah laughed at god when he told her she was going to have a son.
Granted, every where that Abram went, the altar was sure to go up. The
rest of the story is on my other post. What I'd like to know is what has
devotion got to do with a person who isn't in his right mind? I hate to
use the term because it seems to mean different things to you than it
does to me, but what is so good about his devotion?

(DAVE 4/13) Ian: I agree with you here - devotion can be a "good" thing,
or a "bad" thing - certainly the manifestations and results of "devotion"
can swing either way. I retract that "devotion"is an example of a "good"
thing - Applegate's followers were devoted to the cause, and I don't think
the results were particularly "good".
What I believe was a "good" thing about Abraham's devotion to God was his
conviction that God was sovereign, and his desire to both please God, and
seek pleasure from God, in any way. No, of course I neither understand nor
condone the "sacrifice" of his son (or his willingness to do it) - but I
consider this account to exemplify the sheer devotion that Abraham felt
towards his God - a devotion I believe to be a proper one.

Regards.

Dave.

"The complexity of life requires an explanation."
- Dan Barker