[Jack Simth]

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
ah, but if God tells you something, it isn't an assumption.

I said they all rest on an assumption somewhere - I didn't say where. Tell me - why should God's word be authoritative on the question of ethics? Don't get me wrong, it is - but why is it? For that matter, it is an assumption that good is inherently better than bad, or that better is something that should be sought, or ... - there are a zillion of them.

Originally posted by Loser:
Really?
Do you go with them all the way?

Lutheran - expanded Version, encompassing data from the rest of the Bible as well as just those two sections in Exodus 20 and Deutoronomy 5.

Originally posted by Loser:

What about "Thou Shalt Not Kill"?
Vegan?

Technically, plants are alive, so when you eat them, you kill them. Fortunately, it's "Thou shalt not murder" not thou shalt not kill. There is a considerable difference.

Originally posted by Loser:

Or "Remember the Sabath and Keep It Holy"?
Does one do nothing on Saturdays? Not use computers, or do math, or anything that could be 'work'?

Ever read Mark 2:27?

Originally posted by Loser:

Or (losing the exactness on this one) "No Graven Images and Stuff"?
Wouldn't that count photographs and even the image on a computer or television screen?
It would at least count 'action figures' and a large number of salt and pepper shakers.
They're even shaped like cows sometimes.

It's idol, not image; the key difference between an idol and your list is worshiping.

Originally posted by Loser:

I try to live my life around forgiveness: Don't hold anything agaisnt anyone else; Don't hold things against yourself. Basically "Don't Be Hurt", which is not the same a "Don't Get Hurt" becuase that gets you nowhere fast. "Don't Get Hurt" sucks.

Guilt and Grudge are both burdens that prevent you from enjoying life or even living the life you'd like to live, from being the person you wish you were. This doens't mean that you shouldn't learn from your mistakes, or that you should let another wrong you again and again. It's more about the attitude you have toward the past.

Quite accurate; interestingly, the Ten commandments say absolutely nothing about revenge - directly, at least. The New Testament, and many places in the Old Testament, speak much of forgiveness. The Ten Commandments are the standard I try to measure actions by; after all, any system of ethics is primarily concerned with deciding "ought" and "ought nots".

[ November 06, 2003, 05:32: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]