[OFB Cafe] Beatitudes and Social Darwinism (was Re: Bio Fuels)

Timothy Butler tbutler at ofb.biz
Wed Jul 23 20:43:30 CDT 2008


Steven Hatfield said:
> "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" was adapted from the Beatitudes
> from the Sermon on the Mount. It's man writing about how they "wish"
> the world would be, rather than how the world *really is*. "Do unto
> others", "Thou shalt not... or else!". It's all man made rubbish that
> we all try to live by so that we can sleep at night without sleeping
> with a gun under our pillows (although I think Chris still does ;-))

	I'm rather disappointed, Steven, that you'd decide to bash  
Christianity out of the blue. That's not like your usual self. All  
topics -- including faith -- are on the table at the Cafe, but there's  
no reason to be nasty about it.

> It is indeed a "survival of the fittest" world, and anyone who doubts
> that has spent too many days eating at Burger King and not thinking
> about where those Burgers actually come from.
> We all need to eat, and when there is nothing to eat but humans,
> humans will eat humans. It's not only fact, but man's history!  Early
> English colonizers of "The New World" couldn't figure out how to till
> the land and when these self described "civilized beings" began
> starving they started gnawing on each other until black slaves were
> brought in to show them how to grow their own food.

	That's vastly over simplified, but of course, somewhat true. The fact  
that the British were not perfect, doesn't mean we should thrive on  
violence. I'd rather be meek and die being meek rather than live  
thriving in trying to be the strongest. Civilized society, whatever  
that does mean, wouldn't work if we start thinking in terms of social  
Darwinism.

	-Tim

---
Timothy R. Butler | "Philosophy  always  requires  something  more,
Editor, OfB.biz   | requires the eternal,  the true, in contrast to
tbutler at ofb.biz   | which even the fullest existence as such is but
timothybutler.us  | a happy moment."
                                                -- Søren Kierkegaard





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