tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post4482444886573155246..comments2024-03-06T03:15:58.539-05:00Comments on <b>THE NEW REFORM CLUB</b>: A Christian Nation? Well, sorta, mebbe...Hunter Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-84572875326354940542007-03-28T21:20:00.000-04:002007-03-28T21:20:00.000-04:00Or to paraphrase Homer (Simpson..D'Oh! Actually Mo...Or to paraphrase Homer (Simpson..D'Oh! Actually Moe), "Moe: We were collecting canned goods for the starving people in...er, you know, one of them loser countries."<BR/><BR/>No doubt that Vedic stuff has come in real handy for someone.<BR/><BR/>~Your Ignoramus Cum Laude, EVANSTON!Evanston2https://www.blogger.com/profile/09851967034946400308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-36640991967136898052007-03-23T14:15:00.000-04:002007-03-23T14:15:00.000-04:00An interesting thought, sir. However, per Locke, ...An interesting thought, sir. However, per Locke, the Vedic tradition didn't lead to concepts of freedom and equality as the Judeo-Christian one did.<BR/><BR/>That's not to say it's incompatible, as modern theologians submit, only that it didn't lead there as the west's did.Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-27423249354886362752007-03-22T20:11:00.000-04:002007-03-22T20:11:00.000-04:00I might agree with Locke's proposition (on the sup...I might agree with Locke's proposition (on the superiority of the Bible's ethics) had he defined this critique in terms of western philosophy alone. The Gita and Upanishands not only predated the Judeo-Christian record but arguably approach ethical problems with a great deal more sophistication than the Bible. I think most would agree that these older texts are more cosmologically articulate (and accurate, given modern science) than the Bible.<BR/><BR/>Is it also possible that the Bible, and hence Locke and Jefferson, are indebted to the Gita or Upanishads? "Love your enemy" is completely rational in the Eastern sense, where the universe is viewed as a continuous whole--your enemies being no more separate from yourself than your own hand. Superstring theory seems to support this conclusion.John N. Haskellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07217036170011348630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-57894505342472180952007-03-20T22:54:00.000-04:002007-03-20T22:54:00.000-04:00Was the U.S. a christian nation? Others have right...Was the U.S. a christian nation? Others have rightly said that it wasn't founded by vegetarian buddhists. <BR/><BR/>But so what? Tom points out that "reasonable men" can justify some controversial things. <BR/>I prefer to point out that democracies have prospered under a judeo-christian ethic, and that multiculturalists should recognize the power of culture and hesitate before abandoning Biblical values. Of course, the natural man wants autonomy, so this sort of argumentation does not fare well.<BR/><BR/>As a Christian, I am concerned with the future of America insofar as I must live somewhere, and the surrounding culture affects me. Nonetheless, I recognize that few people have been truly Christian (aka the "invisible church" as opposed to all visible church attenders) and I focus on spreading the seed of the Word. Whether the seed takes root is up to God.<BR/><BR/>The reaction from reasonable men? 2 Cor 2:15 "For we are the aroma of Christ for God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to the latter an odor of death that leads to death, to the former an odor of life that leads to life.Evanston2https://www.blogger.com/profile/09851967034946400308noreply@blogger.com