Anyone who decides to take it upon themselves to decide for everyone that it ought to be spread.
6m — Janus
I fail to see how they decide for "everyone" beyond themselves specifically, the only thing they decide is who they tell in their immediate circle. After all they're only responsible for their own actions. — Benj96
Where in the Scriptures does someone declare this? — Paine
I see evangelism as being essential to Christianity. "The Word" is understood to be the word of God, and it is believed that those who accept it will be saved and those who don't will be damned. So those who accept the Word accept that it is the ultimate truth for all, and that the "good news" should be spread so that everyone has access to it. — Janus
Putting aside the various folk who presume to speak for God, that is different from a human being saying: "I am God." — Paine
What you say here is not relevant to the point. It is always humans that decide whether something is the "word of God", as opposed to being something that just personally inspires them. — Janus
Sure, humans decide what is deemed "Word of God". Is that neccessarily opposed to what inspires them? Why so? Must they be in opposition, at odds? — Benj96
If someone was willing to put their own wellbeing on the line to spread knowledge/truth and foster good intentions, and gave you a choice to agree with this agenda, ignore it or oppose it, what would you choose? — Benj96
That a simplistic picture in my view. If the person was merely saying "we should be good to one another" then that would be hard to argue with. But its not as simple as that when it comes to religion. — Janus
That a simplistic picture in my view. If the person was merely saying "we should be good to one another" then that would be hard to argue with. But its not as simple as that when it comes to religion. — Janus
Indeed - there's still those matters of foreskin, the rights of women, abortion, etc, etc. How do we rule out a god (if one exists) who is also an intolerant pissant? What if the truth is horrible? — Tom Storm
How do we rule out a god (if one exists) who is also an intolerant pissant? What if the truth is horrible? — Tom Storm
How complex do you want morality to be? Would you like it obscure, esoteric, out of reach, unintuitive?
I think you'll find most religions are -at their core - when removing all the arbitrary fluff/tripe and dogma, about doing right by one another. — Benj96
I would imagine the truth would be horrible for those that can't stand it. I imagine they would be the intolerant pissants in this case. — Benj96
Matters like abortion, women's rights etc are all important and need due discussion but have little to do with the core of what was set out in the OP. — Benj96
You mean the God of the Old Testament? — Janus
I don't believe morality is either complex or dependent on religion. At least when it comes to the most significant moral issues. Those regarding theft, assault, rape, murder, child abuse and so on. Morality grows out of pragmatic social necessity. — Janus
t does not follow that if there is a god and that god holds the truth that this truth is ipso facto beneficial. — Tom Storm
Whether he's drowning all the men, women and children on the planet, — Tom Storm
You are trying to limit your account so that the flaws dont show — Tom Storm
If it advocates for slavery and genocide and violates the rights of minorities and women, then this truth is problematic and quite possibly evil. — Tom Storm
The context is everything in this thought experiment. As they say, the devil is in the detail. — Tom Storm
Morality grows out of pragmatic social necessity. — Janus
So, I see the religious aspects as being unnecessary to morality, rationally speaking — Janus
It does not follow that if there is a god and that god holds the truth that this truth is ipso facto beneficial — Tom Storm
Otherwise, please highlight where these words: abortion, slavery, women's rights etc appeared in the OP. I'll be waiting. — Benj96
No it doesn't. It may be pragmatic to be an oppressive fascist dictator as its a very effective way of exerting your will and getting things done. Doesn't mean that it's moral despite how effective it might be on paper.
Morality is not about pragmatism, its about empathy. Its being able to "walk in the shoes" of another and see why your actions may harm them. — Benj96
Religions are what happen when a significant truth is appointed deep and enduring value to a group such that a lifestyle and culture grows around it. — Benj96
Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.