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Re: Radio Satan
On Tue, 21 May 2002, ryan richards wrote:
> The Christian knows it's out there because that's pretty much the whole
> point of his/her being here- that is to love God and enjoy Him forever
> (the chief end of man don't cha know) which can only truly be done
> through an act of free will.
But what *is* free will, in the first place. I'm not even convinced that
God necessarily has it -- after all, fundamentalist Christians talk all
the time about how God is somehow *obliged* to punish humans, instead of
just forgiving them, because he cannot contradict his own "nature".
> Sorry, but "small wonder" cannot truly love her parents no matter how
> good her programmer was.
Which reminds me, a friend just pointed out that there was a movie about a
robot boy named _D.A.R.Y.L._ back in the '80s, but we can't remember if
D.A.R.Y.L. ever wanted to be human, per se.
> Now, do we need the grace of God to do what's right? I've seen many a
> humanist do what's right with no benefit to themselves and they
> certainly didn't ask for the grace of God and then I assume did not
> receive the grace of God to do the deed.
Why on Earth would you assume that God waits for people to ask him to do
things before doing whatever it is that he wants to do?
> As far as your craving for a chocolate bar goes and the philosophical
> journey that ensued I personally think you took the easy way out by
> taking the bus on home. Because you knew there would be a definate
> negative consequence for your action I think it would have been a
> definite exercise in free will for you to have done so, because pain and
> the avoidence thereof is the greatest prompter of the will (in my
> experience and what I have observed in others as well as read about).
But am I not just following some sort of pleasure impulse, in that case?
Can not choosing to withstand pain be a sign of free will?
--- Peter T. Chattaway --------------------------- peter at chattaway_com ---
"I detected one misprint, but to torture you I will not tell you where."
Winston Churchill to T.E. Lawrence, re Seven Pillars of Wisdom
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