From: George Murphy (gmurphy@raex.com)
Date: Fri Aug 15 2003 - 17:36:50 EDT
Howard J. Van Till wrote:
>
> >From: "Dr. Blake Nelson" <bnelson301@yahoo.com>
>
> > --- "Howard J. Van Till" <hvantill@chartermi.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Or, (b) above - which, if it is to done responsibly,
> >> will not be left to the
> >> idiosyncrasies of isolated individual practitioners
> >> but will be developed in
> >> a community of truth-seeking persons who have goals
> >> other than the
> >> satisfaction of personal whims.
> >
> > Isn't that what religious traditions do?
>
> Yes, that gets away from the problem of individual idiosyncrasies to which
> George appealed in his initial caricature of (b),
My description was a "caricature" only when caricatured as involving persons
seeking "satisfaction of personal whims." My reference was not to "individual
idiosyncrasies" but to the basic problem of idolatry which afflicts all peopole,
individually or en masse. People can quite sincerely seek the truth about ultimate
reality, be very serious about the quest, and still be misled by their presuppositions
about what ultimate reality/God/the Sacred _ought_ to be. Calvin's statement that I
referred to earlier about the human mind being a factory of idols doesn't just refer to
whimsical people looking for cheap thrills but to all people, including profound
philosophers, theologians & scientists. It's what Paul is talking about in Romans 1 -
which may not matter if you don't consider the canon of which that's a part as
authoritative.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
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