>If I were convinced that there was no God, the logical thing for me
>to to do would be to screw everyone as much as I could (including
>lying, stealing and cheating), but all the while pretending to be a
>nice guy so they couldn't retaliate. That would maximise my
>advantage while minimising my disadvantage.
Steve,
As one who prefers to lurk and learn, I don't often post to this
list. But now you've smoked me out.
It appears you consider God as a Being primarily good for
functioning as an ethical terrorist -- that you would not bother with moral
conduct unless God were there to threaten reprisals against you. I may have
misunderstood your intentions, but this position makes a mockery both of
orthodox Christianity and of ethics. It may resemble some sort of Moral
Re-armament, but it shares nothing with the Gospel.
If I have misconstrued your position, I apologize. If I have not, I
am sorry to hear that the American heresy of treating the Christian faith as
a program for moral development has also infected Australia.
Tom Pearson
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Thomas D. Pearson
Department of History & Philosophy
The University of Texas-Pan American
Edinburg, Texas
e-mail: pearson@panam1.panam.edu