Re: [asa] prisoner's dilemma

In distinguishing "genuine altruism" from the "whitewashed" variety, how does
one handle the offered benefit of eternal life beyond death? If I accept
Christ and endeavor to respond to his call by living a life of love and service,
but my initiating motivation was a desire to be saved/ a fear of hell, then do
my actions qualify as altruistic? If (and this option sounds better) I am
filled with love so that my desire is to live life for others regardless of
consequences for myself -- if that is really the "Christian" altruism,
potentially tainted by selfish motivations eternal though they be, then why did
God see fit to provide those motivations? Shouldn't we want to live as
disciples regardless? As a friend once mused to me: "Why the carrot and the
stick?"

--merv

“Faith is not belief in spite of evidence but a life in scorn of the
consequences.” – Clarence Jordan

Quoting David Opderbeck <dopderbeck@gmail.com>:

> *It seems to me that the labels assigned for "morality" bore little
> resemblance to genuine altruism in the Christian sense of the word.*
>
> I think that's right. I'd suggest that the "morality" resulting from games
> like the Prisoner's Dilemma is actually the sort of "whitewashed tomb" ethic
> that Jesus condemned -- having some appearance of moral action, but
> motivated only by self.
>
>
>

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Received on Wed Aug 16 15:14:04 2006