Erick said,
I would think that ethical subjectivism is what I am concerned with most. The discussion with my coworker began when we were discussing good and evil. He made the comment that good and evil are relative. Are they? Why or why not? Why is the Bible the supreme authority on good and evil? What about the Quran, for example?
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Woah!...It's Bill! Brother I am so glad you joined the conversation. :-) This is truly a pleasure. By the way, besides leaving me utterly lost at times, there was a lot in what you wrote that really blessed me. I think I must have read your second paragraph at least three times (very slowly) just to try to understand a portion of its meaning. The intellectual gifts God has blessed you with are really a blessing to me. Thank you.
For those of you that don't know Bill I hope you get an opportunity to get to know him not just through this medium, but in person. I consider him a loved and loving brother in Christ.
I want to ask you for some elaboration (please pardon me if these questions were answered in the links you posted. I'm at work and I didn't want to have to go through them quickly). First, you mention that "the goodness of a being is its conformity with its end or final cause." Assuming this is true (and if my logic follows), then the 'goodness' of a being cannot be measured until it fulfills its final cause as determined by the Divine Intellect. Therefore, God who sees the end from the beginning knows a thing's fulfillment of its final cause or purpose. So God knows the thing's 'goodness.' But we don't know its goodness because we don't know this final fulfillment (at least not yet in this case). So how can we determine a thing's goodness (say the Quran's) in our finite, temporal existence?
Now, I also understand this. Based on what you said the 'truth' of the matter is that there are 'good' and 'true' things in the Quran because of their metaphysical truth. And there are things that are false, or to some degree 'nonexistent' because of their falseness as determined by the Divine Intellect, and thus renders them nonexistent. But if I have no relationship with this Divine Intellect and have not been made aware of His revelation of what is good and what is not good (or what does exist/is true and what doesn't exist/isn't true) then how can I possibly differentiate between the trueness of the bible versus the trueness of the Quran and how can I differentiate between what is good and true within each?
I know I'm just restating the first question. If I missed the answer in your explanation please let me know.
Thanks Bill.
It's great hearing from you.
God bless you.
Remy.
Bill, thank you for asking about my family and the move. The move went great. Every morning on my way to work I pass by the back entrance of St. Agatha's (which is what they have labeled one of the buildings in big, colorful, block letters) and I think of you. We are enjoying where we're staying now. It is very cozy and quiet. The baby is healthy and happy and for that I can only accept it joyfully and humbly and give glory to God for it. Desiree is doing well and is already regaining her active energy. I think she'll be working again at the alligator farm this summer for a few weeks. She misses it a lot. You should come by and visit us some time. We're right around the corner. How's Michelle? How's your writing going? Bible Alive?
I wanted to thank you for responding to my question. You know, you reminded me of something that it is almost a shame that I forget. I take for granted the fact that I am a Christian and that daily I am gracefully led by the Holy Spirit and enlightened by His teaching. So when it comes to how far I can go in determining whether the Bible is God's authorized written revelation of Himself v. the Quran I forget that it involves the Father in drawing me to Himself. It is not a formula that you can teach someone and they can look at it and suddenly know that it is. You're right, there is a faith and vulnerability involved. In love based relationships this seems to always be. Science and revelation can only go so far. I forget how my own decision to come to God was more than an intellectual consent. It was God drawing me and me responding to Him in faith. Thank you so much for reminding me of that brother.
I also have to compliment you on something. I know when I am in over my head. I felt that way as I was reading your response to Berny. I saw how Berny was able to understand what you originally wrote much better than I did. And your response to him was very eloquent and simple, even though I still felt lost a lot of the time. Yet you spoke deep things in simple terms. And still the depth of what you were sharing was overwhelming. I understand that before the eyes of God I am responsible to make use of the understanding that He's given me, but I also know that He places other people on earth with different gifts than mine. So I'm okay with not completely understanding you. I followed as far as I could. Maybe one day I'll follow further. But you still spoke to me in teachable terms. That's what I want to compliment you on.
I'm sure you've read this from Chesterton before. I wanted to mention it again:
'It is a good exercise to try for once in a way to express any opinion one holds in words of one syllable. If you say "The social utility of the indeterminate sentence is recognized by all criminologists as a part of our sociological evolution towards a more humane and scientific view of punishment," you can go on talking like that for hours with hardly a movement of the gray matter inside your skull. But if you begin "I wish Jones to go to gaol and Brown to say when Jones shall come out," you will discover, with a thrill of horror, that you are obliged to think. The long words are not the hard words, it is the short words that are hard. There is much more metaphysical subtlety in the word "damn" than in the word "degeneration."'
Sincerely,
Remy.
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