Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Whose notion of virtue is this?

“If throughout your life you abstain from murder, theft, fornication, perjury, blasphemy, and disrespect toward your parents, church, and your king, you are conventionally held to deserve moral admiration even if you have never done a single kind, generous or useful action. This very inadequate notion of virtue is an outcome of taboo morality, and has done untold harm.” -- Bertrand Russell 

But what religion teaches this concept of virtue? Not Christianity. 

Matthew 25:31-46New International Version (NIV)

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

10 comments:

Ilíon said...

Careful! You're dangerously close to figuring out the the "old atheists" were no more civil -- and, more importantly, intellectually honest -- than today's internet atheists and gnu atheists are.

Kuudere-Kun said...

The Bible doesn't teach that. Yet sadly many Christians act that way.

David Duffy said...

The important word is "you." I'm not sure if the word is plural (which would be the church) in this case, but I know it doesn't mean "you" in the sense of who you voted for, or what charity you gave to that promised to ease your conscience in these matters. It does mean you will give a personal account for your choices and what you did with your resources. God help us.

Nick said...

Does this show Ayn Rand was right about the left and Christianity sharing the same "morality of altruism". ?

Joseph Hinman (Metacrock) said...

Nick said...
Does this show Ayn Rand was right about the left and Christianity sharing the same "morality of altruism". ?

October 07, 2016 12:28 AM


yes grasshopper. well done, now for the NEXT stage on your journey to enlightenment: Ayn Rand was a dunce.

jdhuey said...

Suffering for eternity in Hell because they were not generous- that'll teach um.

Nick said...

I'm sure she was smarter than you.

David Duffy said...

"Suffering for eternity in Hell because they were not generous- that'll teach um."

That will warn them.

jdhuey said...

"The Merced County Rescue Mission is looking for a new home for its hot meals program.

The mission stopped serving meals at its Canal Street location last Friday. Executive Director Bruce Metcalf says the temporary closure was prompted after complaints about the homeless from the members of the Central Presbyterian Church, which is across the street. He added that the mission wants to be a "good neighbor."
"Some of the people that attend there with their young children are simply uncomfortable with some of the guests that we serve." - Bruce Metcalf "


Guess they didn't get the warning.

jdhuey said...

The reported story about the Rescue Mission hot meals program was missing some very crucial information that casts an entirely different light on the request of the church.

The problem is that the food at Rescue Mission is distributed outside — through a window — and the recipients end up “publicly urinating, defecating, or even fully undressing” on the streets. They also throw leftover food and trash on the ground, creating something of a health hazard.

The church is actually trying to find a better location for the food program.