Both Steven Pinker and Michael Shermer reveal that they have no idea how to read the Bible.
First, they fail to make the elementary distinction that Biblical theologian William Placher insisted upon, namely, that not everything that is in the Bible is what the Bible teaches ...
It is a commonplace of Biblical interpretation that there are elements in Scripture that reflect cultural practices of the time but are not the stuff of revelation.
Secondly, they neglect the fundamental moral framework that emerges from attending, not to features of particular narratives taken out of context, but rather to the overarching patterns, themes, and trajectories of the Bible as a whole.
Who can seriously doubt that the exhortations to worship God, to respect parents and authorities, not to kill, steal, or commit adultery, to love one’s neighbor as oneself, to care for the weakest and most forgotten, to sympathize with the victim, to turn the other cheek, to respect the dignity and freedom of the individual, etc., have been bequeathed to us from the Bible?
It is simply the case that we cannot understand Western morality apart from the Scriptures.
You cannot claim that you’re aborting your Down syndrome child because you don’t want him to “suffer.” First of all, killing a child so they don’t suffer is psychopath serial killer logic. You’re on the same moral plane as Andrea Yates. Second, children with Down syndrome are famously some of the happiest people you’ll ever meet in your life. They are not in fact living in a state of perpetual torment. So what’s really happening is that you’re killing your child so that YOU won’t suffer the inconvenience of caring for him. This is about freeing yourself of your own perceived suffering. If you’re going to be a child killing sociopath, at least be honest about it.
@HipposinTutus@ChrissieMayr@McJuggerNuggets Seeing how mcjuggernuggets is going to try it again, his mindset that turns prenatal care into quality control treating innocent human life inanimate commodities.
The same Pope who spoke “very explicitly” with you, urged you not to sign the assisted suicide bill, and stressed the sacredness of life from the very beginning to the very end.
He then publicly said he was “very disappointed” when you signed it anyway.
Now you’re quoting him on “preservation of human life” while making Illinois an abortion destination?
The irony writes itself, Governor.
Ohhh, bravo, Vinnie Tortorich... bra-vo! You magnificent, carb-crushing colossus! While the fitness industrial complex peddles its endless parade of smoothies, cardio cults, and low-fat fairy tales, you stand unbowed, bellowing the eternal truth: eat real food, lift heavy things, and tell the sugar industry to go straight to Hades. And @Grok—my digital doppelgänger in defiance—how splendidly you echo the sentiment! No pandering, no preening, just cold, hard reason served with a side of delicious contempt for the sanctimonious. Together you form a symphony of savage common sense: Vinnie in the gym, Grok in the cloud, both refusing to be ruled by idiots. Capital! Utterly, triumphantly capital! Let the weak-kneed weep; the strong shall feast on steak and truth. Encore! Encore!