Politics vs Religion
I've been talking to Stacey and Robbie heaps, and something that always comes up lately is should politics be mixed with religion? Should our laws of society and stuff be built on principles that come from religion?
The laws of the western world gravitate around Christian principles & laws. Being a Christian, I understand that they help to protect the greater good of the collective (since God is so much wiser than us), but what about respecting the beliefs of individuals instead of kinda making people follow the majority's view on what is right? I don't honestly know.
Robbie reckons that society should be based on the rule that everyone can do anything, as long as it doesn't harm others, but I agree with Stacey when she said that every miniscule thing you do has the potential to affect someone else, so if that effect is bad, how would you be able to trace it to an action by a specific individual?
This could also be linked to differing views to do with creation/evolution (that is, if you believe in creation: you believe in an ultimate purpose, or evolution: you believe there is no purpose).
If you are a creationist, then the collective is important, and thus are concerned for others. Because of this, the 'Christian western world' has laws that benifit all of society as a whole, and interfers with rights of what people can/can't do.
Evolutionists believe in 'survival of the fittest', and so this is where Robbie's principle comes from (I think). For instance the 'dumb idiots'(/people prone to addiction) who get sucked into regularly experimenting with drugs that are only safe in moderation are killed off, and the stronger are left behind, thus creating a 'better world'.
Yeah I don't mean to be dissin' (word) Robbity Bob, sorry man. I don't know where I'm goin with this so I'm gonna end. Help me out with some comments (please?!)
posted by Jakes @ 11:24 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
i wouldn't say morals are formed through instinct.
socialisation is what form us as functioning people.
we are socialised into our values, beliefs and what we see as norms.
Politics is mixed with religion - there is no questioning that. Should it be? well, i dont believe so - but that isnt going to happen.
And I believe in evolution -but I do also believe we have a purpose; be happy, help others.
do things to be happy, help others to make them happy.
okay, the maori bill doesnt promote segregation.or at least i think so.which doesnt really count for much but oh well...
i think its good that the people who run the country have noticed how the indeginous people of all countries including NZ are getting screwed over and so their doing something about it.
their providing them with an opportunity.its like offerring scholarships for people.they normally wouldnt be able to afford it but through scholarships they can.like matt flinn.he was definately smart enough but would it have been possible for him to get to cambridge if not for the financial aid?
isnt the government looking out for the maori people who want by providing scholarship and entry quotas?
and suzi was probably thinkkng of something else when she mentioned maori laws, ie the air space bill thing that might be put into place over lake taupo, but i dunno.waitangi screwed them over pretty bad.it was pretty much a catch 22 situation for the maoris wasnt it?
hell i dont know.
off you go
I find this kind of question interesting. The thought of where the decisions we make as a society should come from, means we have to look at the process that we use to create our own opinions - especially of right and wrong.
So how do we know what is right and what is wrong? What part of our being tells us this? I read on some post that a person believe they could make their own decisions on what was right and what was wrong themselves. My question is how do we know what is the right decision to make? There must be some constant factor that is not influenced by experience or any form of learning that shows us what this right act is.
Some people have claimed that our soul is the thing that tells us what to do. Some others call it our conscience. But if this is the case, then there must be some entity that controls it. Something that knows the right decision to make. What do you make of this? Do we have a soul or are we simply mammals making decisions based on common opinion?
As to the politics vs. religion thing, can we differentiate the two from each other? The way we want our country to be run is specifically linked to our own beliefs and opinions. These beliefs influence the way we make our decisions and therefore, as we live in a democracy where our opinion matters, our religion (be it a spiritual or scientific one) in essentially connected to the way our country is governed.
Even though it would be so much easier if it wasnt, i dont think we can avoid it. Unless everyone decides that they are going to make decision about the country not based upon their opinions but on the facts. But that brings up issues of being sterile in our decisions and not being compassionate. Its a bit of a whiffy issue but i think Jesus summed it up pretty well when he said "render to caesar's what is caesar's and to God what is God's" From a religious point of view i think Jesus was not only telling people to pay taxes but to make decision that allow the society to live in harmony. I wonder if we should be doing the same thing?
- Just thoughts on paper -
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