Friday, April 06, 2007
Social Evolution
(3)
Coincidentally, I am continuing with my current potty book, The God Delusion. And just yesterday The History Channel had a two hour piece on the Ten Commandments, while CNN had an Anderson Cooper 360 series titled, 'What is a Christian?' (being gassed here: nose (tap)gas) Tonight CNN has a piece titled, 'What Would Jesus Really Do?' Sounds interesting, but of course I am way too busy tonight, which is friday night. These shows are all connected to Holy Week, of course.
I have yet to see TTC, which currently resides on TiVo, but there is a connection with TGD: according to Dawkins, the original meaning of TTC (The Ten Commandments) ought to be understood in the context of the times, not in today's very modern context. Thus, the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' actually meant, in the good old days, 'Thou shall not kill fellow Jews.' Only much later in the Christian Era would that commandment (and the others) come by their modern meanings. Back in the good old days it was ok to kill non-Jews. But then came Jesus and Christianity, with the result that nowadays even Jewish lawyers rant against 'Capital Punishment!' Times have changed. Dawkins cites John Hartung in this regard. (Warning: Do not visit this site, Denise!)
I see the evolution of morals in terms of economics, of course. Liberalism flourishes in the midst of plenty, but the opposite is also true. Should modern science fail to nourish technology at a rate offsetting global warming we can expect a devolution of morals along religious lines all over the world.
Coincidentally, I am continuing with my current potty book, The God Delusion. And just yesterday The History Channel had a two hour piece on the Ten Commandments, while CNN had an Anderson Cooper 360 series titled, 'What is a Christian?' (being gassed here: nose (tap)gas) Tonight CNN has a piece titled, 'What Would Jesus Really Do?' Sounds interesting, but of course I am way too busy tonight, which is friday night. These shows are all connected to Holy Week, of course.
I have yet to see TTC, which currently resides on TiVo, but there is a connection with TGD: according to Dawkins, the original meaning of TTC (The Ten Commandments) ought to be understood in the context of the times, not in today's very modern context. Thus, the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' actually meant, in the good old days, 'Thou shall not kill fellow Jews.' Only much later in the Christian Era would that commandment (and the others) come by their modern meanings. Back in the good old days it was ok to kill non-Jews. But then came Jesus and Christianity, with the result that nowadays even Jewish lawyers rant against 'Capital Punishment!' Times have changed. Dawkins cites John Hartung in this regard. (Warning: Do not visit this site, Denise!)
I see the evolution of morals in terms of economics, of course. Liberalism flourishes in the midst of plenty, but the opposite is also true. Should modern science fail to nourish technology at a rate offsetting global warming we can expect a devolution of morals along religious lines all over the world.
