C.S. Lewis vs. Friedrich Nietzsche

Mr.Mason said:
What is "New Testament ethics" ?
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Parable of the good Samaritan, sermon on the Mount, Epistle of James, parable of the prodigal son, etc, etc.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Christian Ethics Influence on Western Civilization

The (Judeo-Christian) conception of morality had important consequences for the future development of Western ethics. The Greeks and Romans—and indeed thinkers such as Confucius—did not conceive of a distinctively moral realm of conduct. For them, everything that one did was a matter of practical reasoning, in which one could do either well or poorly. In the more legalistic Judeo-Christian view, however, falling short of what the moral law requires was a much more serious matter than, say, failing to do the household budgets correctly. This (Judeo-Christian) distinction between the moral and the nonmoral realms now affects every question in Western ethics, including the way the questions themselves are framed.

The new Christian ethical standards did lead to some changes in Roman morality. Perhaps the most vital change was a new sense of the equal moral status of all human beings. This caused Christians to condemn a wide variety of practices that had been accepted by both Greek and Roman moralists, including many related to the taking of innocent human life: from the earliest days Christian leaders condemned abortion, infanticide, and suicide.

The Christian contribution to improving the position of slaves can also be linked with the distinctively Christian list of virtues. As noted above, some of the virtues described by Aristotle—for example, greatness of soul—are quite contrary in spirit to Christian virtues such as humility. In general it can be said that, whereas the Greeks and Romans prized independence, self-reliance, magnanimity, and worldly success, Christians emphasized meekness, obedience, patience, and resignation. As the Greeks and Romans conceived virtue, a virtuous slave was almost a contradiction in terms; for Christians, however, there was nothing in the state of slavery that was incompatible with the highest moral character.

https://www.justplainpolitics.com/s...-ethics-vs-Roman-values&p=4881385#post4881385
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Dutch Uncle said:
Agreed; Christianity is as intertwined with Western Culture and Philosophy as Buddhism/Confucianism are with Eastern Culture and Philosophy.


In psychology, Twin studies are great for separating Nature vs. Nurture. Clearly one twin raised in Western Culture and another raised in Eastern Culture would have different views on life even though their genes are identical.
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In my opinion, Thomas Jefferson had a good strategy. He literally cut out all the mythological stuff from the bible, and kept the ethical teachings intact.

I sort of like to learn about Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism because while I don't agree with everything about them, but I like to pick and choose the parts that inspire me.
 
Cypress said:
In my opinion, Thomas Jefferson had a good strategy. He literally cut out all the mythological stuff from the bible, and kept the ethical teachings intact.

I sort of like to learn about Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism because while I don't agree with everything about them, but I like to pick and choose the parts that inspire me.
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Like Buddhism, in all long existing religions, there's the core and there's all the trappings, most superficial, around it. Jesus didn't say "Build a church in Italy and appoint a leader wearing a pointy hat". All of came long after the execution of Jesus. There is a LOT of things in modern Christianity that Jesus never said and, IMO, wouldn't approve such as selling little 50 cent Jesus figurines to people for $10 "love donations".

When I was in Bangkok over 20 years ago I was very interested in seeing the Buddhist temples and seeing what a Buddhist society looked like. Sadly, it mostly looked like any other human society.

In Buddhism, like in Christianity, many adherents were a Buddhist symbol like the amulet below. Like Christianity, Buddhism has an emphasis on humility yet, also like Christianity, there were a lot of people who wore garishly large amulets as if to proclaim how faithful they were. Not very humble IMO.

IIRC, you don't "buy" a Buddha figurine; you "rent" it since no one owns the Buddha. Mine is like the one below, only about an inch in size and gold plate...albeit with a solid gold chain which was common. The garish ones were five or six inches in size made of silver.

s-l400.jpg


This guy is probably a salesman, but helps exemplify the shallow, commercial nature some people have for Buddhism:
bangkok-thailand-october-2021-shallow-260nw-2075173342.jpg


IMHO, when it comes to ranking believers there are three categories; non-believers, shallow believers and those who delve seek the deeper meanings of all the trappings.
 
Dutch Uncle said:
Like Buddhism, in all long existing religions, there's the core and there's all the trappings, most superficial, around it. Jesus didn't say "Build a church in Italy and appoint a leader wearing a pointy hat". All of came long after the execution of Jesus. There is a LOT of things in modern Christianity that Jesus never said and, IMO, wouldn't approve such as selling little 50 cent Jesus figurines to people for $10 "love donations".

When I was in Bangkok over 20 years ago I was very interested in seeing the Buddhist temples and seeing what a Buddhist society looked like. Sadly, it mostly looked like any other human society.

In Buddhism, like in Christianity, many adherents were a Buddhist symbol like the amulet below. Like Christianity, Buddhism has an emphasis on humility yet, also like Christianity, there were a lot of people who wore garishly large amulets as if to proclaim how faithful they were. Not very humble IMO.

IIRC, you don't "buy" a Buddha figurine; you "rent" it since no one owns the Buddha. Mine is like the one below, only about an inch in size and gold plate...albeit with a solid gold chain which was common. The garish ones were five or six inches in size made of silver.

s-l400.jpg


This guy is probably a salesman, but helps exemplify the shallow, commercial nature some people have for Buddhism:
bangkok-thailand-october-2021-shallow-260nw-2075173342.jpg


IMHO, when it comes to ranking believers there are three categories; non-believers, shallow believers and those who delve seek the deeper meanings of all the trappings.
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It's weird how humility, modesty, forgiveness, simplicity, temperance are something nearly all mentally healthy people truly admire, but they are so very difficult for most of us to emulate or achieve.
 
Cypress said:
It's weird how humility, modesty, forgiveness, simplicity, temperance are something nearly all mentally healthy people truly admire, but they are so very difficult for most of us to emulate or achieve.
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IMO, it's the eternal conflict between our reasoning minds and our animal bodies. Like Will Smith proved last Sunday, it's very easy to just let go of reason and become animals.
 
Dutch Uncle said:
IMO, it's the eternal conflict between our reasoning minds and our animal bodies. Like Will Smith proved last Sunday, it's very easy to just let go of reason and become animals.
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I think Saint Augustine said something like the church is a place first and foremost for sinners, not for saints.

Nearly all normal people admire the fierce integrity and morality of Jimmy Carter, and are repelled by by the avarice, sleaziness, and amorality of Donald Trump.

Something in human nature is drawn to a model of morality.

But it is remarkable how few MAGA, and even lefties, could really emulate a role model of true humility and fierce integrity
 
Cypress said:
I think Saint Augustine said something like the church is a place first and foremost for sinners, not for saints.

Nearly all normal people admire the fierce integrity and morality of Jimmy Carter, and are repelled by by the avarice, sleaziness, and amorality of Donald Trump.

Something in human nature is drawn to a model of morality.

But it is remarkable how few MAGA, and even lefties, could really emulate a role model of true humility and fierce integrity
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Duh! All the Saints are sinners!
 
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