[Larry Lucido]

Amazing how some equate ability to obligation.

I have the ability to shovel snow. Doesn't mean I'm gonna dig every neighbor out of the next blizzard unless I choose to.

[delacoert]

Amazing how some equate ability to obligation.

I think that your statement is profoundly obtuse.

Many people actually learned some lessons on morality from religion sources along the way and took them to heart. Many of these people are conservatives.

Here's a story told by someone that you may have missed along the way.

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’

“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?

I suspect that you will be totally unwilling to acknowledge the lesson here and see how it applies. I suspect you will cite only the difference that make this story too different to apply.

BTW, sometimes, not always, ability does obligate.