FUN, AN ENDANGERED CONCEPT -- The New Risk-Averse Calvinism Of Left-Lib Society

Iconoclast.ca ^ | by Paul Walfield

[Old Professer]

Funny, I always thought that Calvinism was rooted in errancy.

[Old Professer]

And all this time I thought commas didn't mean anything.

[CARepubGal]

Thank you! I am a five point Calvinist and was not seeing the comparison at all. :-)

[taxcontrol]

Sir, perhaps you would consider a different choice of words?

Calvinism - The religious doctrines of John Calvin, emphasizing the omnipotence of God and the salvation of the elect by God's grace alone.

Puritan - A member of a group of English Protestants who in the 16th and 17th centuries advocated strict religious discipline along with simplification of the ceremonies and creeds of the Church of England.
puritan One who lives in accordance with Protestant precepts, especially one who regards pleasure or luxury as sinful.


One can be Calinist with or without being Puritan. In the context of your original comments, Puritan would be a better choice of words.

[weegee]

If only the leftists would focus their attention on the risky behavior of homosexuals (things like "barebacking").

Their dislike of fast food restaurants is tied to their anticapitalism stance and their dislike of the way American culture has been accepted all over the world.

[weegee]

The dulling of American playgrounds (no more monkey bars or see saws)

[friendly]

If only the leftists would focus their attention on the risky behavior of homosexuals (things like "barebacking").

Truer words were never spoken. The socialists also want us to overlook "bug hunting" where "gay" thrill seekings intentionally have high risk sex HOPING to become AIDS infected. Then of course, we taxpaying straights are hit with an $80,000 a year medication bill for the next 15 to 20 years or longer, plus the rest of the medical expenses.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

If you are going to throw out a charge like that, please present your evidence. Otherwise it is merely a wild accusation.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Mencken was a miserable old wretch. Hardly worth quoting. If you believe that your chief purpose in life is "good times," that's fine. However, I hardly see the long term significance of such a lifestyle. Conservatives used to be known as those who have sought to preserve all that is best in our culture. Perhaps that is undergoing some redefiniton.

[section9]

Oh for God's sake.

There's no reason to follow in Mencken's footsteps now, is there? I was merely pointing out that the Democrats attempt to construct the risk free lifestyle through the medium of law and regulation is against every fiber of human nature. Mencken was merely being pithy about it when he was speaking of Republicans in those days. The worm has turned, as it were.

It is not "against" conservatism to have a good time once in a while.

Sheesh!

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[TheSpottedOwl]

Thanks for the link. When you read about all the fun we used to have, it almost hurts to remember how good we had it...bumps, bruises, stitches and all.

[Servant of the Nine]

If you are going to throw out a charge like that, please present your evidence. Otherwise it is merely a wild accusation.

Oh, please. Read literally any history book on the Reformation.

So9

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Oh please. You have evaded. Gutless slander from a poltroon. Hasta la vista.

[hchutch]

There are some conservatives who have no problem with using government power to enforce their agenda on the rest of us. Not much different than the methods liberals use. The only real difference is the agenda.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Quit whining son. You were the one that quoted Mencken. Never said conservatives could not have fun. However, conservatives are not libertines. They seek to maintain the foundations of culture and civilizations.

Calvin sought to limit government action only to those actions prescribed by the Bible. That is a FAR cry from the expansive view of government articulated by liberals and many "conservatives.

[Servant of the Nine]

Oh please. You have evaded. Gutless slander from a poltroon. Hasta la vista.

Will Durant, "A History of Civilization, Volume 6, The Reformation"
Chapter XXI, sub. 3 (Geneva and Strausbourg 1536 - 1541)

So9

[weegee]

I think that George Carlin had a spoken word bit recently (the last decade) about growing up swimming in the Hudson River. He said that he swam in raw sewage as a kid.

He says that everyone washes with the antibacterial soaps and is such a clean freak. They don't build up a natural resistance to germs.

Of course as we become a nannystate, with the shift to the government "paying" for medical expenses and not parents, you can understand why the left wants to cut down on childhood injuries.

[TheSpottedOwl]

George Carlin is great! I love his brand of common sense.

I have a theory about the nanny state. They scream about abortion rights, but expect you to wrap your kids in cotton batting after they're born. I guess their reasoning is that until that child is born, it's yours to do with as you want. After the child is born, it belongs to the state. The child is now a commodity, sort of like soybeans or pork bellies.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Will and Ariel Durant were leftists. Hardly a credible source. No facts were actually cited. However, I applaud you for providing a citation nonetheless.

Calvin, like Luther, was a lightning rod. Historians and pick and choose to make him appear as a great man or a cretin.

The fact is that Geneva prospered and benefited greatly under the influence of Calvin. For example, the death rates in Geneva due to the plague were far lower than in other European cities because he advocated a strict program of hygiene.

Hasta la vista from a fun-loving Calvinists.

[Servant of the Nine]

Will and Ariel Durant were leftists. Hardly a credible source. No facts were actually cited. However, I applaud you for providing a citation nonetheless.

I could put in lotsa quotes from the Durants chapter cited, or go to the attic for Dr. Albert Schweitzer's book, but it wouldn't matter would it now? If they find Calvin dour and stultifying they must be godless leftists.

The improvements in living conditions in all protestant controlled city states were remarkable, but what does that have to do with being enemies of pleasure?
Not Calvin alone, but John Knox, Zwingli, Martin Luther in his later years, Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards et al.

The whole of the Reformation was about strictness, discipline, attending to ones duties to God and to your fellow man. If you were enjoying yourself, you were obviously neglecting one or the other.

So9