Posted on 12/08/2013 12:35:03 PM PST by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
As long as one narrowly defines 'morals' as abiding and following the laws of the land (in which they are living).
I'll be watching the driveway for the brown truck delivering my new keyboard!
The original collectivist plan:1. The adventurers and planters doe agree, that every person that goeth being aged 16. years and upward, be rated at 10li., and ten pounds to be accounted a single share.Then being informed by reality
2. That he that goeth in person, and furnisheth him selfe out with 10li. either in money or other provissions, be accounted as haveing 20li.. in stock, and in the devssion shall receive a double share.
3. The persons transported and the adventurers shall continue their joynt stock and partnership togeather, the space of 7. years, (excepte some unexpected impedimente doe cause the whole company to agree otherwise,) during which time, all profits and benifits that are gott by trade, traffick, trucking, working, fishing, or any other means of any person or persons, remaine still in the commone stock untill the division.
4. That at their comming ther, they chose out such a number of fitt persons, as may furnish their ships and boats for fishing upon the sea; imploying the rest in their severall faculties upon the land; as building houses, tilling, and planting the ground, and makeing shuch commodities as shall be most usefull for the collonie.
5. That at the end of the 7. years, the capitall and profits, viz. the houses, lands, goods and chatles, be equally devided betwixte the adventurers, and planters; which done, every man shall be free from other of them of any debt or detrimente concerning this adventure.
10. That all such persons as are of this collonie, are to have their meate, drink, apparell, and all provissions out of the common stock and goods of the said collonie.
--paragraphs 73-77, 82. 1620.All this whille no supply was heard of, neither knew they when they might expecte any. So they begane to thinke how they might raise as much corne as they could, and obtaine a beter crope then they had done, that they might not still thus languish in miserie. At length, after much debate of things, the Govr (with the advise of the cheefest amongest them) gave way that they should set corve every man for his owne perticuler, and in that regard trust to them selves; in all other things to goe on in the generall way as before. And so assigned to every family a parcell of land, according to the proportion of their number for that end, only for present use (but made no devission for inheritance), and ranged all boys and youth under some familie. This had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corne was planted then other waise would have bene by any means the Govr or any other could use, and saved him a great deall of trouble, and gave farr better contente. The women now wente willingly into the feild, and tooke their litle-ons with them to set torne, which before would aledg weaknes, and inabilitie; whom to have compelled would have bene thought great tiranie and oppression.
The experience that was had in this commone course and condition, tried sundrie years, and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanitie of that conceite of Platos and other.ancients, applauded by some of aater times; -that the taking away of propertie, and bringing in communitie into a comone wealth, would make them happy and florishing; as if they were wiser then God. For this comunitie (so farr as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much imployment that would have been to their benefite and comforte. For the yong-men that were most able and fitte for labour and servise did repine that they should spend their time and streingth to worke for other mens wives and children, with out any recompence. The strong, or man of parts, had no more in devission of victails and cloaths, then he that was weake and not able to doe a quarter the other could; this was thought injuestice. The aged and graver men to be ranked and equalised in labours, and victails, cloaths, etc., with the meaner and yonger sorte, thought it some indignite and disrespect unto them. And for mens wives to be commanded to doe servise for other men, as dresing their meate, washing their cloaths, etc., they deemd it a kind of slaverie, neither could many husbands well brooke it. Upon the poynte all being to have alike, and all to doe alike, they thought them selves in the like condition, and ove as good as another; and so, if it did not cut of those relations that God hath set amongest men, yet it did at least much diminish and take of the mutuall respects that should be preserved amongst them. And would have bene worse if they had been men of another condition. Let pone objecte this is mens corruption, and nothing to the course it selfe. I answer, seeing all men have this corruption in them, God in his wisdome saw another course fiter for them.
--paragraph 216, 217, 1623. Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford, 1590-1657
In the South, we speak of fighting words, words that can lead to the shedding of blood. The Bible speaks of the tongue as a weapon and words as arrows that pierce the heart. Which is why so much police work is answering domestic calls. Nothing is so wounding as an unkind word spoken by a person who knows us all too well.
If there is a God, then without him, you do not exist. Do you want to be that alone?
It’s sort of a waste of money since the majority of atheists are too young to have learned how to read and most of the rest who have made it as far as the typical skeptics’ ring arrested development age of about 13-15 are so full of themselves that they really don’t need any encouragement to come out of the atheist closet—well, unless they live in one of the many non-Christian countries where declaring that will get them killed.
The Bible says that God is love. That nothing he created is by its nature evil.
The Pilgrims were medieval persons, and medieval persons had no concept of the autonomous individual that is so much a part of liberal thought, albeit it be no more than a legal fiction.
In “Roughing It” Mark Twain describes the Mormons as victims of a pious fraud. He asserts that the basis for their religion is fraud, and it is fraud as far down as you care to look.
Having said that, he further asserts that the people who accept that pious fraud at face value are among the nicest you could ever meet.
That is basically how I feel about Christians. Nice folks, and many are honest believers. What a lovely fraud that helped make them so.
By that reasoning, perhaps Christians would also be agnostics, in that if they were to, in the after life come face to face with Set, Moloch, or Dagon (as opposed to St. Peter) they would then have enough information to change their mind.
Nothing He originally created was evil. We corrupted it. Please note the following text:
Gen 5:2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.
Gen 5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
I’m so glad to see someone who gets this. It’s very important to understanding God’s Word. This is why Paul could take the sinfulness of man to before Abraham, before Abram, to Adam. The FIRST Adam.
“By that reasoning, perhaps Christians would also be agnostics, in that if they were to, in the after life come face to face with Set, Moloch, or Dagon (as opposed to St. Peter) they would then have enough information to change their mind.”
Nice attempt at humor there, but in reality one can not be an agnostic and a believer in God at the same time, by definition.
Of course, your point may be that our “God” may not be who we believers think Him to be. In that case, we would still not be agnostic, but just...wrong.
Of course one can be an agnostic, in the sense that you have made a provisional decision, and can change that if the preponderance of evidence changes.
Actually, that would be a subjective standard:) But I understand your statement.
Especially the TRUTHFUL ones!
Nope!
Since, by self-proclamation you are NOT defrauded; wouldn’t this make you an unnice person?
Thanks for the much needed pat on the head.
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