The thoughts, reflections and musings of an average Church of England Priest
Friday, 1 November 2013
Thought for the Day: Putting a Penn to Paper
Well, electronic paper!
William Penn, one of those men who have left us with a plethora of great quotes, forms the basis for my thought for the day today, the reasons for which are, I assume, obvious:
Have a great day
Be a blessing to others - find blessings in others
I've been thinking about this since you posted it, but don't think I can agree with it.
The problem is, I'm not sure why. A few examples of the difficulties that I see in this concept.
It would be simple to say "suicide is wrong" but what about the Samurai? For them, suicide is right, and is a personal opinion.
Does morality depend on culture? On the time period?
At one time keeping slaves was acceptable. Now it isn't. Should we judge those that would have said that it was right?
What about stem cell research? What is the absolute moral position? If we choose one option as being "right" is it "right" for all time?
What about vegetarianism? What is the absolute moral position on this? Is it right or wrong?
If we decide on what we think are the right answers to these, will the humans of the future look back on us in the same way that we look back on slave owners?
Thanks for the comment - I think Penn is up there with Dumbledore (easy or right?) and can understand your difficulty but am not sure how to respond to it (but had to acknowledge it regardless).
Sometimes the thinking is enough - if you know what I mean !
2 comments:
I've been thinking about this since you posted it, but don't think I can agree with it.
The problem is, I'm not sure why. A few examples of the difficulties that I see in this concept.
It would be simple to say "suicide is wrong" but what about the Samurai? For them, suicide is right, and is a personal opinion.
Does morality depend on culture? On the time period?
At one time keeping slaves was acceptable. Now it isn't. Should we judge those that would have said that it was right?
What about stem cell research? What is the absolute moral position? If we choose one option as being "right" is it "right" for all time?
What about vegetarianism? What is the absolute moral position on this? Is it right or wrong?
If we decide on what we think are the right answers to these, will the humans of the future look back on us in the same way that we look back on slave owners?
Fil,
Thanks for the comment - I think Penn is up there with Dumbledore (easy or right?) and can understand your difficulty but am not sure how to respond to it (but had to acknowledge it regardless).
Sometimes the thinking is enough - if you know what I mean !
V
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