Conditions of Godlessness
(N.B.: You may have already read this from my Xanga)
After my reading Book II of Plato's The Republic, it seems to me that if God is not perfectly just, there is no compelling reason for man to be just or upright at all, if he can appear to be just, apart from the effects of disapproval from other, likewise hypocritical men who are fearful of losing their reputation of justice. Now Glaucus does posit that fear of suffering injustice from others is a reason for acting justly, I presume because not all are equally skilled in executing injustice and profiting from it. As long as there are any who act in a remotely just manner, though, they are foolish for being the ones who can most easily be taken advatage of. Even if there is a god but not a perfectly holy one,
Men who do wrong, and sin,
Can thus dissuade [gods] from their purposes
With fair entreaty or with sacrifice,
With incense or the fat of offered meat. (Iliad 9.497, 499-501)
Compare this with what the prophet Samuel has to say about the living God:
22 [...] "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23"For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry [...]" (1 Sam. 15.22-23)
What good is it to restrain self-interest at all, much less give it up, unless there is something fundamentally better in this than personally acting in injustice while appearing to be good? None. Plead "social contract" all you like: in the end, acting unjustly and immorally is of the greatest personal benefit as long as one can appear not to be wicked, because there are always people who are worse at committing evil crimes from greed and self-interest and are still marvelously worse at concealing how detestable their deeds are. But is there anything apart from God that makes it better to act in righteousness than in wickedness? If there is, perhaps I am blinder than I expect.
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (Jn. 15.4-5)
After my reading Book II of Plato's The Republic, it seems to me that if God is not perfectly just, there is no compelling reason for man to be just or upright at all, if he can appear to be just, apart from the effects of disapproval from other, likewise hypocritical men who are fearful of losing their reputation of justice. Now Glaucus does posit that fear of suffering injustice from others is a reason for acting justly, I presume because not all are equally skilled in executing injustice and profiting from it. As long as there are any who act in a remotely just manner, though, they are foolish for being the ones who can most easily be taken advatage of. Even if there is a god but not a perfectly holy one,
Men who do wrong, and sin,
Can thus dissuade [gods] from their purposes
With fair entreaty or with sacrifice,
With incense or the fat of offered meat. (Iliad 9.497, 499-501)
Compare this with what the prophet Samuel has to say about the living God:
22 [...] "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23"For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry [...]" (1 Sam. 15.22-23)
What good is it to restrain self-interest at all, much less give it up, unless there is something fundamentally better in this than personally acting in injustice while appearing to be good? None. Plead "social contract" all you like: in the end, acting unjustly and immorally is of the greatest personal benefit as long as one can appear not to be wicked, because there are always people who are worse at committing evil crimes from greed and self-interest and are still marvelously worse at concealing how detestable their deeds are. But is there anything apart from God that makes it better to act in righteousness than in wickedness? If there is, perhaps I am blinder than I expect.
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (Jn. 15.4-5)