RE: A Question From Atheists
June 23, 2017 at 11:29 am
(This post was last modified: June 23, 2017 at 11:32 am by The Grand Nudger.)
-Which actual pantheists actually do, btw...you may not accept that evidence, or think it's insufficient..but they do seek to provide it. To show how the universe is, importantly, like god in ways that justify it's classification as-such...even if it is also unlike those other god concepts in equally important ways.
Ultimately, this was the utility of spinozas god as well...in that it was proposed, cheifly, as a foundation for a position on ethics. At the time, some foundation "like god" was thought to be required in order to -possess- a foundation for ethics. Spinoza satisfied that requirement of the field and study of that time, but did so in such a manner as to show that one need only refer to the universe, to the natural world, in order to find the same support, or even better support, for some position that had been traditionally grounded in god.
This might be one of the reasons that so many people throughout history have described spinoza as a pantheist. -I fear that they may have missed a brilliant rhetorical device, though, for it's subversive brilliance.
Ultimately, this was the utility of spinozas god as well...in that it was proposed, cheifly, as a foundation for a position on ethics. At the time, some foundation "like god" was thought to be required in order to -possess- a foundation for ethics. Spinoza satisfied that requirement of the field and study of that time, but did so in such a manner as to show that one need only refer to the universe, to the natural world, in order to find the same support, or even better support, for some position that had been traditionally grounded in god.
This might be one of the reasons that so many people throughout history have described spinoza as a pantheist. -I fear that they may have missed a brilliant rhetorical device, though, for it's subversive brilliance.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
