RE: Replacing Religious Morality
November 15, 2013 at 2:36 pm
(This post was last modified: November 15, 2013 at 2:37 pm by Neo-Scholastic.)
Like Ryanology, the subsequent replies of MitchBenn and DT reflect a childish and superficial literalism about the nature of God as presented in the deeper meanings of the Holy Scriptures. Perhaps this will clear it up. God represents the highest good, or in neo-Platonic terms, “The Good”. Willing and doing good, because it is good, moves you toward the ultimate good, or God.
To do otherwise is to do what is good for the sake of some gain or benefit: to protect your reputation, avoid the sting of conscience, and/or fear of the law. To the extent that these consequences preserve civil order and cultivate ethical habits, there is some natural benefit to them. When you grasp that these incentives follow from Divine Providence, you bring your will into alignment with the will of the Lord, thereby uniting yourself with Him. This is not a “good boy” pat on the head for doing a chore, but rather the satisfaction of being in harmony with the One you love. That is Heaven. Conversely, when you do not align your will with that of the Lord, you move away from Him. Since the Lord is Divine Love and Wisdom, doing so moves you into the darkness of falsity and the cold comfort of self-love, which is Hell.
If you want to quibble, you could argue that the satisfaction I describe is a “reward” for obedience rather than a “consequence” of it. I think there is a difference, but one in which reasonable people can disagree.
To do otherwise is to do what is good for the sake of some gain or benefit: to protect your reputation, avoid the sting of conscience, and/or fear of the law. To the extent that these consequences preserve civil order and cultivate ethical habits, there is some natural benefit to them. When you grasp that these incentives follow from Divine Providence, you bring your will into alignment with the will of the Lord, thereby uniting yourself with Him. This is not a “good boy” pat on the head for doing a chore, but rather the satisfaction of being in harmony with the One you love. That is Heaven. Conversely, when you do not align your will with that of the Lord, you move away from Him. Since the Lord is Divine Love and Wisdom, doing so moves you into the darkness of falsity and the cold comfort of self-love, which is Hell.
If you want to quibble, you could argue that the satisfaction I describe is a “reward” for obedience rather than a “consequence” of it. I think there is a difference, but one in which reasonable people can disagree.
