God's Dice?: re Eric

["mike seeley" <seeleyrk@msn.com>]

Dear Eric,

 

 

 

You say that God commands the death penalty and then say that "human imperfectness" will necessarily bring about errors in judgement.  If God commands a thing, one would think that it must be possible to do so. If one kills an innocent person then one has not carried out God's commandment; rather one has committed murder. If your god knowing full well human imperfection does not supply divine inspiration for a just action as supposedly (he) doesfor scripture then I cannot understand how one could follow such a sadistic diety. Are we but God's dice?

 

The arugument that more innocent people are killed by recindivist crime than innocent people killed by penalty of death is not a Christian argument but an appeal to utilitarian ethic of the worst formulation. I agree that arguments a,b,c, that you included appear to be monstrous perversions of justice but I cannot excuse them by agnosticism concerning the Divine Mind. What is the connection of such a god with a God the essence of Whom is love and Whose commandments are love, and forgiveness?

 

If one should ask me what I would say or do to a murderer of my children, I would have to confront my human imperfections and hope to be inspired by the Divine Love and Forgiveness. Ethics are often simply protestation of righteousness and justification for base and evil acts. It is perhaps, in the confrontation with one's human imperfection that one begins the way toward enlightenment/salvation.

 

                                                                                                                                                                            

 

                                                                                                                                                                Mike Seeley

Dear Eric,

You  say that God commands the death penalty for murderers and then say that human imperfectness  will necessarily bring about occasional mistakes in judgement.  If God commands a thing then one would believe it to be possible to carry out that commandment.  If  one executes an innocent person, one has not carried out God's commandment, rather  has committed murder.   If your god, who inspires words cannot inspire the just verdict, then I cannot see why one would follow such a sadistic divinity.

The argument  that more innocent people are harmed or killed by recincdivist crime than innocent people  suffering the death penalty is not a Christian  arg;ument but an appeal to a utilitarian ethic of the  worst  formulation.   I also agree that arguments a, b, c,  appear to be obscene perversions of justice.  What connection could such a god have with the God whose essence is love and who commands forgiveness .