Dawkins: Rape as wrong as having six fingers

  • Justin Brierley: “But if we had evolved into a society in which rape was considered fine, would that mean that rape is fine?”
  • Richard Dawkins: “I don’t want to answer that question…it’s enough for me to say that we live in a society where it’s not considered fine. We live in a society where selfishness, where failure to pay your debts, failure to reciprocate favors is regarded askance. Ah, that is the society in which we live. I’m very glad…that’s a value judgment, I’m very glad that I live in such a society.”
  • Brierley: “It is …. But when you make a value judgment don’t you immediately step yourself outside of this evolutionary process and say … the reason this is good is because it’s good, and you don’t have any way to stand on that statement.”
  • Dawkins: “But my value judgment itself could come from my evolutionary past.”
  • Brierley: “So, therefore it’s just as random as any product of evolution.”
  • Dawkins: “Well, you could say that…uh, but it doesn’t in any case…nothing about it makes it more probable that there is anything supernatural.”
  • Brierley: “OK, but ultimately, your belief that rape is wrong is as arbitrary as the fact that we’ve evolved five fingers rather than six.”
  • Dawkins: “You could say that, yes.”

Source: christian-apologetics.org

consciousandthinking: Picture of the Day #5: Louis C.K. and Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain“That’s a sin, to say the lord name in vain, but you don’t even have to say something that terrible. You can go to hell just for saying ‘Jesus Christ’ with the [wrong] tone of your voice, it’s all the tone of your voice. That’s the weird part.”Taking the Lord’s name in vain includes using Jesus Christ’s name in vain. I know he is trying to be comic, but he obviously does believe this to some extent or another. It is not in the tone of voice though, that’s not where the sin is. The tone of voice can be a physical expression of the sin, but it is not the sin itself. If one says that in his mind, is it not a sin? The commandment is to not TAKE the Lord’s name in vain, not to not SPEAK the Lord’s name in vain. Thus, thinking the name in vanity is still a sin. Men judge based on appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.“It’s one of the top ten commandments, it’s in the ten commandments to not take the Lord’s name in vain. Rape isn’t up there, by the way, rape is not [one of the] ten commandment[s] but don’t say the dude’s name with a shitty attitude.”On prima facie, this seems to be rather strange that vanity would be part of the Ten Commandments but not raping wouldn’t be. But this is explainable. In Matthew, Jesus summarizes the law in two commandments: “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your god with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:37-40The Ten Commandments fit nicely into those two commandments. (Go to:http://teachingtheway.org/biblekeypoints/two_greatest_commandments.htm for more information on this.) Adultery is mentioned in the Ten Commandments (commandment #7), which is a sexual sin. Is rape not a sexual sin? Can one truly love God and love others while committing rape? No. So, although it is not explicitly mentioned, rape is an important part of the Law.Even without going to Jesus’ summary, we can look at the commandment to honor one’s father and mother (commandment #5), to not steal (commandment #8), and to not covet (commandment #10). Can one rape and honour his father and mother at the same time? No. Does one not steal when he commits rape? Is not free-will stolen from the person being raped? Finally, can one not covet and rape at the same time? No. Rape results from wanting something, sex on one’s own terms with no regard for the other person. The thoughts that result in carrying out rape…are coveting. Thus, four (#5, 7, 8, and 10) commandments of the Ten Commandments (as listed in Exodus 20), clearly oppose rape. Jesus summarizes the Law in two commandments in Matthew 22, both of which go against rape.
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consciousandthinking:

Picture of the Day #5: Louis C.K. and Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain

“That’s a sin, to say the lord name in vain, but you don’t even have to say something that terrible. You can go to hell just for saying ‘Jesus Christ’ with the [wrong] tone of your voice, it’s all the tone of your voice. That’s the weird part.”

Taking the Lord’s name in vain includes using Jesus Christ’s name in vain. I know he is trying to be comic, but he obviously does believe this to some extent or another. 

It is not in the tone of voice though, that’s not where the sin is. The tone of voice can be a physical expression of the sin, but it is not the sin itself. If one says that in his mind, is it not a sin? The commandment is to not TAKE the Lord’s name in vain, not to not SPEAK the Lord’s name in vain. Thus, thinking the name in vanity is still a sin. Men judge based on appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.

“It’s one of the top ten commandments, it’s in the ten commandments to not take the Lord’s name in vain. Rape isn’t up there, by the way, rape is not [one of the] ten commandment[s] but don’t say the dude’s name with a shitty attitude.”

On prima facie, this seems to be rather strange that vanity would be part of the Ten Commandments but not raping wouldn’t be. But this is explainable. 

In Matthew, Jesus summarizes the law in two commandments:

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your god with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:37-40

The Ten Commandments fit nicely into those two commandments. (Go to:http://teachingtheway.org/biblekeypoints/two_greatest_commandments.htm for more information on this.) Adultery is mentioned in the Ten Commandments (commandment #7), which is a sexual sin. Is rape not a sexual sin? Can one truly love God and love others while committing rape? No. So, although it is not explicitly mentioned, rape is an important part of the Law.

Even without going to Jesus’ summary, we can look at the commandment to honor one’s father and mother (commandment #5), to not steal (commandment #8), and to not covet (commandment #10). Can one rape and honour his father and mother at the same time? No. Does one not steal when he commits rape? Is not free-will stolen from the person being raped? Finally, can one not covet and rape at the same time? No. Rape results from wanting something, sex on one’s own terms with no regard for the other person. The thoughts that result in carrying out rape…are coveting. Thus, four (#5, 7, 8, and 10) commandments of the Ten Commandments (as listed in Exodus 20), clearly oppose rape. Jesus summarizes the Law in two commandments in Matthew 22, both of which go against rape.

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