You ask some good questions! Some of my responses would be more politically incorrect than usual, so I will move on to the Service to Self versus Service to Others. Basically, don't get too hung up on it. We don't know the big picture. Say you gave your seat on the Titanic to the person who lost their ticket. Was that ultimately service to self or service to others? What about the nurses who are true believers in the jab, and do everything they can to jab as many as possible. Those who spends countless hours organizing neighborhood drives and easy access. They think they are helping others...
Many many times in history there are true believers and people intending to help. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
And that is not even counting the changing cultural ideas. Back it the day it was considered a good thing to civilize the natives. Now it is basically a sin.
Just don't do what politicians and Hollywood people do to get ahead and you should be fine. You'll be able to feel the moments of moral compromise that are asked of you. It may be very hard to stay the course and avoid temptation.
They think they are helping others... Many many times in history there are true believers and people intending to help. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Wise words.
It also makes me think of all the covid vaxxers and karens screaming at people to put their mask on. But I don't want to remove agency between the sin and the sinner. The sinner must open themselves up to an evil spirit somehow.
I was reading Romans and Paul talks about those who can't follow the law because they do not know the law. But he says that God wrote the law in their hearts. Deep down everyone knows what is wrong vs right. It's more instinctual than taught. Children are inherently innocent and good until the world corrupts them.
Christianity actually has an enormous amount of discussion and analysis by brilliant minds on all these issues. But our generations were never taught any old knowledge/wisdom.
One of my goals is to go through the books of the Great Conversation.
You ask some good questions! Some of my responses would be more politically incorrect than usual, so I will move on to the Service to Self versus Service to Others. Basically, don't get too hung up on it. We don't know the big picture. Say you gave your seat on the Titanic to the person who lost their ticket. Was that ultimately service to self or service to others? What about the nurses who are true believers in the jab, and do everything they can to jab as many as possible. Those who spends countless hours organizing neighborhood drives and easy access. They think they are helping others... Many many times in history there are true believers and people intending to help. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
And that is not even counting the changing cultural ideas. Back it the day it was considered a good thing to civilize the natives. Now it is basically a sin.
Just don't do what politicians and Hollywood people do to get ahead and you should be fine. You'll be able to feel the moments of moral compromise that are asked of you. It may be very hard to stay the course and avoid temptation.
Wise words.
It also makes me think of all the covid vaxxers and karens screaming at people to put their mask on. But I don't want to remove agency between the sin and the sinner. The sinner must open themselves up to an evil spirit somehow.
I was reading Romans and Paul talks about those who can't follow the law because they do not know the law. But he says that God wrote the law in their hearts. Deep down everyone knows what is wrong vs right. It's more instinctual than taught. Children are inherently innocent and good until the world corrupts them.
That's a good quote, about God writing the law in our hearts.
You may be interested in exploring St Thomas Aquinas and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_double_effect and even https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue_ethics
Christianity actually has an enormous amount of discussion and analysis by brilliant minds on all these issues. But our generations were never taught any old knowledge/wisdom.
One of my goals is to go through the books of the Great Conversation.