tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834396026602884730.post6165150573431613500..comments2023-08-03T01:14:57.566-07:00Comments on Troubled Corinthian: For It Does Not Bear the Sword For NothingDavid Z. Denthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15185818873396099951noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834396026602884730.post-88079780480361650462009-07-07T23:21:15.515-07:002009-07-07T23:21:15.515-07:00That is the question. I believe that Scripture al...That is the question. I believe that Scripture allows for this as you say. But there is an undeniable "ick" factor to any flavor of "abuse". I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. The big argument on the other side is the Habeus Corpus argument, and then we get into definitions of a persons status as a "person", "citizen", etc. Are the natural rights granted by our Creator only for "citizens" of the U.S.? Or are they for all of God's creatures? I think we know the answer, but our debate is twisted around the problem of a government that lacks the political will to tackle difficult problems. Troubling. - DZDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834396026602884730.post-48358359691474288262009-05-19T14:24:04.159-07:002009-05-19T14:24:04.159-07:00You are the one who highlighted it!
Let me just s...You are the one who highlighted it!<br /><br />Let me just say that one problem that the so-called debate is so difficult is that in modern western culture (especially the US), we have very little concept of separation of powers and authority. We don't understand that there are realms and spheres of authority which are delegated only to certain entities. Governments are not allowed to do many things the individual is allowed to do, and vice versa. And the government has been given the authority and obligation to reward good behavior and punish bad behavior (ie, keep the peace, promote national security). If the government needs to torture someone (bear the sword) in order to stop a terrorist plot (punish evil) to kill innocent civilians (reward good behavior), then it has every right to do so. And in that case, the individual person who is inflicting the torture is not acting as an individual, but rather on behalf of the government, and individual moral questions and culpability simply do not apply (you can leave your work at work). All this within reason, of course, which begs some serious questions in an age of unreason. But is it not true that there is an army of islamic fundamentalists who not only want to kill Americans, but would wipe us all and our nation off the globe if they could? Now, if the government has every right (as given by God and clearly laid out in Scripture) to put to death those who do evil, would it not stand to reason that we can do less (ie, waterboard, sleep deprive, break fingers, insult, etc.)? There is plenty our government can do in the way of torture and still stay many degrees away from our enemies morally.<br /><br />DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com