On Nov 5, 2004, at 4:32 AM, JDG wrote:
I know what a skilled rhetorician you can be, so I suspect you've asked your question to make a point :-).
I think the words you are looking for are "Socratic dialogue." ;-) (Not
that I'm some Socrates, mind you... just using the same technique of making
a point through questions.)
"Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight the part of John D. Giorgis will be played
by John Houseman."
Actually, I think the words I was looking for were "rhetorical question,"
though I am glad to join you for a peripatetic conversation.
Giorgis ... Gorgias ... Plato ... Oh, I get it! (Hint: http://tinyurl.com/6xuuo)
There's a world of difference between being Christ's hands and feet and assuming that we are responsible for saving the world from evil.
But here's the real point to my question - why are we called to be Christ's
hands and feet in saving the poor from economic oppression, but not
Christ's hands and feet in saving the downtrodden from political oppression?
Of course, we /are/ called to help save the downtrodden from political
oppression. Right here, I could play to type and make a smart-ass comment
about how something like 49% of the electorate tried to do just that. In
fact, I just did.
After all, Christians believe that that has already been accomplished.
Well, as Christians we believe that the world has been saved from spiritual
evil, but that we still have responsibility for correcting all sorts of
physical evils and injustices.
Good point. The difficulty remains knowing when we're /serving/ God by correcting all sorts of physical evils and injustices, and when we're /usurping/ God.
I /really/ don't have an answer for that, although that's exactly what I'm hoping to use to inform my choices in the coming years as a member of the minority party.
And note that I am /not/ saying "opposition party," because I fear that's
part of why the Dems are a minority party.
And it is exactly that -- humility -- that I find sorely lacking in America's execution of the war on terror.
I think that the experience in Iraq has been nothing, if not humbling.
Sadly, that remains to be seen: it certainly has the makings of a humbling, but it is for the future to show us whether the architects of our Iraq policy demonstrate any humility, or whether what I would call hubris (as long as we're calling on the spirit of Greece) continues to animate them.
Q: What kind of God does it take to leave the whole world in the hands of a bunch of humans?
A: One who gave us the Holy Spirit.
Great line.
Thanks. I have a hard time living like a temple of the Holy Spirit. All too often, a more worldly spirit seems to hold sway. That's why I'm taking
Blessings,
Dave
... for [Giorgis] has just been exhibiting to us many fine things.
-- Socrates, in Plato's Gorgias_______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
