[soc.religion.christian] questions I can't answer

avo@icad.com (Alex Orlovsky) (02/05/90)

In article <Jan.25.03.16.15.1990.23765@athos.rutgers.edu> underdog@portia.stanford.edu (Dwight Joe) writes:
>
>There are some people who must face gut-wrenching failure in 
>life.
>
>What does Christianity offer for such people?  Does the
>philosophy in Christianity offer any advice for these
>people?  I am talking about the _PHILOSOPHY_, not the
>religion, in Christianity, so please don't bring up any deity.

   Your first question makes sense, what follows is nonsense.
Christianity is the end of religion, and of philosophy: it is 
ontology, a way of being.  It is the way of communion
with God.  

   Its "worth" can not be determined solely by proving or
disproving its therapeutic value for those "who face ... failure
in life", since by prohibiting God from entering the equation
you have rendered meaningless any answer a Christian 
philosopher could give. When you eliminated God you made it
impossible for a Christian to state what "life" and "failure" are,
let alone what constitutes consolation for the afflicted.

  You might as well ask physicists, "What can you say about
color? but don't bring up electromagnetic radiation!"
It is really not a question at all, is it?


-- Alex Orlovsky
My own opinions, of course.

cms@gatech.edu (02/09/90)

[underdog@portia.stanford.edu (Dwight Joe) asked for advice for people
facing failure.  However he specified advice based on the philosophy in
Christianity, without involving God. avo@icad.com (Alex Orlovsky) 
responded that this is impossible
> Christianity is the end of religion, and of philosophy: it is 
> ontology, a way of being.  It is the way of communion with God.  
--clh]

 I came across the following relevant remark in the 1990 Catholic Almanac, in
the section under Black Catholics, specifically the Social Apostolate:

   "For us the causes of justice and social concern are an essential part of
evangelization.  Our own history has taught us that preaching to the poor and
to those who suffer injustice without concern for their plight and the systemic
cause of their plight is to trivialize the Gospel and mock the cross.  To preach
to the powerful without denouncing oppression is to promise Easter without
Calvary, forgiveness without conversion and healing without cleansing the
wound."

[Many lucid remarks about Christ being inextricably intertwined with Christian
philosophy deleted.]

>   You might as well ask physicists, "What can you say about
> color? but don't bring up electromagnetic radiation!"
> It is really not a question at all, is it?

 A philosophy without God has no base on which to steady itself.  Philosphies
without God tend to balance on the philospher, sometimes with wobbly results. 
While many early Christian theologians drew upon various philosophies to
enhance the Christian message, the fundamental message rests solely on God.

> -- Alex Orlovsky
> My own opinions, of course.

Sincerely,
gatech!ncsatl!smith_c