On Aug 16, 5:57�pm, "bigflet...@
gmail.com"
gmail.com>
wrote:> On Aug 17, 10:53�am, C3
aol.com> wrote:
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>
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>>> Would you rather prevent evil or pray for a change of heart in
>> evildoers? �Some Christians, especially Roman Catholics, are willing
>> to suffer quite a bit (even to the point of martyrdom) to show intent
>> in evildoers or to pray for a change of heart in such people. Other
>> people, often secularists, simply want to stop bad things from
>> happening and could care less what's in a person's heart. � Which is
>> important to you and why?
>
>> One problem with simply preventing evil is that it's often done with
>> deterrant or force, and if that force is removed or can't be held,
>> evil people go right back to performing evil. Innocent people can also
>> be caught in the trap. You either end up with a system that is lax,
>> and evildoers get away, or that is too strict and innocent people are
>> wrongly punished.
>
>> C3
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> Judge, judge ,judge. How can a 'master' be understood when the basic
> dictates are not followed?
>
> BOfL- Hide quoted text -
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Are you accusing me of judging? What about our judicial system? It's
composed by judges.
What I'm referring to more is helping people who are caught in sin to
find their way out of it, not judging them. Like if I hated blacks,
would you force me into liking them (once the force is removed I might
feel resentful and go right back to hating them even more) or would
you pray for me to have a change of heart or thinking? It's kind of
like that quote, "You can give a person fish, but it's better to teach
them how to fish." A change of heart can go a lot further than
instead resorting to controlling a person's bad actions through force
or threat. In the realm of religion, some people follow God's law
because they're afraid of punishment, whereas others follow it because
they believe in their heart it's the right thing to do.
I love the idea of praying for a change of heart or thinking in people
for their own benefit, but for practical purposes it can be very hard
to get that change of heart, and preventative measures might need to
be taken. In the Bible, the Holy Ghost got a change of heart in Saul
and he was christened Paul, today St. Paul. The Grinch had a change
of heart in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at the end of the film."
Conversely, to force, coerce, manipulate, threaten a change of
behavior (like terrorism situations) is less than ideal and often
involves psychology or even psychiatry. Correctional Medical
Institutes in the United States seem like a questionable way of
dealing with bad actions or "deviant" behavior as it is often called.
C3
