tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post6947978113756833342..comments2024-03-28T13:17:41.599+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: Why is Nihilism so prevalent? - by Chiu ChunLing (from the comments...)Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-67282493006592203892018-07-20T06:36:41.410+01:002018-07-20T06:36:41.410+01:00@CCL - Well argued.
"Does life mean anythin...@CCL - Well argued. <br /><br />"Does life mean anything at all, given that it inevitably ends in death? Or going even further, if you were alive and unable to die, wouldn't that be the same as being dead, if not worse?"<br /><br />Well said. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-43248969124764300102018-07-20T04:53:39.934+01:002018-07-20T04:53:39.934+01:00It's a bit embarrassing to have such a grim co...It's a bit embarrassing to have such a grim comment highlighted, though in truth being grim <i>is</i> one of my particular strengths.<br /><br />Genesis (even more so than the rest of the Old Testament) firmly deserving of the term "Judeo-Christian". I am aware that the term itself can grate, people mouth it too often as a call for ecumenicism between outright rejection of the divinity of Christ and acceptance of a secular version of selected Christian teachings. But in this context, referring particularly to the starting point which exists before either Christ or Israel, it is necessary to acknowledge that common origin.<br /><br />I hope it should <i>always</i> be understood that whenever I say "Judeo-Christian", I am referring to the books and underlying assumptions and values of the Old Testament, never to anything that has only been introduced by Christ's teachings, actions, or ordinances.<br /><br />I am not disposed to refer to these as merely Jewish, a term which I feel <i>properly</i> describes only the subsequent development of the religious tradition which rejected Christ. Nor am I inclined to call them entirely Christian, not least because to a very great extent they represent the problems that Christ came to solve, rather than Christ or His doctrine.<br /><br />But of course the really essential problem I'm pointing out isn't even Judeo-Christian, the doctrine of Genesis is the Judeo-Christian description of the <i>existential</i> problem, which nobody of <i>any</i> religious tradition can avoid.<br /><br />Does life mean anything at all, given that it inevitably ends in death? Or going even further, if you were alive and <i>unable</i> to die, wouldn't that be the same as being dead, if not worse?Chiu ChunLinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03519192610708043962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-2228405388662038492018-07-19T15:14:39.176+01:002018-07-19T15:14:39.176+01:00Vox Day's "as Judeo-Christ himself taught...Vox Day's "as Judeo-Christ himself taught..." is the perfect comeback!<br /><br />But I do think CCL's use of the term is legit. He's talking about a "doctrine found in Genesis and reiterated throughout the Old Testament" -- a text from before the time Judaism and Christianity went their separate ways. In this kind of historical context, "Judeo-Christian" is just as reasonable a term as, say, "Indo-European."Wm Jas Tychonievichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07446790072877463982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-23332333049732851062018-07-19T12:13:30.967+01:002018-07-19T12:13:30.967+01:00@KF - I agree that the J-C term is not valid in th...@KF - I agree that the J-C term is not valid in this context (although it probably is in science - because - from the mid 19th century - Western science was mostly a creation of European Christians and Ashkenazi (Germanic) Jews; who shared relatively high intelligence, high creativity/ 'Psychoticism', a metaphysical coherence and a truth-seeking ethic); but I don't agree that the term derails or undercuts the substantive point that CCL is making. <br /><br />J-C has become a 'weasel word' - used for subversion and inversion - but that is a relatively recent phenomenon; and it is only quite recently that Vox Day has put forward arguments that (and I agree with you) discredit the term-as-currently-deployed. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-56757407042724711622018-07-19T11:14:03.299+01:002018-07-19T11:14:03.299+01:00Yes, this was an interesting comment. Unfortunatel...Yes, this was an interesting comment. Unfortunately, it was derailed in the second sentence with CCL's use of the popular term "Judeo-Christian." This is a loaded and misleading term that, if ignored," undercuts the strength of any argument in which it is used. I apologize for hijacking this comment to point to another blog, but Vox Day has recently shined the light on what a cardboard term "Judeo-Christian" really is. His remarks can be found at http://voxday.blogspot.com/2016/09/judeo-christian-is-antisemitic.htmlKirk Forlatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08928612665374945858noreply@blogger.com