Worthy cause of the day: “We Can’t Afford to Wait for a Clean Energy Economy”.
Relevant to Divine Misconceptions: “We may allow gay unions: COI head”. If I may quote:
The head of the Church of Ireland has said if homosexuality is proven to be biologically predetermined then his church would have to allow gay unions.Now, granted that Archbishop Harper said “If”, nevertheless he is making a classic mistake: the naturalistic fallacy, i.e., the belief that if something is natural, it is therefore good or right. To illustrate why this is a fallacy, suppose someone has a natural inclination towards pedophilia. Do we therefore blindly assume that this person has no choice is whether or not he/she will commit acts of pedophilia? Do we give our approval to any acts of pedophilia he/she might commit? Of course not! The moral codes that most of us live by and most of our consciences highly disapprove of pedophilia. We expect that anyone with inclinations towards pedophilia to keep him/herself under control, and we demand that anyone who commits pedophilia be punished severely—and we really do not care whether the act was natural or not. In fact, there are many acts that are frequently considered wrong which are arguably natural for humans:
"If such comes to be shown, it will be necessary to acknowledge the full implications of that new aspect of the truth," said Archbishop Alan Harper.
- Murder
- Infidelity
- Rape
- Theft
- Dishonesty
- Ephebophilia
- Prostitution
- Infanticide
- Violence
- War
- Xenophobia
- Promiscuity
- Tyranny
- Politics (in the negative sense of the term)
- Cruelty
- Misogyny
- Spousal abuse
- Social injustice
- Slavery
This list is composed of acts known to occur widely among humans (whether sanctioned or not) since ancient times or among humanity’s closest relatives (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans). The fact that these acts may be natural does not in any way make them any less morally abhorrent. In fact, quite the opposite. Moral codes are meant to regulate behavior, and the sorts of behavior that one would expect to receive the most mention, whether being praised or condemned, are ones that are actually likely to occur—including ones that are natural for humans to do. In short, the fact that something is natural does not morally justify it. The Archbishop should get off this line of reasoning and base his position on homosexuality on something more relevant to Christianity, such as what Jesus would have to say on the subject.
Today’s news and commentary:
- “The New China?”
- “Hamas caught using cease-fire to rearm” and “Another truce violation: Palestinians fire mortar shell at w. Negev” (Who didn’t foresee this coming?)
- “Our World: The media and enduring narrative”
- “Investigating the Environmental Origins of Autism”
- “Researchers Track Disease With Google News, Google.org Money” and the site described therein, HealthMap (Very cool.)
- “Cheney wanted cuts in climate testimony” (His nose must be a few kilometers long by now.)
- “Check Yourself for Genetic Abnormalities”
- “Want some torture with your peanuts?” (From the Bush and Cheney school of thought on civil rights.)
- “Study says turn TV off to stay slim” (Unsurprising.)
- “Are Cardiologists Ordering Too Many CT Angiograms?”
Aaron
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