out of grad school, it is because of conversations like these at God’s Politics.
People ask why I bother to engage that audience at all, and it is because I sometimes find myself in discussion with open-minded individuals who can think and challenge my ideas, or at least force me to articulate my beliefs more clearly. This is precisely the kind of practice I require.
In that thread, lebeau identifies the following about my beliefs:
1. That Christians are atruistic agents expecting nothing in return
2. That non Christians are incapable of this altruism
3. That government is a polytheistic pagan institution dispensing arbitrary law, and is therfore not a valid concerning Christians.
Your presuppositions neccessarily lead you to your own conclusion…
All government is oppressive. The natural order will produce justice.
To which I add, in order to clarify:
There is one more condition necessary, that God is sovereign over the suffering of innocents. This directs me to live according to my ideals in the face of reality.
ATSRTWT