If your concern is being saved from hell, the law won't do you much good.
If your concern is to be saved from avoidable harm and futility here and now, "law" is just what you need.
I read an article not long ago in Forbes magazine that described the dramatic turn around in AIDS infection in that country. What has made the difference? A campaign to get people to change their behavior. Quit having sex outside marriage.
I saw an ad recently on the back page of a magazine. What happened to New Jersey teens when the state decided to delay issuing drivers licenses until they turned 18? A lot more of them arrived alive at 18 years of age.
I don't spend much time thinking about hell. I do spend a lot time thinking about how to help my people live well here and now. And "lawfulness," that is life ordered in harmony with sound principles turns out to be far more effective in saving them from disease, death, relationship failure and poverty than any amount of purely theoretical faith. Miracles sometimes happen. Law happens far more often.
(Sorry for absence of references for the Forbes article and the ad. I'm in a hurry to get out of town. If you want the references, leave a comment and I'll supply them next week when I return.)
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3 comments:
Found it
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0803/opinions-jihad-africa-hiv-ideas-opinions_2.html
Forbes references a Science 2004 article that says that abstinence was one factor among many including condom use and increased awarness. It emphasized working with local government, NGOs, churches and other groups to provide workable solutions instead of simply transplanting western ethics and norms. A 2009 article in PLOS also pointed out that condom use increased by 50% as well as other behavioral changes. Naturally I agree with "Law" that says that actions have consequences. However, in terms of "helping people here and now" Abstinence only education programs have been universally rejected by the medical and scientific community as being ineffective and/or harmful and are associated with an increase in STDs and pregnancy. It certianly provides a more complicated view of "law"
Beel, you wrote.
"It certianly provides a more complicated view of "law"
Agreed.
The Forbes piece highlighted the effectiveness of abstinence promotion in Uganda --against those who argue abstinence promotion is useless.
Your reference to "abstinence only" failures is well-taken. Let's use all the tools available.
My point is to challenge the tendency of some people I know who use the "promises" of religion as a substitute for wise behavior. If you want to be healthy, happy and prosperous, prayer and miracles are no substitute for wise behavior.
I believe religious communities out to addresses quality of life issues as well as questions of "eternal life."
"I believe religious communities out to addresses quality of life issues as well as questions of "eternal life.""
I meant to write, ". . . religious communities OUGHT to address quality . . ."
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