Majax, I do not admire Clinton's Morality any more than I admire Trump's but he, at least, did not openly boast of his immorality like Trump did, nor was he anywhere near as willfully ignorant of science and history as Trump, nor nearly as incompetent nor as disdainful of basic constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and of the press, as Trump seems to be, nor was he nearly as overtly racist. More to the point, though, the fact of Clinton's immorality does not in the slightest detract from the seriousness and unacceptability of Trump's openly admitted and boasted of misogynistic behavior and attitudes. Using Clinton as an excuse for accepting Trump's misbehavior only compounds your own basic immorality. And, believe it or not, if you were a Democratic whoremonger like Bill Clinton, I would not consider you any less immoral or despicable simply because you were a democrat--much unlike your determination to continue to support Trump, despite his being his being a deplorable, Republican misogynistic idiot and female abuser! I never voted for Bill Clinton either!
You are wrong in thinking I would not have any problem in accepting "justifiable homicide" if you were the black guy in
A Time to Kill, unless you caught the rapist in the act of trying to rape your daughter, and that were the only way to stop the rape.
If I held your beliefs Gunnar, what does it matter how I behave in this life? Why wouldn't I act in my own best interests?
If you think I don't believe that treating others as I would like them to treat me is an important part of my own best interests, then you haven't the foggiest understanding of what I believe! It does indeed matter how I behave both for my own sake and that of others--especially my loved ones.
What does it matter what Jesus actually said or taught if he doesn't really have power over death?
What an incredibly stupid question! Loving and gaining the respect and love of others by dealing honestly, amicably and generously with them is a positive benefit during this lifetime, regardless of whether there is any such thing as an afterlife or not. Living life that way is far more likely to be conducive to happiness and well being than ruthlessly abusing or trying to take unfair advantage of others. That you have any difficulty understanding this, doesn't bode well for either your intelligence or morality. If you can think of no better reason to behave well towards your fellow beings than fear of punishment or the promise of reward in heaven after you die, you don't deserve such heavenly reward any more than any who don't make any attempt to behave well.
His kingdom was not of this world but the next.
I deny that he intended that his kingdom was to be only of the next world. I maintain that he intended for us to do as much as possible to establish his kingdom on this this world during our mortality, and that failure to make that attempt would disqualify us from being a part of it in the next world.
Following his teachings does not result in happiness if you take away the supernatural part of the story. It results in death in a very cruel manner.
Nonsense! I know from my own personal experience that gaining friends and loved ones by dealing honestly and generously with them enhances my own happiness and sense of well being more that anything else I can do, regardless of my lack of belief in an afterlife. Millions of people, both religious and non-religious, would heartily agree with that, I'm sure. If you are incapable of understanding that, I feel deeply sorry for you!
There is nothing inherently cruel about coming to the end of one's life. The inevitability of death is neither inherently cruel nor not cruel. It is, at worst, just an unavoidable fact of reality. If their were no god or hereafter, who would one blame for the cruelty?
