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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2020 13:52:27 GMT
My cousin wrote this and I wish I had.
Hello friends. With all the stuff going on in the world and heated debates on what is true or false, good or bad, I feel like I must say what I believe to be absolutely true. Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that the Bible-God's written word to us-contains the Truth of who God is, who we are, and how we can have a relationship with Him. God himself is the creator of the world. He is eternal, unchangeable, wise, powerful, holy, good and just (to name a few). I personally have experienced his forgiveness, his healing of my heart (after the death of our baby) and the healing of my body. I know Him to be my rock, my shelter, my guide and my strength. I know I can trust Him to be all He claims to be. I also know that God loves YOU and that He created you to know Him personally. Another thing I know to be true is that every single person is sinful. We have all done things in our lives that go against God's perfect standards. I know I have lied, cheated, stolen, spoken poorly of others, and have had awful thoughts and actions (there's more, but I don't have time to write them all out!) You have done wrong too. The Bible says that all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Another Truth is that we were created to have relationship with God! Isn't that amazing that God wants us to know Him deeply?! The problem is that the sin I mentioned separates us from God. It prevents us from having that AMAZING relationship that God designed for us to have. In fact, the Bible says that our sin actually leads to death. Death. Let that sink in. The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death..." A wage is something you earn, right? So, the truth is that we have all earned eternal death. That is awful news, isn't it? But there is more good news that is True. God sent His Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins. You see, Jesus is God and He came to earth and never sinned. He lived a perfect life. So what happened is that Jesus basically said, "I love the people of the world so much, that I am willing to die in their place for their sins so that they don't have to themselves." So that is what He did. He willingly died an excruciating death on the cross so that you and I would not serve the death sentence ourselves. Not only did Jesus die in our place, He rose from the dead, thus proving that He has power enough to defeat death and sin. In fact, it is True that only through Jesus can you have a relationship with God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the Truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus himself bridges the gap that separates us from God. But it is not enough just to know these things in your head. The Truth is that we must believe these things in our hearts and receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. This leads to forgiveness for our sins, eternal life (instead of eternal death) and a blessed life here on earth. Picture this: God has a gift all wrapped up beautifully for you. There is a tag with your name on it. In order for it to become yours, you need to reach out and take it and make it your own. This is what God is doing. The gift He offers is eternal life through a relationship with His Son, Jesus! The Bible says that we receive Christ through faith. Here is what the book of Ephesians says, "For it is by grace you are saved through faith, it is a gift from God. You are not saved by works, so that no man will boast." The Truth is that Jesus has been calling out to you for a long time now, knocking on your heart. He loves you and wants you to invite Him to be part of your life. He wants you to accept His gift of forgiveness. He wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Receiving Christ involves turning away from your sins and turning to God. This is called repentance. You need to acknowledge who God is, express sincere sorrow for your sins and commit your life to Him. I did this when I was a child. I wanted forgiveness and the promise of heaven. Now I am an adult. I have experienced so much of God and His goodness. I have never regretted this decision. I don't think you ever will either. If you want to begin this new life, a good way to do it is to simply talk to God. You can say something like this: Dear God, I know I have sinned/done wrong things that don't meet your perfect standards. Please forgive me. I know you died on the cross to pay the penalty for me. I know you rose from the dead. I want to know you personally. I open my heart to you. I receive your gift of forgiveness and I receive you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. I give it to you. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.
This will be the beginning of a new life for you! You will be like a new person! To help you continue to know more, you will want to learn how to pray, read the Bible, go to church and share your new life with others. I am willing to help you with that.
I am more than happy to discuss this further with you if you have any questions. Please call me if you have my phone number or PM me if that's easier for you. But don't wait. Once you know this to be true, you should act on it immediately. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I love you all! But God loves you oh so much more.
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Post by Greg55_99 on Jul 2, 2020 14:07:09 GMT
I sure miss CC. He'd love to crank up a religion forum here.
Greg |
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Post by Fiddler on Jul 2, 2020 14:35:41 GMT
Please have your cousin to send a copy to ..
Occupant
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
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Odysseus
Legend
Trump = Disaster
Posts: 41,101
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Post by Odysseus on Jul 2, 2020 14:38:44 GMT
I sure miss CC. He'd love to crank up a religion forum here.
Greg
CC needs a chill pill...
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bama beau
Legend
Fish will piss anywhere. They just live in water.
Posts: 11,579
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Post by bama beau on Jul 2, 2020 15:31:20 GMT
I've got a lawn guy.
What I need is a roofer.
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Post by freonbale on Jul 2, 2020 17:22:50 GMT
My cousin wrote this and I wish I had. Hello friends. With all the stuff going on in the world and heated debates on what is true or false, good or bad, I feel like I must say what I believe to be absolutely true. Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that the Bible-God's written word to us-contains the Truth of who God is, who we are, and how we can have a relationship with Him. God himself is the creator of the world. He is eternal, unchangeable, wise, powerful, holy, good and just (to name a few). I personally have experienced his forgiveness, his healing of my heart (after the death of our baby) and the healing of my body. I know Him to be my rock, my shelter, my guide and my strength. I know I can trust Him to be all He claims to be. I also know that God loves YOU and that He created you to know Him personally. Another thing I know to be true is that every single person is sinful. We have all done things in our lives that go against God's perfect standards. I know I have lied, cheated, stolen, spoken poorly of others, and have had awful thoughts and actions (there's more, but I don't have time to write them all out!) You have done wrong too. The Bible says that all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Another Truth is that we were created to have relationship with God! Isn't that amazing that God wants us to know Him deeply?! The problem is that the sin I mentioned separates us from God. It prevents us from having that AMAZING relationship that God designed for us to have. In fact, the Bible says that our sin actually leads to death. Death. Let that sink in. The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death..." A wage is something you earn, right? So, the truth is that we have all earned eternal death. That is awful news, isn't it? But there is more good news that is True. God sent His Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins. You see, Jesus is God and He came to earth and never sinned. He lived a perfect life. So what happened is that Jesus basically said, "I love the people of the world so much, that I am willing to die in their place for their sins so that they don't have to themselves." So that is what He did. He willingly died an excruciating death on the cross so that you and I would not serve the death sentence ourselves. Not only did Jesus die in our place, He rose from the dead, thus proving that He has power enough to defeat death and sin. In fact, it is True that only through Jesus can you have a relationship with God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the Truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus himself bridges the gap that separates us from God. But it is not enough just to know these things in your head. The Truth is that we must believe these things in our hearts and receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. This leads to forgiveness for our sins, eternal life (instead of eternal death) and a blessed life here on earth. Picture this: God has a gift all wrapped up beautifully for you. There is a tag with your name on it. In order for it to become yours, you need to reach out and take it and make it your own. This is what God is doing. The gift He offers is eternal life through a relationship with His Son, Jesus! The Bible says that we receive Christ through faith. Here is what the book of Ephesians says, "For it is by grace you are saved through faith, it is a gift from God. You are not saved by works, so that no man will boast." The Truth is that Jesus has been calling out to you for a long time now, knocking on your heart. He loves you and wants you to invite Him to be part of your life. He wants you to accept His gift of forgiveness. He wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Receiving Christ involves turning away from your sins and turning to God. This is called repentance. You need to acknowledge who God is, express sincere sorrow for your sins and commit your life to Him. I did this when I was a child. I wanted forgiveness and the promise of heaven. Now I am an adult. I have experienced so much of God and His goodness. I have never regretted this decision. I don't think you ever will either. If you want to begin this new life, a good way to do it is to simply talk to God. You can say something like this: Dear God, I know I have sinned/done wrong things that don't meet your perfect standards. Please forgive me. I know you died on the cross to pay the penalty for me. I know you rose from the dead. I want to know you personally. I open my heart to you. I receive your gift of forgiveness and I receive you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. I give it to you. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. This will be the beginning of a new life for you! You will be like a new person! To help you continue to know more, you will want to learn how to pray, read the Bible, go to church and share your new life with others. I am willing to help you with that. I am more than happy to discuss this further with you if you have any questions. Please call me if you have my phone number or PM me if that's easier for you. But don't wait. Once you know this to be true, you should act on it immediately. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I love you all! But God loves you oh so much more. I did not ask for someone to sacrifice themselves for me, nor would I want them to. I take responsibility for my own actions, and the idea that someone can take that away explains why so many do such awful things in the name of Jesus. Why wouldn't they, when they are guaranteed to be forgiven. My religion tells me to live as a good person here and now, and not dwell on what happens after I die. As a result, I must do whatever I can to make the world a better place for myself, those around me, and those that will come after I die. But by far, the worst part of what you said is that there is only one way to be close to G-d, and that is through your perceived messiah. One key to fit the door of the lock, and all other keys are fake news. Arrogance, naivety, self-righteousness, delusions of importance are just a few words that describe your point of view. If Jesus makes you happy, fine, but keep it to yourself. The rest of us think you are deluded and don't follow your own messiah's teachings. Freon |
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bama beau
Legend
Fish will piss anywhere. They just live in water.
Posts: 11,579
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Post by bama beau on Jul 2, 2020 17:30:17 GMT
Nothing wrong with His message.
Although His messengers do sometimes leave much to be desired.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2020 17:49:55 GMT
I don't think sin separates us from God or guarantees an "eternal death." I've never understood the need for a redeemer. Why does God demand blood?
How can we ever be separate from God?
There's a clear sleight of hand lurking underneath this dogma.
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bama beau
Legend
Fish will piss anywhere. They just live in water.
Posts: 11,579
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Post by bama beau on Jul 2, 2020 18:06:33 GMT
I don't think sin separates us from God or guarantees an "eternal death." I've never understood the need for a redeemer. Why does God demand blood? How can we ever be separate from God? There's a clear sleight of hand lurking underneath this dogma. Many will never require redemption. Regardless though, many will seek it whether they need it or not. There is great power in the idea of a second chance, or a chance to ask for some part of the slate to be wiped clean so that a person can concentrate on the path ahead rather than retracing his/her steps in an attempt to undo damages caused or suffered on the path behind. The idea of Jesus has and will continue to appeal to people who want a paragon of virtue in a world awash with human nature, in all its aspects. I don't see anything really wrong with that. I love Jesus and His message with all my heart. I also love the teachings of the Buddha, as well as the Chinese Daoists who came before him. Why not? I am not being superstitious. I am not denying objective reality. I am not preaching or proselytizing. OK, so maybe I do preach a little. But I don't see the harm in it, especially as the first directive is to do no harm. I believe it was St. Paul of Simon who said: I have no problem with Road to Dumbasskiss redemption. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2020 18:17:00 GMT
I don't think sin separates us from God or guarantees an "eternal death." I've never understood the need for a redeemer. Why does God demand blood? How can we ever be separate from God? There's a clear sleight of hand lurking underneath this dogma. Many will never require redemption. Regardless though, many will seek it whether they need it or not. There is great power in the idea of a second chance, or a chance to ask for some part of the slate to be wiped clean so that a person can concentrate on the path ahead rather than retracing his/her steps in an attempt to undo damages caused or suffered on the path behind. The idea of Jesus has and will continue to appeal to people who want a paragon of virtue in a world awash with human nature, in all its aspects. I don't see anything really wrong with that. I love Jesus and His message with all my heart. I also love the teachings of the Buddha, as well as the Chinese Daoists who came before him. Why not? I am not being superstitious. I am not denying objective reality. I am not preaching or proselytizing. OK, so maybe I do preach a little. But I don't see the harm in it, especially as the first directive is to do no harm. I believe it was St. Paul of Simon who said: I have no problem with Road to Dumbasskiss redemption. I agree with you about redemption in that sense. And I do think there is much that is worth following in the message of Jesus, the Buddha, etc. Its this idea of eternal damnation without Jesus (not his teaching, but his blood sacrifice) that I have side eye for. |
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bama beau
Legend
Fish will piss anywhere. They just live in water.
Posts: 11,579
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Post by bama beau on Jul 2, 2020 18:30:40 GMT
"We are not going to have democracy in the Kingdom of Heaven!"
Jesus was the subversive Son of the Boss.
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bama beau
Legend
Fish will piss anywhere. They just live in water.
Posts: 11,579
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Post by bama beau on Jul 2, 2020 18:55:13 GMT
St. Francis of Assisi, The Canticle of the Sun
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RWB
Legend
Posts: 12,761
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Post by RWB on Jul 2, 2020 19:15:14 GMT
My cousin wrote this and I wish I had. Hello friends. With all the stuff going on in the world and heated debates on what is true or false, good or bad, I feel like I must say what I believe to be absolutely true. Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that the Bible-God's written word to us-contains the Truth of who God is, who we are, and how we can have a relationship with Him. God himself is the creator of the world. He is eternal, unchangeable, wise, powerful, holy, good and just (to name a few). I personally have experienced his forgiveness, his healing of my heart (after the death of our baby) and the healing of my body. I know Him to be my rock, my shelter, my guide and my strength. I know I can trust Him to be all He claims to be. I also know that God loves YOU and that He created you to know Him personally. Another thing I know to be true is that every single person is sinful. We have all done things in our lives that go against God's perfect standards. I know I have lied, cheated, stolen, spoken poorly of others, and have had awful thoughts and actions (there's more, but I don't have time to write them all out!) You have done wrong too. The Bible says that all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Another Truth is that we were created to have relationship with God! Isn't that amazing that God wants us to know Him deeply?! The problem is that the sin I mentioned separates us from God. It prevents us from having that AMAZING relationship that God designed for us to have. In fact, the Bible says that our sin actually leads to death. Death. Let that sink in. The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death..." A wage is something you earn, right? So, the truth is that we have all earned eternal death. That is awful news, isn't it? But there is more good news that is True. God sent His Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins. You see, Jesus is God and He came to earth and never sinned. He lived a perfect life. So what happened is that Jesus basically said, "I love the people of the world so much, that I am willing to die in their place for their sins so that they don't have to themselves." So that is what He did. He willingly died an excruciating death on the cross so that you and I would not serve the death sentence ourselves. Not only did Jesus die in our place, He rose from the dead, thus proving that He has power enough to defeat death and sin. In fact, it is True that only through Jesus can you have a relationship with God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the Truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus himself bridges the gap that separates us from God. But it is not enough just to know these things in your head. The Truth is that we must believe these things in our hearts and receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. This leads to forgiveness for our sins, eternal life (instead of eternal death) and a blessed life here on earth. Picture this: God has a gift all wrapped up beautifully for you. There is a tag with your name on it. In order for it to become yours, you need to reach out and take it and make it your own. This is what God is doing. The gift He offers is eternal life through a relationship with His Son, Jesus! The Bible says that we receive Christ through faith. Here is what the book of Ephesians says, "For it is by grace you are saved through faith, it is a gift from God. You are not saved by works, so that no man will boast." The Truth is that Jesus has been calling out to you for a long time now, knocking on your heart. He loves you and wants you to invite Him to be part of your life. He wants you to accept His gift of forgiveness. He wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Receiving Christ involves turning away from your sins and turning to God. This is called repentance. You need to acknowledge who God is, express sincere sorrow for your sins and commit your life to Him. I did this when I was a child. I wanted forgiveness and the promise of heaven. Now I am an adult. I have experienced so much of God and His goodness. I have never regretted this decision. I don't think you ever will either. If you want to begin this new life, a good way to do it is to simply talk to God. You can say something like this: Dear God, I know I have sinned/done wrong things that don't meet your perfect standards. Please forgive me. I know you died on the cross to pay the penalty for me. I know you rose from the dead. I want to know you personally. I open my heart to you. I receive your gift of forgiveness and I receive you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. I give it to you. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. This will be the beginning of a new life for you! You will be like a new person! To help you continue to know more, you will want to learn how to pray, read the Bible, go to church and share your new life with others. I am willing to help you with that. I am more than happy to discuss this further with you if you have any questions. Please call me if you have my phone number or PM me if that's easier for you. But don't wait. Once you know this to be true, you should act on it immediately. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I love you all! But God loves you oh so much more. I did not ask for someone to sacrifice themselves for me, nor would I want them to. I take responsibility for my own actions, and the idea that someone can take that away explains why so many do such awful things in the name of Jesus. Why wouldn't they, when they are guaranteed to be forgiven. My religion tells me to live as a good person here and now, and not dwell on what happens after I die. As a result, I must do whatever I can to make the world a better place for myself, those around me, and those that will come after I die. But by far, the worst part of what you said is that there is only one way to be close to G-d, and that is through your perceived messiah. One key to fit the door of the lock, and all other keys are fake news. Arrogance, naivety, self-righteousness, delusions of importance are just a few words that describe your point of view. If Jesus makes you happy, fine, but keep it to yourself. The rest of us think you are deluded and don't follow your own messiah's teachings. Freon your religion is Liberalism which has killed more people than any virus in history has. |
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Post by Mercy for All on Jul 2, 2020 19:16:49 GMT
But by far, the worst part of what you said is that there is only one way to be close to G-d, and that is through your perceived messiah. One key to fit the door of the lock, and all other keys are fake news. Arrogance, naivety, self-righteousness, delusions of importance are just a few words that describe your point of view. Unless it's correct, in which case it would be complete selfishness to not share it. |
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Post by Mercy for All on Jul 2, 2020 19:19:54 GMT
"We are not going to have democracy in the Kingdom of Heaven!" Jesus was the subversive Son of the Boss. Some interesting thoughts that are completely divorced from the way "Son of God" would have been heard by Jesus' audience. It's also an interesting attempt to squeeze Jesus and his message into a foreign (i.e., eastern) point of view. Karma is only barely compatible with Judaism and Christianity, partly because, in contrast to eastern religions, God is not manifested pantheistically or panentheistically, but is "wholly other" (holy other?) from Creation. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2020 19:31:35 GMT
I did not ask for someone to sacrifice themselves for me, nor would I want them to. I take responsibility for my own actions, and the idea that someone can take that away explains why so many do such awful things in the name of Jesus. Why wouldn't they, when they are guaranteed to be forgiven. My religion tells me to live as a good person here and now, and not dwell on what happens after I die. As a result, I must do whatever I can to make the world a better place for myself, those around me, and those that will come after I die. But by far, the worst part of what you said is that there is only one way to be close to G-d, and that is through your perceived messiah. One key to fit the door of the lock, and all other keys are fake news. Arrogance, naivety, self-righteousness, delusions of importance are just a few words that describe your point of view. If Jesus makes you happy, fine, but keep it to yourself. The rest of us think you are deluded and don't follow your own messiah's teachings. Freon your religion is Liberalism which has killed more people than any virus in history has. That has to be one of the craziest claims I have ever seen. Liberalism, in actual fact, has helped lift the world out of poverty. The age of liberalism is the age of reason, science, constitutional government, the rule of law, capitalism, peace, free trade, etc. The suggestion that liberalism has more blood on its hand than fascism or communism can be easily disproved. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2020 19:55:08 GMT
your religion is Liberalism which has killed more people than any virus in history has. That has to be one of the craziest claims I have ever seen. Liberalism, in actual fact, has helped lift the world out of poverty. The age of liberalism is the age of reason, science, constitutional government, the rule of law, capitalism, peace, free trade, etc. The suggestion that liberalism has more blood on its hand than fascism or communism can be easily disproved. That's just so not even true. Capitalism did that. Liberalism seeks to slow, correct or change what capitalism does in the name of fairness. Not fairness of opportunity, which is the only true fairness, but fairness of outcome which has nothing to do with being fair and everything to do with being in control. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2020 19:59:51 GMT
That has to be one of the craziest claims I have ever seen. Liberalism, in actual fact, has helped lift the world out of poverty. The age of liberalism is the age of reason, science, constitutional government, the rule of law, capitalism, peace, free trade, etc. The suggestion that liberalism has more blood on its hand than fascism or communism can be easily disproved. That's just so not even true. Capitalism did that. Liberalism seeks to slow, correct or change what capitalism does in the name of fairness. Not fairness of opportunity, which is the only true fairness, but fairness of outcome which has nothing to do with being fair and everything to do with being in control. Okay so the problem is you can't separate capitalism from liberalism. Capitalism is the liberal form of economic organization. Yes, there have been people who have opposed (to various degrees) capitalism who were mistakenly called liberals, but that tends to be a conversation among extreme partisans who don't really have a good understanding of the words they are using. Its also true that some safety net is essential to a functioning capitalist order. Those who support that are hardly anti-capitalist, even if some of the more extreme among them might characterize it that way. Again, we are talking about people who don't tend to read or know much about these issues. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2020 20:04:33 GMT
That's just so not even true. Capitalism did that. Liberalism seeks to slow, correct or change what capitalism does in the name of fairness. Not fairness of opportunity, which is the only true fairness, but fairness of outcome which has nothing to do with being fair and everything to do with being in control. Okay so the problem is you can't separate capitalism from liberalism. Capitalism is the liberal form of economic organization. Not the modern day liberal. Cute out. Can I say that about white people that use the N word? Maybe. But your assumption that it should be the government rather than society taints your statement. As long as you can deride the other side, I guess facing the shortcomings of your chosen ideology isn't necessary.  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2020 20:08:39 GMT
Okay so the problem is you can't separate capitalism from liberalism. Capitalism is the liberal form of economic organization. Not the modern day liberal. Cute out. Can I say that about white people that use the N word? Maybe. But your assumption that it should be the government rather than society taints your statement. As long as you can deride the other side, I guess facing the shortcomings of your chosen ideology isn't necessary.  Yes, the modern day liberal is pro-capitalism, if not, they aren't liberals. There is much that is illiberal about the modern left, just as there is much that is illiberal about the modern right. But between the two, the right is trending away from liberalism in a manner that is a break with the past. People can debate whether mutual aid and civil society can fully replace tax funded welfare systems. I'll have something to say about that. But I won't tell folks who support the tax funded system that they can't support capitalism. |
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