Thursday, June 12, 2008
Getting There
David Wayne, Jollyblogger, has been wondering about utilitarianism lately. That is to say, as he says it:
Discontent
Voters may be fueled by discontent, but politicians rarely are. Most politicians I know are fueled by ego or a desire to wield power, but the good ones, and they are far more numerous than you might believe, truly think that government service is a way to make a significant and useful contribution to society. They are trying to do good.
Bad political operatives may fuel discontent as a means of winning elections, but even that is rare in most elections.
But the real question is who is responsible for creating content? In our system the government is designed to respond to the populace, thus is the populace is discontent, politics will reflect that. The church on the other hand will and should be making efforts to change that discontent. the politicians will follow in the wake.
Character Attacks
Is it character assassination to simply make sure the public knows the whole truth about an opponent? It is unpleasant and it is mean, but if it is truthful where is the sin? Combat, political or otherwise, is not prohibited in as I understand it, how we conduct combat is, but competition seems to be a given. It is not inherently Christian to avoid combat or conflict. That means there are winners and losers and people will be hurt if they are losers, but that is unavoidable.
The Bottom Line
Politics are utilitarian, but they are not necessarily "UnChristian" - that is up to the individual doing the politics. Christians, as individuals, can be called politics, and should serve well and honorably if that is true. The church probabaly has bigger fish to fry.
What would politics be like if the church and its values took true hold in the nation? I bet they would be pretty darn good.
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As a refresher, utilitarianism is an "ends-justifies the means" philosophy, and it is one that Christians often engage in during political disputes.David looks at this in two parts first introducing the concept via David Gushee and then asking about the political implications in a second post. Some of David's questions:
Or, if Charlie is correct that politics is fueled by discontent, what does this say about those of us who are to emulate Paul who had learned to be content in any and every situation (Phil 4:12)? Are Christians allowed to be discontent?How shall I put this - there is a lot of bad politics out there and much of it is being practiced by Christians. Let us take each issue in turn.
Or, referencing my last post, one of the applications of David Gushee's concerns about utilitarianism is over ruthlessness in politics, or what appears to me to be "political victory via character assassination":It elevates into positions of leadership and influence persons who gain power because they are effective practitioners of the dark arts of mortal combat rather than having more appropriate qualifications for their roles.Can Christians engage in the ruthlessness and character assassination that seems to be part and parcel of political campaigns these days?
Discontent
Voters may be fueled by discontent, but politicians rarely are. Most politicians I know are fueled by ego or a desire to wield power, but the good ones, and they are far more numerous than you might believe, truly think that government service is a way to make a significant and useful contribution to society. They are trying to do good.
Bad political operatives may fuel discontent as a means of winning elections, but even that is rare in most elections.
But the real question is who is responsible for creating content? In our system the government is designed to respond to the populace, thus is the populace is discontent, politics will reflect that. The church on the other hand will and should be making efforts to change that discontent. the politicians will follow in the wake.
Character Attacks
Is it character assassination to simply make sure the public knows the whole truth about an opponent? It is unpleasant and it is mean, but if it is truthful where is the sin? Combat, political or otherwise, is not prohibited in as I understand it, how we conduct combat is, but competition seems to be a given. It is not inherently Christian to avoid combat or conflict. That means there are winners and losers and people will be hurt if they are losers, but that is unavoidable.
The Bottom Line
Politics are utilitarian, but they are not necessarily "UnChristian" - that is up to the individual doing the politics. Christians, as individuals, can be called politics, and should serve well and honorably if that is true. The church probabaly has bigger fish to fry.
What would politics be like if the church and its values took true hold in the nation? I bet they would be pretty darn good.
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