Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.
Thomas Paine
All extremist doctrines invoke the principle (found, sadly, in the Gospels) that "he who is not with me is against me."
Tzvetan Todorov
Justice is the only worship. Love is the only priest. Ignorance is the only slavery. Happiness is the only good.
Robert G. Ingersoll
[ a fully caused & embodied blog ] [ Good Sense Without God ]
It is in the prosecution of some single object, and in striving to reach its accomplishment by the combined application of his moral and physical energies, that the true happiness of man, in his full vigour and development, consists. Possession, it is true, crowns exertion with repose; but it is only in the illusions of fancy that it has power to charm our eyes. If we consider the position of man in the universe,—if we remember the constant tendency of his energies towards some definite activity, and recognize the influence of surrounding nature, which is ever provoking him to exertion, we shall be ready to acknowledge that repose and possession do not indeed exist but in imagination. - Wilhelm von Humboldt, The Sphere and Duties of Government (The Limits of State Action) (1854 ed.)
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2 comments:
Unfortunately, I think the question is posed in such a way that the catholic church wins. Is it a force for good? Even if all it has done is help one old lady across the street, it has done some good, therefore it is a (small) force for good.
Perhaps the question would be better posed, "Are we better off with or without the Catholic Church?" or something like that where the positive and negative are somehow weighed together...
Hey man! Good to hear from you! I think that basically the question is being interpreted as you rephrased it.
As it was, the Catholic Church got creamed. In this case, it did not really start well for the church as the votes for and against prior to the debate were 678 and 1102 respectively, and 346 undecided. After it got considerably worse: 268, 1876, 34, for, against, and undecided.
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