tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499217243284937366.post6069967284782426969..comments2024-03-25T08:56:25.810-04:00Comments on TKIN: Philosopher Encounters Modern Life: Morality and Christianity: The Prodigal SonPatricia Marinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16087880431696831634noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499217243284937366.post-77099233915960621132009-07-27T11:00:46.299-04:002009-07-27T11:00:46.299-04:00Hi Daniel,
Funny. And funny you feel you absorbed ...Hi Daniel,<br />Funny. And funny you feel you absorbed so little of the actual lessons. <br /><br />PS By the way I'm an endorser of consistency myself, so when I said the story "challenges" its centrality, I meant it presents a challenge for me, too, for my own views.Patricia Marinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16087880431696831634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499217243284937366.post-20627847512287686482009-07-27T10:47:13.886-04:002009-07-27T10:47:13.886-04:00I see. And get it.
A total tangent, but I someho...I see. And get it.<br /><br />A total tangent, but I somehow managed to portray the prodigal son, and, like everything else that happened in Sunday school, to not learn anything about it!!Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13099461086991460463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499217243284937366.post-46743549248816490722009-07-27T10:29:25.252-04:002009-07-27T10:29:25.252-04:00Hi Daniel, Wow, fun, did you get to eat the fatted...Hi Daniel, Wow, fun, did you get to eat the fatted calf? <br /><br />I don't know what scope of the actual story is supposed to be (as a former portrayer of the prodigal son you probably know more about it than I do!).<br /><br />But I guess what I had in mind in talking about the secular version was something like "everday morality," which I think is like your "family" idea only I think it goes beyond families per se. I'm thinking of things like, "Should I lie to one friend to protect another?" "Should I break my promise to this friend if it means I can help out this other one?" "Is it OK to read my kid's diary if I'm trying to save them from harm? Under what circumstances?" <br /><br />We tend to expect of one another a certain amount of consistency in such matters - like, if you lie for your friend you'll expect them to lie for you in similar circumstances. Or that if you are a loyal friend rather than a prodigal one, you'll be rewarded. I thought the prodigal son story at least challenged the centrality of consistency and fairness in such contexts.<br /><br />So yeah: family but also community in the slightly broader sense I'm talking about here. I totally agree with you that when it comes to law or government we need equality.Patricia Marinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16087880431696831634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499217243284937366.post-54913726776641838972009-07-26T17:04:24.844-04:002009-07-26T17:04:24.844-04:00Hi Patricia,
Once I played the prodigal son in a ...Hi Patricia,<br /><br />Once I played the prodigal son in a Sunday school play!! <br /><br />A question I have about interpretations of it is this: when people think about it - and concepts of justice, love, morality, fairness, &c - are they thinking about families? Or, and excuse my ignorance (I'm not really familiar with these sorts of stories), is it meant to be widely applicable, to communities, &c. The reason I ask is because it seems to be sort of an important distinction. A family member, or a personal loved one, might be celebrated upon his return to the dismay of his sister or brother. But, it would be sort of hard in a way to imagine it working well as the basis, say, of a law or government. It seems like there's probably more room for unequal treatment in the former, and less in the latter. <br /><br />And, once again, I may just be missing the point of the Prodigal Son thing altogether.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13099461086991460463noreply@blogger.com