Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Relativism and The Death Penalty

It recently occurred to me that the Relativist view of "intolerance" is similar to the Judeo-Christian view of the death penalty.

The Christian view is this: murder is so evil, the only just punishment is to take the life of the murderer.

The Relativist view is this: intolerance is so evil, the only just punishment is to be intolerant of the intolerant.

The difference: murder must be judged and sentenced by the courts whereas intolerance is judged and sentenced by the individual. Even if the intolerance is brought to court the mere accusation of intolerance is an act of judgment and a sentence.

3 comments:

David Alan Hjelle said...

Do you suppose there is a way to use some of this insight to explain Christ (and Christianity) to our relativist culture?

It sure helps me understand some relativist thoughts a lot better—and not to simply dismiss them as “illogical.”

John Mahan said...

At this point I don't know. You should explore this idea in one of your stories.

David Alan Hjelle said...

That's a good idea—now all I have to do is start working on them. ;-)