The argument against oppression is an argument for freedom, BUT there is no freedom without responsibility.
And, if God exists, then the decision as to what is one's responsibility or not is not purely a matter for self-choice. It is, in its initial and root form, God defined.
The real challenge of history is to find those definitions that are God's, and we do that by ever increasingly resonating conceptualizations.
This is what I think BB is or was getting to. What God defines as responsible human living is expressed, whether imperfectly or perfectly, to the highest available degree in the Christian teaching, as an expression of the thought of Christ. (I am of the belief that the expression is not perfect in one sense, but it is better than anything else. Thus, the expression is merely a stepping stone to the source).
Codify does not necessarily mean codify in a legal sense. It can (and in BB's case, I believe does- correct me if I'm wrong BB) mean simply to enunciate in concentrated form that allows the information to be brought together into an integrated system of codes, or principles, as guiding designations as opposed to legal imperatives.
Hmmm. Not familiar with Washington's address. But I plead innocence; not a US citizen or resident.
But going off topic for a bit, something you wrote caught my attention:
To a degree the freedom loving man is always in a disadvantageous position in relation to the oppressor wannebe.
This is wholly my own religious belief, but the way I see it, human history is the history of the conflict between good and evil. This is why scripture starts with the creation of the universe (sets the stage) but then describes the start of history as the fall of man. From a scriptural viewpoint, this was the start of history, and the history described by scripture and also encompassing the 2000 years since the time of the New Testament is one of the process of Good working to overcome Evil.
Because of the starting point, evil has for all of history had the upper hand. However, good has worked to carve out its beachhead, expand its territory, more and more and more. The territory is the heart of humanity.
IN this view, today we are at the consummation of human history. This represents a cross-over point, where evil is losing its upperhand long held, and good is rising into the upper hand position.
Thus, while evil ruled, then indeed, the freedom loving man has always been in a disadvantageous position. And that's because evil has also functioned as a handbrake on the true power of the universe - unselfish love. But in this changing era, and as the transition becomes more and more apparent, then I believe (with reason, but still believe) that the freedom loving man will come to always be in a position of advantage over the oppressor wannabe. Because the positions will have changed, and the power of the universal law will be unleashed to uphold good.
Hope that makes some sense.
Sorry for the divergence. Long story short, that's how I see things are today, and in that sense, the Great Awakening is also the manifestation of that transition. Formerly, evil has ALWAYS had the advantage, the upper hand. Anything God did, was an encroachment on Evil's territory. Such as the founding of the USA.
But when the positions are switched, good will become an unstoppable force, and anything evil does will be a rear-guard attack, always losing ground, always attempting to hold onto the formerly held 'upper hand', but steadily losing.
Don't we see that reality in the world around us today? I surely do. I surely do.
The argument against oppression is an argument for freedom, BUT there is no freedom without responsibility.
And, if God exists, then the decision as to what is one's responsibility or not is not purely a matter for self-choice. It is, in its initial and root form, God defined.
The real challenge of history is to find those definitions that are God's, and we do that by ever increasingly resonating conceptualizations.
This is what I think BB is or was getting to. What God defines as responsible human living is expressed, whether imperfectly or perfectly, to the highest available degree in the Christian teaching, as an expression of the thought of Christ. (I am of the belief that the expression is not perfect in one sense, but it is better than anything else. Thus, the expression is merely a stepping stone to the source).
Codify does not necessarily mean codify in a legal sense. It can (and in BB's case, I believe does- correct me if I'm wrong BB) mean simply to enunciate in concentrated form that allows the information to be brought together into an integrated system of codes, or principles, as guiding designations as opposed to legal imperatives.
As I appreciate code, it is a language descriptive of something, a set of symbols with a message.
I belief we already have these.
i still keep coming back to Washington' s 1793 address. We have the code. Now we need to be knowledgeable of it, and the fortitude to apply it.
Hmmm. Not familiar with Washington's address. But I plead innocence; not a US citizen or resident.
But going off topic for a bit, something you wrote caught my attention:
This is wholly my own religious belief, but the way I see it, human history is the history of the conflict between good and evil. This is why scripture starts with the creation of the universe (sets the stage) but then describes the start of history as the fall of man. From a scriptural viewpoint, this was the start of history, and the history described by scripture and also encompassing the 2000 years since the time of the New Testament is one of the process of Good working to overcome Evil.
Because of the starting point, evil has for all of history had the upper hand. However, good has worked to carve out its beachhead, expand its territory, more and more and more. The territory is the heart of humanity.
IN this view, today we are at the consummation of human history. This represents a cross-over point, where evil is losing its upperhand long held, and good is rising into the upper hand position.
Thus, while evil ruled, then indeed, the freedom loving man has always been in a disadvantageous position. And that's because evil has also functioned as a handbrake on the true power of the universe - unselfish love. But in this changing era, and as the transition becomes more and more apparent, then I believe (with reason, but still believe) that the freedom loving man will come to always be in a position of advantage over the oppressor wannabe. Because the positions will have changed, and the power of the universal law will be unleashed to uphold good.
Hope that makes some sense.
Sorry for the divergence. Long story short, that's how I see things are today, and in that sense, the Great Awakening is also the manifestation of that transition. Formerly, evil has ALWAYS had the advantage, the upper hand. Anything God did, was an encroachment on Evil's territory. Such as the founding of the USA.
But when the positions are switched, good will become an unstoppable force, and anything evil does will be a rear-guard attack, always losing ground, always attempting to hold onto the formerly held 'upper hand', but steadily losing.
Don't we see that reality in the world around us today? I surely do. I surely do.
Thank you for your views. It was a good read!