"We could not obey your commandments, for we did not believe your promises." ~ G.E.M. Anscombe.
(Anscombe originally wrote this as a part of a discussion about the Cold War, and intended it specifically to comment on the (Christian) world leaders who built up their nuclear armaments and drove the world to the brink of war. Anscombe pictures them standing before Christ, attempting to explain the foreign policy decisions that did not respect Jesus' prohibitions against force and vengeance. Anscombe believed that we should never allow ourselves to act as if the 'end justifies the means'. So, for instance, if a madman offered a bargain: "If you kill this one kid, I will let these twenty go," Anscombe would advocate our refusal. God has commanded "Thou shalt not kill," and that, for Anscombe, is the end of the matter. We don't apply our own judgment to the situation; our responsibility is to trust God. Besides, Anscombe points out, we cannot expect a person who makes such a demand to act predictably; nothing assures us that they will live up to their end of the bargain. (Anscombe adds some further philosophical justification, but it is not needed here.))
I have been challenged by this thought, and I think it is applicable to more than just world politics... I thought I would share it with y' all.
4 comments:
I'll post again just for the heck of it. I find this to be true in my own life. I have an inability to obey because I do not believe in the promise of an egg, and rather expect a scorpion.
and although eggs are kind of gross...i think you can probably catch my biblical reference
I'm confused. "Could not obey?" Sounds like a cop-out.
Without faith it is impossible to please God... That's really all it means. If you don't believe, why would you obey? Anscombe is pointing out the failure is not the resul of a lack of intelligence, or of physical strength, or even strength of will. The failure is due to a lack of faith.
~jonas
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