of course not. this is not a new criteria. certain actions are dependent on intent, such as lying or killing in self defense. while other actions are not dependent on intent since they are always wrong regardless of intent, such as cheating on a test or driving drunk. I was merely making that distinction so that someone, anyone, could answer my question!
Few will enter by the narrow door.
Why would you say that something such as cheating on a test would have no intent? The intent is obviously to gain an advantage by unfair means. If you then get a higher score than someone else, that person has been harmed.
You seem to be unable to grasp that the irradiation of ignorance, i.e unwanted behavior or sin through learning & education can help one along their journey with Jesus. No dichotomy exist between Jesus taking our sins upon Himself and us accepting the consequences and remedy to rid ourselves of the sin.
I never said cheating has no intent. I simply said cheating is always wrong regardless of intent. Meanwhile some actions require ill intent for it to be wrong. But let’s look at cheating. yes, a cheater gains an unfair advantage, but if that advantage isn’t gained at anyone else’s expense, then who is harmed? by your definition, cheating is ok because no harm is done to anyone. iI say it’s wrong regardless of harm. Look, you’re not following, and that’s ok. I have made my points. You can agree or disagree. I have election results to keep watching!
Therefore implying that it can be wrong even with no harmful intent. But the example is useless because you cannot cheat with no harmful intent. You cannot cheat without gaining an unfair advantage (by the very definition of the word), so harm ensues. Just as you cannot steal with taking something without the owner’s permission, thus depriving her of her possession, so harm ensues.
Good. I agree. So if there is no ill intent in making love to your wife the day before you get married (and no harm ensues), how in the blue blazes can it be wrong?
What the…? If you gain an unfair advantage, could you take some time out from your election viewing and explain over whom the advantage is gained? When you have worked that out, please explain why no harm has been done to that party.
Bradski, I specifically stated if the advantage is gained at no one else’s expense, then no harm is done. If I cheat on a test in school and get a passing grade instead of failing, then I gained an unfair advantage by getting a score I didn’t deserve. But who did I harm? no one else received a lower score because of my cheating. If i am in a class where the teacher grades on a curve, or if I am in a school that ranks students, then yes I am harming others by cheating. But many teachers do not grade on a curve, and many schools do not rank students, so in those cases the cheater is harming absolutely no one. In this example, I would still claim the person was wrong, but by your definition you would claim he was not wrong. I’m sorry, but I can never agree with that line of reasoning.
If you cheat on an exam, you are misrepresenting your ability to perform a given task to either yourself or to someone else. The very definition of the word ‘cheating’ means that you do it with that knowledge. The person viewing the exam results will have a false impression of your abilities. In cheating, you will be attempting to convince either that person or yourself (or both) that you can do something that you cannot.
Integrity is not a human invention but a reality we ignore at our peril in every aspect of life.Lack of integrity is harmful to ourselves and others regardless of whether we believe in the soul. In the long run it doesn’t pay to ignore or conceal the facts. The Greeks were well aware that our vices incur their own punishment. Nemesis is not an illusion…
funny, this abstract definition of harm, which incidentally I agree with, is very much the same argument that can be made - and has been made - for pre-marital sex.
What does integrity (as in the state of being honest) have to do with some one’s autosexual preferences?
I didn’t give an abstract definition of cheating. I gave a very specific definition. If you cheat, you misrepresent your abilities. You are either incapable of producing the work so use underhand methods of attaining a good score or you are capable and are too lazy to put the work in. You would specifically work to keep your cheating hidden from others because if found out you would experience guilt. If someone asked you how you did on the test, you would lie in telling them that you did well.
It boils down to what one is willing to settle for.
Who on earth says that a couple who do not formally get married, or even do so but without a Christian ceremony do not wish to share their joy with others? Is their love for each other deemed less valid? Would their children be less loved? Is a lifetime partnership to be belittled and demeaned because of religious beliefs? Well, yes, because it causes harm, don’t you know.
Polonius had the answer:
It depends whether they were deceiving others by pretending they were married. Why bother to tell lies when it isn’t necessary? You’re just making life more difficult for yourself…
Those who deceive are deceiving themselves. They think others are fools but they are the fools because they have to remember their lies and sooner or later they are likely to contradict themselves… Even if they don’t they can never relax completely. They always have to be on their guard in case they let the cat out of the bag!No, no lies. They had no problem in anyone knowing. No deception involved.
So you evaluate autosexual behaviour as some one being untrue to themselves?