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MysticMissMisty
Guest
Good point, but very unsatisfactorily left hanging.
So, if a plant has a mind and possibly even feelings, is it sinful to pick it from the ground simply for your pleasure/for its beauty?
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So, if a plant has a mind and possibly even feelings, is it sinful to pick it from the ground simply for your pleasure/for its beauty?
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Wesrock
Guest
A soul and a mind are not the same. I did not mean to imply a plant had a mind. They do not.
If it did have a mind, I believe it would be immoral.
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anon67074017
Guest
I do not think it is a sin. God gave us the earth.
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PolarGuy
Guest
This post is an example of “moral theology done to death.”
Misty, do you really believe picking flowers is a sin?
Because before you recycle yet another thread that should never have been posted to begin with, why don’t you offer a serious, well-reasoned post explaining why you think - in your heart of hearts - that picking flowers is a sin. Otherwise, this is just “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, and let’s debate nonsense and call it moral theology to tell ourselves we’re doing something of value.”
Misty, do you really believe picking flowers is a sin?
Because before you recycle yet another thread that should never have been posted to begin with, why don’t you offer a serious, well-reasoned post explaining why you think - in your heart of hearts - that picking flowers is a sin. Otherwise, this is just “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, and let’s debate nonsense and call it moral theology to tell ourselves we’re doing something of value.”
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Tarpeian_Rock
Guest
Very true, though I’m not sure the OP’s continuing series of rather odd posts even rise to the level of Moral Theology. I hope she doesn’t read anything about the Jain religion, else we’re going to have to deal with why Catholics don’t wear surgical masks lest they breathe in any small insects.
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SaveTheLost
Guest
Like the OP, I am also researching Catholicism and you bashed my post too.
I asked my Catholic friend and she tells me that Just Distribution of Goods - Ecology IS a valid branch of Moral Theology. We are stewards of the world under God’s authority.
She reminded me that Adam and Eve were picking fruit, you should not trivialize what God sees as an important subject.
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pianistclare
Guest
No, he wasn’t speaking to you or your post.
This is the result of these kinds of threads. We tend to pick apart Scripture, but we have to get at the true meaning, and not speculate or read into the writer more than is there.
St. Paul has much to say to the Early Church, and timeless things to say to us as well. Good to be aware of those distinctions.
Posting history is sometimes helpful to scan.
At any rate,
Welcome to the forums, may you be blessed.
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Mintaka
Guest
Picking flowers is not a sin. And it’s even mentioned as one of the Bridegroom’s activities in the Song of Songs:
Obviously it is not wrong to admire the beauty of flowers, and apparently lilies are a particular favorite of God, seeing as Our Lord (who is the Bridegroom) pointed their beauty out in both the Gospels of Luke and Matthew:
“Consider the ravens. For they do not sow or reap. There is no storehouse or barn for them, and God feeds them. How much more precious you are than the birds!”
(Luke 12:24)
Of course, ravens eat other stuff besides carrion; they’re omnivorous birds and very clever. But since Jesus is also the one who pointed out that "Wherever the body is, there the vultures will gather together," (Lk. 17:37, Mt. 24:27) I thought it was pretty funny for Him to talk about providing food for ravens. And indeed, the Psalms also talk specifically about God making sure that “bad” prey animals like baby lions get food, as well as the species that Israel’s farmers and herders would have liked. The OT Bible writers may not have known explicitly about ecology, but they did know that all of Creation was created and loved by God. And of course Jesus, being God, shows the same care and interest in ravens as in sparrows and lilies.)
The Bridegroom is God, of course.
Obviously it is not wrong to admire the beauty of flowers, and apparently lilies are a particular favorite of God, seeing as Our Lord (who is the Bridegroom) pointed their beauty out in both the Gospels of Luke and Matthew:
(The Luke passage is interesting, because it shows again that Jesus is concerned about carrion birds as well as the more gentle sorts of birds. Luke 12:24 is not about the generic “birds of the air,” or the more specific “sparrows,” but instead mentions “ravens.” korakas]
“Consider the ravens. For they do not sow or reap. There is no storehouse or barn for them, and God feeds them. How much more precious you are than the birds!”
(Luke 12:24)
Of course, ravens eat other stuff besides carrion; they’re omnivorous birds and very clever. But since Jesus is also the one who pointed out that "Wherever the body is, there the vultures will gather together," (Lk. 17:37, Mt. 24:27) I thought it was pretty funny for Him to talk about providing food for ravens. And indeed, the Psalms also talk specifically about God making sure that “bad” prey animals like baby lions get food, as well as the species that Israel’s farmers and herders would have liked. The OT Bible writers may not have known explicitly about ecology, but they did know that all of Creation was created and loved by God. And of course Jesus, being God, shows the same care and interest in ravens as in sparrows and lilies.)
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Mintaka
Guest
Btw… one of the things we know about the early Christians is that they did have the habit of wearing flower necklaces during celebrations or parties, but not flower crowns as was common with pagan Romans and Greeks. There was a feeling that they should wait to wear crowns until God crowned them in Heaven.
(Tertullian talks at length about this in “De Corona,” but I’ve also seen it mentioned elsewhere - maybe in St. Justin Martyr - where it was compared humorously to the pagan habit of wearing not just flowers but also big gloppy melty perfumed oil cones on the head. Tertullian adds his own joke about how the top of your head can’t smell anything.)
And since we do usually see paintings of saints in Heaven wearing flower or laurel crowns, as well as metal and jeweled crowns, you can see what kind of crown they were waiting for!
Anyway, Tertullian says something very sensible about all Christian customs:
“If, for these and other such rules, you insist upon having positive Scriptural injunction, you will find none. Tradition will be held forth to you as the originator of them, custom as their strengthener, and faith as their observer. That reason will support tradition, and custom, and faith, you will either yourself perceive, or learn from some one who has. Meanwhile you will believe that there is some reason to which submission is due.”
(Tertullian talks at length about this in “De Corona,” but I’ve also seen it mentioned elsewhere - maybe in St. Justin Martyr - where it was compared humorously to the pagan habit of wearing not just flowers but also big gloppy melty perfumed oil cones on the head. Tertullian adds his own joke about how the top of your head can’t smell anything.)
And since we do usually see paintings of saints in Heaven wearing flower or laurel crowns, as well as metal and jeweled crowns, you can see what kind of crown they were waiting for!
Anyway, Tertullian says something very sensible about all Christian customs:
“If, for these and other such rules, you insist upon having positive Scriptural injunction, you will find none. Tradition will be held forth to you as the originator of them, custom as their strengthener, and faith as their observer. That reason will support tradition, and custom, and faith, you will either yourself perceive, or learn from some one who has. Meanwhile you will believe that there is some reason to which submission is due.”
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mommy_k
Guest
Op-do you use soap or shampoo? Do you clean the house? If you do, you are using plant based fragrances from cut flowers and also killing virus and bacteria, which are living things…
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