tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post8985539771032474311..comments2024-03-17T11:05:22.464+00:00Comments on The Life And Opinions of Andrew Rilstone: FourUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-59276297102432441272011-10-05T12:46:54.996+01:002011-10-05T12:46:54.996+01:00SK:
Theres a reason theres something called Godwin...SK:<br />Theres a reason theres something called Godwins Law. Hitler imitated many of the mythically nefarious tactics of the Elders of Zion (their Protocols, after all, plagiarized a critical account of how Napoleon the III tried to make himself dictator)<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocols_of_the_elders_of_zion<br />Assuming people think just like nazies makes one think like a nazi.<br /><br />@Richard Worth:<br />" I gather that there is also a cross-over between the translation of 'witch' and 'poisoner' which meant that medieval wise women might get off with an ASBO while secular poisoners would get burned at the stake."<br /><br />With (considerable) respect for Reginald Scott<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft#Hebrew_Bible<br />that is not correct.<br /><br />JWH:<br />Kramer & Sprenger were incoherent nutters; Nicholas Remy was an erudite professional, who, while strict, also considered the people he tortured & executed clients, with whom one could commiserate. It is very much a matter of attitude.I. Dallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427385974208305067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-2882514913568394442011-10-01T17:26:12.518+01:002011-10-01T17:26:12.518+01:00"Your choice to pretend that you exist in a w..."Your choice to pretend that you exist in a world of utterly and irredeemably evil people is part of your morality."<br /><br />Andrew, do you think C16-C17 Witchhunters experienced this as a choice (I'm presuming you think that they did in fact honestly believe that the witches they killed were genuine)?<br /><br />RegardsJWHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01637785437909299947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-72970723981163880022011-10-01T16:09:12.084+01:002011-10-01T16:09:12.084+01:00On the one hand, Professor Barnes Wallis who devel...On the one hand, Professor Barnes Wallis who developed the bouncing bomb for the Dambusters raid, as well as the massive Tallboy and Grand Slam bomb, was a Quaker who believed that massive, accurate bombs could destroy the German war machine without carpet-bombing German cities. On the other hand, when the Nazis tried to safeguard supplies for an atom bomb by shipping them across Norway on a civilian ferry, the King of Norway ordered the Norwegian resistance to sink the ferry even if it meant killing his own people. I am reminded of Pete Tyler in 'Dr Who' saying to his daughter 'I'm your dad: it's my job for things to be my fault'Richard Worthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09025201422909987658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-53541666542389372062011-10-01T16:01:14.802+01:002011-10-01T16:01:14.802+01:00The commandment on the wall of my local church say...The commandment on the wall of my local church says 'thou shall do no murder', a term which in English criminal law is defined as killing someone 'lawfully within the Queen's Peace'. This would exempt soldiers killing the enemy, the public hangman killing a felon, or or a police officer shooting an armed robber. This is kind of on the same level as the Government demanding taxes without violating 'thou shalt not steal'. However, this does not make aggressive war, capital punishment, trigger-happy cops or punitive taxes a Good Thing. I gather that there is also a cross-over between the translation of 'witch' and 'poisoner' which meant that medieval wise women might get off with an ASBO while secular poisoners would get burned at the stake.Richard Worthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09025201422909987658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-55561901430027389782011-10-01T12:15:17.915+01:002011-10-01T12:15:17.915+01:00With regard to those on the Death Star, possibly t...With regard to those on the Death Star, possibly the clearest real-world analogue is the civilians killed by the allies in the bombing raids used to soften up the Normandy defences prior to the landings? The allies knew they would be killing innocent civilians and, more than that, killing the very people they were doing it to liberate. Yet they still went ahead with the bombing.SKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09102522819364312684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-73400536256628468802011-10-01T11:53:26.287+01:002011-10-01T11:53:26.287+01:00And that's why I find it so hard to separate t...<i>And that's why I find it so hard to separate the question "Do witches really exist" from the question "If witches really existed would it be OK to kill witches." If there were people who were utterly and irredeemably evil -- call them "witches" or "paedos" or "godless commies" according to taste -- maybe it would be OK to kill them. But it's a meaningless question: there aren't and there can't be.</i><br /><br />But Lewis doesn't suggest that witches are 'utterly and irredeemably evil': surely he too would have denied that such a thing was possible, as no one can be 'irredeemably' evil. <br /><br />What he said about witches was: 'If we did-if we really thought that there were people going about who had sold themselves to the devil and received supernatural powers from him in return and were using these powers to kill their neighbours or drive them mad or bring bad weather, surely we would all agree that if anyone deserved the death penalty, then these filthy quislings did'<br /><br />Now, remember that he was saying this while Vidkun Quisling was still alive. He's not saying that witches are utterly and irredeemably evil -- he's saying that witches are <i>traitors</i>. And that therefore we would treat them as we treat other traitors. And he was saying this in a context where traitors were not just real but very specifically known to be real. <br /><br />Now, you can argue that the death penalty is too harsh for traitors. That they should be locked up for the duration of the war (at least) instead. Or possibly that they should be flogged publically. <br /><br />But, at least according to Lewis, the statement 'If witches really existed would it be OK to kill witches?' is not asking 'would it be okay to kill hypothetical utterly and irredeemably evil people?', but rather it is equivalent to the statement 'is it OK to kill traitors who, while they may very well have some virtues and are probably very kind to their cats, and are certainly redeemable because <i>everyone</i> is redeemable by Christ's sacrifice, have nevertheless made alliance with a power far worse than the Nazis we are currently fighting?'.SKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09102522819364312684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-53901927028101253672011-10-01T04:23:33.943+01:002011-10-01T04:23:33.943+01:00I think it is probably a mistake to assume that th...I think it is probably a mistake to assume that the default human moral position is 'killing is wrong.'<br /><br />I suspect the default position is that 'killing is right, except in certain tidily proscribed circumstances.'<br /><br />The tidiest of these is, probably, when I, or someone I care about, is the person likely to be killed.<br /><br />I have a horrible feeling that the reason <i>Star Wars</i> isn't regarded as the story of a genocidal terrorist is that we just don't have that great an issue with genocidal terrorists--unless they're boarding our bus.<br /><br />One of the wonderful things about the modern world is that 'our bus' is now a very big bus. <br /><br />Nice series so far, btw.Salisburyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14693744385215450425noreply@blogger.com