Seasons

one area in paticular that bothers me is the recent court decsions in america and in england that allowed someone who was in a supposed vegative condition to die. Assisted sucide is another area that needs to be watched as once you allow that it is not a very far jump to deciding that certain persons should be killed because we don't think that their quality of life is good enough.

d the novice yes meta whatever.

well said, ladydyke (not just because you support my ideals)

Oh yeah, Bev and Eugene Say what you want.. I was just trying to avoid slipping back into that whole "does god exist" discussion, as inevitably almost every topic will lead there if discussed for long enough, and the "does god exist topic is so deadend and controversial, that discussing it will get us absolutely nowhere.

metaphorical not meta whatever although ehhhhh lets change the subject

lol...The only comment I was going to make was that having God as a source of moral absolutes doesn't necessarily mean that you only do what is right out of fear. Think of it this way -- does everyone only obey traffic laws because you are afraid of getting a ticket?

You might try a different comparison there, Eugene. I drive in the way that makes the most sense. Usually that involves following the law, but not always.

If you drive the speed limit on the Atlanta highways, for instance, you'll actually be creating a hazard since everyone else is doing at least 80-85.

Yeah, and that's the problem with absolutes. There will always be cases where doing 'the right/safe/appropriate thing' may involve breaking someone else's rules.

that is why the priciple of treating others as you would want to be treated makes more sence then following a set standard of do's and don'ts

*hurting

Colonel, maybe we should say that we should treat others as they want to be treated (while giving respect to ourselves as well), but I think the golden rule still applies if yuo take the spirit of it instead of being too literal.

Some may have some "rape fantasy", but not really want someone to attck, violate and destroy them? Remember with fanatsy, we control. It may be a darker "want" but we have ideas about who, when and wear--and how far it goes. The same goes for a "death wish"--people romanticize death, but they don't really want someone else to kill them without having some say as to when, where and how.

No one truly wants to be violated, and in that spirit, the golden rule still works.

An alternative version of the Golden Rule is the Wiccan Rede: "An' it harm none, do as ye will."
Of course, there are some situations where no matter what you do, someone's going to get hurt... Then it's probably a matter of trying to minimize the damage.