Saturday, August 6, 2022

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Some, maybe most Greeks believed that if the individual knew the difference between right and wrong moral actions, then, most of the time, he would choose the good option.

There seem to be two presuppositions built into this view. First, people are basically good, so they are naturally motivated to do the right thing, most of the time.

Second, if they knew consciously and presently right from wrong, their wise knowledge would lead most people, most of the time to elect to do the right thing.

The solution to conquering evil, then, under this view, is that reducing moral ignorance will induce people to do the right thing.

I argue that the Greeks, so morally constituted, got it wrong more than they got it right. The Hebrews and Jews offered a rival moral theory that comes closer to describing moral reality for humans and then what to do about it.

By contrast, the general Hebrew or Jewish view is that humans are basically wicked, and that they are born with free will, and thereby are responsible directly and personally for their moral decisions. Knowing right from wrong may not lead the agent to choose to be good.

Though moral training is critical to teaching the young right from wrong, if they are raised to be moral and self-controlling ethical agents, they will, most of them, do the right thing most of the time. Their compliance with the social expectation that they will behave and choose to act well is less a matter of their knowledge of good and evil conduct, than it is due to each member of that society--or any society--being brought up and nurtured to sport a good will in their public and private affairs.

They may not do the wrong thing most of the time, though being born depraved, but they will sin a lot because they are naturally wicked through and through, and though the trained will is willing, the flesh is weak. They often choose to do wrong, even though they know it is the wrong thing to do, and is harmful to God, to others and themselves.

Still, over time, if the children of light seek to control themselves, and keep bringing up and expecting their young to do good and do well, over time, there is tangible moral progress that is achievable. Of course, that gain is easily reversed or thwarted should each new generation not be training to know right from wrong and to be raised to sport a good will in their public and private doing. Naturally depraved youth run in packs and grow their bad wills naturally, so great, pervasive social wickedness will abound.

We choose too often to do evil over good though we know right from wrong. We do so because we are weak, because we enjoy sinning and rebelling against God, because we are group-oriented and the pack is where Satan and Lera are at their strongest in this world.

We have learned bad habits and have formed bad wills, and such habits become our destinies once we have lost our way. We are selfless collectivists that seek the cover of tyrants to justify our wrongdoing as we live within societal hierarchies. These are some of the reasons why we sin and so elect to live, though we know better.

If, on the other hand, we choose to live as children of light serving the Mother and Father, then we will become more rational, better educated, much more independent thinking, knowledgeable and wise, so we will habituate our wills to be good and do good until our second natures, our good-willing natures are second nature to us and for us, our habitual love of all things good.

As we maverize and learn to love God, the Good Spirits, the self, and others, then love and God's kingdom will grow and spread on earth.

As such morally accomplished, independent-thinking, higher level moral agents, we will deploy powerful, fully functioning free wills with accompanying deep knowledge and wisdom about what is right or wrong, and we accept our responsible behavioral choices to do good most of the time. This is free will at its finest.

This full-blown Mavellonialist culture would be a real game-changer as the children of light come to rule earth (once again in a new Golden Age?) as the culture of goodness is instantiated.

 

 

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