Well, as I have said elsewhere, if life comes down to nothing more than not being dead, then it really doesn't amount to much. And, as a Christian, Jacobs surely believes that there are some things more important than life. I presume he has heard of martyrdom. Perhaps he is secretly in love with despotism.
Saturday, April 04, 2020
Hmm …
… the post-truth thought leaders at work – Snakes and Ladders.
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I would remark first that you have linked to the most heart-rending pieces by Terry Teachout, whose wife fought for survival against long odds. In some cases, then, a desire for not being dead just yet, must be OK. Second, I would reflect on the etymology of martyrdom. To what am I bearing witness if I go out and jostle with pals on the beach?
ReplyDeleteYou miss the point in both cases. Terry and Hilary Teachout were not hoping for life as an absence of death. They were hoping to resume as much of the activity that had made their life together so wonderful. The reference to martyrdom was simply to remind a professed Christian that the notion that there are some things more important than life is illustrated by martyrdom, something honored, if memory serves, in Christian tradition. As for risking your life heedlessly, perhaps in order to falsely demonstrate your holiness, that has always been disapproved of by that same tradition.
ReplyDeleteI have said repeatedly that commonsense precautions ought to be observed. Shutting down society, putting people out of work, etc. is not an example of common sense. But I guess it impresses those who place their faith in the state.
I disagree. Without the absence of death, those activities you mention are hard to take up, no? Of course within Christianity martyrdom is honored--though I think the first mention of "martyria" in St. John's Gospel regards more the witness of John the Baptist than it does his death. As you say, that same tradition clearly distinguishes martyrdom from stupidity.
DeleteTake comfort: little in the administration's response to the pandemic will encourage faith in the state.
Well yes, to belabor the obvious, being alive does mean not being dead. But — and this is the point — if being alive amounted only to not being dead, it wouldn't amount to much. In fact, being fully and joyfully alive amounts to much more, at least for many of us.
ReplyDeleteAs for the state, the clerics seem to place more faith in it than they do in their, well, "faith."