I don't think children are capable of the kind of horrific evil adults are capable of, but I would equally say they are incapable of the highest forms of righteousness and love. They just don't have the mental capacity to make decisions or analyze their feelings as well.
I tend to think of babies as somewhat less than full adult people in moral scenarios. They have no aspirations, no profound thoughts, and little experience by which to judge things, so I would much rather have a baby die than an older child or young adult (at least in terms of the people themselves --I would also have to factor in the feelings of the parents of the dead babies).
So no, you're not evil. Children are innocent, but that's because they're ignorant. Adults can be much more.
I don't know if I agree with that last part. While I will say babies are ignorant, and thus it can be argued innocent, the older children don't fall into that category.
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Jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"
That is BEFORE, not WHEN.
Life starts before conception. Supporting a woman's right to choose to not fertilize an egg, giving her the ability to choose to let a life die, is pro-choice, not pro-life.
I think you have to be slightly more messed up to kill a child than an adult, because most people, rightly or wrongly, want to protect children from harm. That's all I can say about the matter, though, not believing in either free will or morality. :p I don't believe in evil, so I don't think children can commit it.
I think children are less aware of the consequences of their actions, but they're certainly still capable of reasoning things out. I am also increasingly annoyed by the insistence that they have no sexual feelings before they turn 16 (or whatever the age of consent is where you happen to live).
That last part made me laugh, since people do think that the hormone clock follows what ever the law of the land is...
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Jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"
That is BEFORE, not WHEN.
Life starts before conception. Supporting a woman's right to choose to not fertilize an egg, giving her the ability to choose to let a life die, is pro-choice, not pro-life.
I can think of two reasons crimes against children are considered more heinous than crimes against adults. Firstly, children are less able to defend themselves. And also there is less reason that someone should be provoked to commit a crime against a child than against an adult. Most people would agree that it shows a higher level of cruelty and depravity to victimize a child. (Same would be true for an elderly victim.)
It's true that from a strictly utilitarian viewpoint, children have less worth than adults. Their material value to society as a whole is almost purely potential rather than actual. I've always thought it incredibly silly that anyone would buy life insurance on a child. Very few children have significant earning power on which a family would depend. But few of us follow a strictly utilitarian ethic.
__________________ Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.
I think children are less aware of the consequences of their actions, but they're certainly still capable of reasoning things out. I am also increasingly annoyed by the insistence that they have no sexual feelings before they turn 16 (or whatever the age of consent is where you happen to live).
Children have sexual feelings all their lives. The concept of the age of consent doesn't say children don't have sexual feelings until a certain moment in time it says someone over that age shouldn't be exploiting the sexual feelings of those under that age. (and in many states the person who is not a minor has to be a specific number of years older than the minor to be charged)
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I don't see how any African-American with any inkling of history can say that you don't have the right to live your life how you want to live your life.
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No one should be telling you who you should love, no one should be telling you who you should be spending the rest of your life with.
When we start talking about equality and everyone being treated equally I don't want to to know an African-American who will say everybody doesn't deserve equality
How about selfish then, lacking the social constraints of knowing when to be selfish or not, giving the appearance of evil?
Selfish is not evil.. it might be a symptom of it ... children are definitely selfish up to a point it's to be expected, after they've reached a developmental point where they understand that others have needs as well selfishness that ignores completely the implications of ones actions could be caused by anything from bad parenting to brain injury, to psychiatric disorders.
I think the actions of people in one stage of development must be evaluated differently than the actions of people in another. I don't believe that generally the 8 year old who attacks someone can be considered the same as the 40 year old who attacks someone.
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I don't see how any African-American with any inkling of history can say that you don't have the right to live your life how you want to live your life.
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No one should be telling you who you should love, no one should be telling you who you should be spending the rest of your life with.
When we start talking about equality and everyone being treated equally I don't want to to know an African-American who will say everybody doesn't deserve equality
Jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"
That is BEFORE, not WHEN.
Life starts before conception. Supporting a woman's right to choose to not fertilize an egg, giving her the ability to choose to let a life die, is pro-choice, not pro-life.
Luke 10:27 (Love God Above All, And Your Neighbor as yourself) And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Matthew 7:12 (Do unto others)
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 5:43-48 (Pray for those that persecute you)
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Luke 6:27-29 (Love your enemies.)
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
Originally Posted by Saint Augustine
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If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by those who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books.
Isaiah 8:12-13 (NIV) "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread."
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__________________ You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects. -- Will Rogers
The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best. -- Will Rogers
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