Codes of Honor: What do you think?

[Occams Barber]

I guess I am not a fan of Freud.

We finally have something in common.

OB

 

[URA]

@Carl Emerson , I appreciate all your input. For a lot of what you said (maybe not all, but a lot), I think it can be summarized in a very interesting quote I've heard:

"Pray as if everything depends on God; act as if everything depends on you."

Our dependence on God is the foremost concern of the Christian life; the Apostles repeatedly came back to Christ, admitted weaknesses, learned from Him, and so on. Yet Christ often sent them out to areas where they need to be innocent as doves, yet clever as snakes (Matthew 10).

Fast forward to the 21st century... The same list is reintroduced to (wait for it) a men's club under the auspices of one of the more patriarchal Christian sects. It gets better - they're called Knights. Even the article's title about protecting families infers protecting the 'little woman and the kids'. The 'manliness' theme (read patriarchal) is obvious. The dog whistling is deafening.

Even you acknowledge the 'men protecting women' theme inherent in the article. You also hold yourself 'to a code of honor (sic) that demands taking special care of women'. It would be hard to find a more patronising statement.

OB

I would like to reference again a question I made in my initial response to your post. If a group of female fashion models came up with a similar code of honor, one that involved protecting men & being there for their husbands, would that be a statement of female dominance? Just because this came from a group of men doesn't mean that's all there is to it. I have shared this code with a group of people, including women, and everyone appreciated it.

Protecting others is a basic moral principle; sometimes a gender is attached. Regardless of the origin (and I would appreciate citations about Erasmus of Rotterdam for specific information if you will continue to make assumptions about the culture it was written in, lest in merely be one stranger on the Internet against another), what problem is there with living one's life in the idea of watching out for others & protecting those who are far too often taken advantage of? Even with the idea of most knights being awful people*, this may not have been the case for Erasmus. Considering he wrote a book called Manual of a Christian Knight, it seems safe to say that he was at least striving for a higher state of living than most of the knights at the time. It can be said that young adult culture in modern America is dominantly people with short attention spans, selfishness, and resistance to authority. Yet there still are people who are more respectful, patient, and respect those in power. Regardless of what you or anyone may think of these particular views, the point is that a general theme of a culture does not define everyone in the culture. Chicago is a very politically liberal city, but there still are far-right conservatives that broadcast on Chicago AM radio. Looking for the exceptions to the rule can be more useful than using a broad assumption about a particular person.

https://www.history.com/news/chivalry-knights-middle-ages

That depends. It could be done in a way which lifts up and empowers women, or it could be done in a way which restricts and controls them.

Good point.

While it might be good to develop one's own personal code of honour, I would not use a medieval code developed for knights, nor consider that an appropriate foundation for 21st-century morality or life.

If you were to do a modernized code of honor, what would you include?

 

[Tinker Grey]

If you were to do a modernized code of honor, what would you include?

1. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
2. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
3. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
4. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.
5. Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.
6. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
7. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

 

[Carl Emerson]

@Carl Emerson , I appreciate all your input. For a lot of what you said (maybe not all, but a lot), I think it can be summarized in a very interesting quote I've heard:

"Pray as if everything depends on God; act as if everything depends on you."

Actually I pray that He will take me by the ankles and walk me in His obedience despite myself...

It is His work and what every energy and desire I have to perform it is a gift from Him.

 

[Paidiske]

If you were to do a modernized code of honor, what would you include?

That's a really good question, and I will take it on notice (not generally being good at thinking such things up, on the spot before breakfast!)

 

[URA]

Actually I pray that He will take me by the ankles and walk me in His obedience despite myself...

It is His work and what every energy and desire I have to perform it is a gift from Him.

Well said. May God bless your journey, Carl.

 

[FireDragon76]

I find it fascinating that these codes are applied to a particular class of males. By inference they are not codes which can be applied to females or the common man. This differentiation is a product of a time when misogyny and class were all important. It also represents a highly romanticised image of a group who were essentially privileged thugs.
OB

There's nothing in Erasmus's code that people in generally cannot aspire to.

Erasmus wasn't a particularly privileged man. He was educated, but he also was a bastard child who had to join the priesthood to find a vocation, as many people who were not proper aristocracy did. But Erasmus lived at a time that was increasingly celebrating a person who is a Renaissance man, who rises above his circumstances.

 

[Sketcher]

I find codes of honor to be fascinating. Generally based in knighthood, these codes reflect somebody who has all the physical and material strength the world can offer, and bring all of it to its fullness with moral strength, as outlined under the ideal of honor. Live honorably, use your skills for good, be dedicated to something higher. It takes a real man to live like this.

That is an abbreviation of my thoughts on the matter; what are yours? Feel free to discuss this example & share your own examples, though I don't want this to entirely be a discussion of any particular point. There is value in discussing the specifics, but discussing the idea of these codes of honor is more the focus of this thread. Thank you, and I look forward to a good discussion!

I view my commitment to Christ as among other things, a code of honor. A big part of this is how I was raised. I knew when I was baptized that I was expected by God to put him first in my life. He has graciously forgiven my sins, I cannot secure Heaven for myself but he has done that for me, so all that's left is to live as a disciple should. He gave me life, I owe my life to him.