tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post1608561217563070909..comments2023-12-31T03:18:37.403-06:00Comments on "E pur si muove!": On the Purity of Walden, and Against Purity as an IdealLester Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-85961575320509013842008-06-23T22:45:00.000-05:002008-06-23T22:45:00.000-05:00Purity is also a goal of Christians - moral purity...Purity is also a goal of Christians - moral purity, aiming to not be polluted by the sins of the world around, and sinful tendencies within. Now, I don't see much connection between this conception of purity, and that of either National Socialists or radical "Earth First" people-hating environmentalists. Both the Nazi and the ecozealot, see purity as a realizable external ideal; that is, that society can physically possess purity in the gene pool or the natural environment, or what have you, that this can be obtained here on Earth, through application of the right principles, enforced by State action, etc. Whereas, on the contrary, the Christian locates the source of impurity as something that is primarily within - yes, even as it is without, in others around, which is because it is within all, incl. the Christian - and moreover, the Christian doesn't see freedom from sin as being absolutely realizable in this world, but it is seen as a high ideal to strive for, even though it is ultimately Christ who realizes it for us, and grants salvation and sinless immortality in the next life.<BR/><BR/>The difference between the Christian vision of moral purity and the Nazis' and ecoNazis' visions of social and ecological purity therefore, is exceedingly great. The latter tends towards a course of increased State interventionism to try to enforce and create purity, by brute force. Their goals are utopian. Whereas the former satisfies itself in an individual believer, and a communal (in terms of a community of faith) effort to mutually encourage each other towards such a goal, and the State is not involved, except insofar as it can punish and restrain evil, and different Christians will have differences of opinion on how far such should extend.<BR/><BR/>For my part, as a Christian, I see striving for moral purity as a noble, high ideal, whereas the purity the National Socialists and ecozealots seek, as a utopian, pie-in-the-sky, fantasy, engendering great tyranny.Will S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02714519301979594160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-33151465034737546222008-06-13T12:39:00.000-05:002008-06-13T12:39:00.000-05:00Nice post, Lester! The anthropomorphic global war...Nice post, Lester! The anthropomorphic global warming alarmists seem very much a breed of purists, bordering on a new religion. Implicit in their view is that human consumption and output (read: greed and selfishness) are polluting our planet, changing our climate. Change is seen as a bad thing, they cling to an erroneous belief that earth's climate was in some pure balance before evil capitalism disrupted it. The climate has always been undergoing changes, the AGWers cherry-pick convenient timelines in earth's history and conveniently ignore large bodies of other data that do not support Al Gore's apocalyptic vision. (a convenient lie?) The very chemistry of earth itself becomes an impurity for these folks; CO2 is viewed as a pollutant (plants need it to live), and chlorine is a poison which should be removed from the planet. I find it ironic that they view climate realists as arrogant - their own hubris is breathtaking.<BR/><BR/>I'm glad you visited Walden Pond on your own terms. You probably know that during the peak summer months, the parking lots around it get filled up (with SUVs mostly) and the rangers then turn others away until spots are available. There can be long lines of cars creeping along, waiting for a slot, idling their engines. No dogs are allowed on the pond or paths around it, and I think there are restrictions on where and when you can swim there and be there. I imagine Thoreau would detest this whole scene. Hope you and Deborah had a good seminar in Concord!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com