tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post3058099914957251428..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Please Exercise CautionAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-85234176276136541082015-08-02T21:39:58.983-04:002015-08-02T21:39:58.983-04:00I do like Warren. However, i have an extremely un...I do like Warren. However, i have an extremely unp,leasant association with a classmate with the same name, so I don't go there as much as I'd like.. Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-45507146751219249872015-08-02T17:23:28.782-04:002015-08-02T17:23:28.782-04:00David Warren has written some interesting essays. ...David Warren has written some interesting essays. Thanks for the link.Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-11413951152947575942015-08-02T15:23:04.684-04:002015-08-02T15:23:04.684-04:00Do you keep up with David Warren?
FWIW, I think b...Do you keep up with <a href="http://www.davidwarrenonline.com/2015/08/02/the-prayer-of-the-publican/" rel="nofollow">David Warren</a>?<br /><br />FWIW, I think both interpretations of the commandment are correct, though only one is common. Perhaps it is common because it is the plain meaning, or perhaps because the Jews have it so important (and we do need to give weight to tradition in a case like this), or perhaps because the other interpretation is so inconvenient.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-40664562105538260162015-08-02T14:18:18.200-04:002015-08-02T14:18:18.200-04:00Finally found a citation online to the printed sou...Finally found a citation online to the printed source: "God in the Dock," p. 109. The piece "Medication on the Third Commandment" can be found in its entirety online.<br /><br />I can't find my copy of "God in the Dock," either! These things do get loaned out.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-72358920473269423002015-08-01T18:31:30.333-04:002015-08-01T18:31:30.333-04:00That latter quote must be my original intro, Earl....That latter quote must be my original intro, Earl. You are correct that even the word-choice has echoes. Thanks. It must be from <i>God In The Dock,</i> which I bought and gave a way thrice in the 80's.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-539620003891470072015-08-01T18:19:20.245-04:002015-08-01T18:19:20.245-04:00After some googling around, I found reference to L...After some googling around, I found reference to Lewis's essay "Meditation on the Third Commandment." A little rummaging in my attic will find the essay itself, I think. But, in short, Lewis here urges that there <b>not</b> be formed a specifically Christian political party, because of the resulting temptation to think that such a party speaks with the voice of the Church, and then the voice of God.<br /><br />"If ever Christian men can be brought to think treachery and murder the lawful means of establishing the regime they desire, and faked trials, religious persecution and organized hooliganism the lawful means of maintaining it, it will, surely, be by just such a process as this."<br /><br />and<br /><br />"On those who add 'Thus said the Lord' to their merely human utterances descends the utter doom of a conscience which seems clearer and clearer the more it is loaded with sin. All this comes from pretending that God has spoken when He has not spoken."Earl Wajenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03972213104063301125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-76779899698664286352015-08-01T17:49:10.254-04:002015-08-01T17:49:10.254-04:00Thanks for the reminder. That particular thought ...Thanks for the reminder. That particular thought of Lewis's - from Screwtape, I am quite sure - is <i>a propos</i> for a current FB problem.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-11578257700172142622015-08-01T17:12:34.203-04:002015-08-01T17:12:34.203-04:00I've always thought of it more along the lines...I've always thought of it more along the lines of "don't use a wedding veil to blow your nose on," or for that matter, "communion wafers to snack on." We use words for their shock value when we swear, so it comes naturally to appropriate the names that our culture holds in reverence. That's workable and practicable if all that matters in indulging in a little shocking behavior, but we should be mindful of misusing holy things for mere convenience: in C.S. Lewis's terms, "Christianity and Spelling Reform"--where we harness Christianity to whatever socially desirable cart we feel like pulling that day. That aspect of it gets into the territory of idaolatry and "signing God's name to our personal preoccupations."Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-56859665762165989872015-08-01T13:27:33.544-04:002015-08-01T13:27:33.544-04:00That is entirely likely, Earl. That is entirely likely, Earl. Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-82741970908168954002015-08-01T11:04:52.852-04:002015-08-01T11:04:52.852-04:00Rest assured you are not the first to come up with...Rest assured you are not the first to come up with the idea. I heard it from C. S. Lewis, in one of essays, in words that yours follow so closely, I wonder if you didn't read the same essay somewhere and then forgot the source (as I am half-way to doing, since I can't recall which it was). And Lewis, I feel confident, would not have presented his own interpretation without a lot of caveats; he gave such caveats on other occasions.Earl Wajenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03972213104063301125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-19967758392659816332015-08-01T01:48:52.221-04:002015-08-01T01:48:52.221-04:00I've heard it before too, though I'm not s...I've heard it before too, though I'm not sure where. The idea is definitely out there.<br /><br />One additional nuance: the Jewish tradition is that the name of God - the word itself, rightly pronounced - has power when spoken. So taking the Name in vain also connotes potential misuse of divine power. The idea might be seen as a bridge between "don't claim God is endorsing what you say" and "don't irreverently throw around words that refer to God.jaedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03328666344764784829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-80435318389325110482015-08-01T00:31:45.974-04:002015-08-01T00:31:45.974-04:00I'm pretty sure I heard a Lutheran sermon on t...I'm pretty sure I heard a Lutheran sermon on the 10 commandments a few years (8?) ago that took the "don't sign God's name to your plan" approach.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.com