tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2054853820111729866.post3929620608486409522..comments2024-03-15T09:30:08.974+01:00Comments on The Radical Catholic: HomicideRadical Catholichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04135335562951838761noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2054853820111729866.post-35302770537349291512015-11-09T14:45:13.111+01:002015-11-09T14:45:13.111+01:00Thanks for reading and commenting, Oakes. The poin...Thanks for reading and commenting, Oakes. The point you make is perfectly cogent, and I feel safe in the assumption that Fr. Stapleton would have agreed with you. Here, of course, he is heightening the contrast between God's authority and the usurpation of that authority by men, particularly as has become common in liberal western societies. Read in isolation, however, one could easily be misled into viewing God as prone to act in a capricious manner. I am reminded of the Islamic reaction to the recent crane collapse near Mecca, which killed some 118 and wounded nearly 400: the firm responsible, Binladen Group, rebuffed calls for an investigation with "It was an act of God." Who needs adequate safety measures when God is on your side? And what good are they when God is against you? Islamic theology meets modern corporate damage control. <i>Inshallah!</i>Radical Catholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04135335562951838761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2054853820111729866.post-67726082253961265172015-11-09T08:38:13.816+01:002015-11-09T08:38:13.816+01:00Great Stapleton post, as always. My only quibble i...Great Stapleton post, as always. My only quibble is with "Sole master of life, He deals it out to His creatures as it pleases Him." That's true, of course, but I think it gets the emphasis wrong. It makes God out to be almost the Muslim conception of the unknowable capricious tyrant. God wanted and wants eternal life for all of us, but our great...great grandparents screwed it up, and we, more often than not, fulfill their legacy. It pleases Him to want what's best for us, but in the process He wants us to be men or in C.S. Lewis' words, to "grow up". A good father holds his son's hand, but also knows when it might be best to let him fight--for himself or others. And death is as good a thing to fight against as anything. Does that make sense?Oakes Spaldinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08078500142758654392noreply@blogger.com