Comments on: Do you cross the line? http://www.davidjeanneret.co.uk/2009/03/20/do-you-cross-the-line/ Ramblings, Links to useful websites, Photos, Funny things, More serious reflections. Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:00:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Rob http://www.davidjeanneret.co.uk/2009/03/20/do-you-cross-the-line/comment-page-1/#comment-5524 Rob Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:45:15 +0000 http://www.davidjeanneret.co.uk/2009/03/20/do-you-cross-the-line/#comment-5524 G.K. Chesterton said "Morality, like art, consists in drawing the line somewhere". Of course it's most important to remember why we're drawing any lines at all - for artists the lines are drawn to create a beautiful picture that can be appreciated by many. Ravi Zacherias, in his book "The real face of atheism", quoted Peter Kreeft about morality saying ― "Ancient ethics always dealt with three questions. Modern ethics deals with only one, or at the most, two. The three questions are like the three things a fleet of ships is told by its sailing orders. First, the ships must know how to avoid bumping into each other. This is social ethics, and modern as well as ancient ethicists deal with it. Second, they must know how to stay shipshape and avoid sinking. This is individual ethics, virtues and vices, character-building, and we hear very little about this from our modern ethical philosophies. Third, and most important of all, they must know why the fleet is at sea in the first place…I think I know why modern philosophers dare not raise this greatest of questions: because they have no answer to it." Unless we have an idea of why we're drawing lines or why we're staying shipshape, both individually and corporately, we will always push the lines because they're meaningless. G.K. Chesterton said “Morality, like art, consists in drawing the line somewhere”. Of course it’s most important to remember why we’re drawing any lines at all – for artists the lines are drawn to create a beautiful picture that can be appreciated by many.

Ravi Zacherias, in his book “The real face of atheism”, quoted Peter Kreeft about morality saying ― “Ancient ethics always dealt with three questions. Modern ethics deals with only one, or at the most, two. The three questions are like the three things a fleet of ships is told by its sailing orders. First, the
ships must know how to avoid bumping into each other. This is social ethics, and modern as well as ancient ethicists deal with it. Second, they must know how to stay shipshape and avoid sinking. This is individual ethics, virtues and vices, character-building, and we hear very little about this from our modern ethical philosophies. Third, and most important of all, they must know why the fleet is at sea in the first place…I think I know why modern philosophers dare not raise this greatest of questions: because they have no answer to it.”

Unless we have an idea of why we’re drawing lines or why we’re staying shipshape, both individually and corporately, we will always push the lines because they’re meaningless.

]]>