Am struggling as usual with my faith this Easter Sunday, and I chanced upon what Aristotle said regarding leading a good life, this necessarily meaning a life without Christ (unless you believe in the doctrine of Christians before Christ): Justice is a necessary part of the good life but not sufficient for the good life (Aristotle).Aristotle will agree that living justly is the most important part of living well, or happily. But he believes that besides being a good person and having an opportunity to exercise that goodness, other factors--not so much under an individual's control--are important to living well. These factors include-- having friends, including children; avoiding poverty and severe or long-lasting illness; being allowed to live out a full life; having an opportunity to participate in public life in a more or less good polis. http://people.wku.edu/jan.garrett/goodlife.htm I think I am living in a more or less good polis, but it seems to be trending bad with the rise in incivility towards those who don't share our outlook. I certainly don't share my opinions in person with people I don't know to be non violent and non judgmemtal. A conservative cannot speak unmolested on a liberal campus today, though I don't think the reverse is true: Bill Maher is more likely to need police protection at Berkeley or Portland U. than he is at Oklahoma State or LSU. If students at LSU Law behaved towards Justtoce Sotomayor the way Stanford students behaved toward Judge Duncan, they'd be expelled.
"A rising tide lifts all boats." (JFK) "Living the gospel of Jesus Christ makes bad men good, and good men better." (IDK)
Not sure about the good life as you state from the Christ. Many of the Christ followers fast from the world have little to do with this world they grow beards cover the woman.They see this world as a poison to the spirit. As far as the society it's a collapsing westernized society.All signs point to the end of this era as predicted and warned about.
You may find it rather encouraging that former Atheist and Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Alon Anava..... had a near death experience in 2001 that corresponds well with Matthew chapter four.... and his teachings since then correspond well with Matthew chapters five, six and seven, The Sermon on the Mount. I believe that Rabbi Alon Anava may be more like the historical John the Baptist and the historical Rabbi Yeshua - Jesus than ninety nine point nine, nine..... percent of Christian Theologians. Near death expderiencder Bruce F. MacDonald was shown a Rabbi Yeshua who was very much on the same page as Rabbi Alon Anava when it comes to the subject of the Gilgul Cycle. http://www.politicalforum.com/index...ination-for-nobel-prize-in-literature.542590/ Following is a quotation from Rabbi YESHUA Jesus as shown to Dr. MacDonald.
Your external world is a reflection of your internal world. If your thoughts, and more importantly, your emotions, are filled with love and light, then your reality around yourself will reflect that. Like minded people will surround you, and your circumstances will reflect your emotions. This world encompasses many people at different points on their journey, so the world is necessarily filled with conflict and events that support their process. You can do little for their reality, as to change it they need to change their internal reality. The best way to change it for them is to simply show them love and light. The rest they need to work out in their own. We are entering a period where more and more people are cracking the code. Ultimately the world will become a better place as people find inner peace, because it will show in the world they surround themselves with. For too long in the western world, we have had the view that thoughts and emotions mean nothing, and it is the material world that dictates reality. That kind of thinking has put the world seriously out of balance, but a shift is occurring now that is bringing the world back into balance, with the realization that it is thoughts, emotions, and imagination that is the true reality, and the world we see around us is simply a reflection of what is going on internally.
Plus, to add to the whole "without advertising it" thing, his writing were meant to be personal. He didn't want them publicized after his death. I'm glad we have them, though.
