[MD] Dawkins a Materialist (is watching?)

[pholden at davtv.com]

Quoting Arlo Bensinger <ajb102 at psu.edu>:

> [Arlo had asked]
> But praytell what part of the "Judeo-Christian ethic" did thy rely 
> on? Are you suggesting a theocracy?
> 
> [Platt]
> That individual rights come from God, not other men.

Not in the Constitution but in that other founding document, the Declaration
of Independence.

> [Arlo]
> Where does it say in the Bible that the rights granted to us in the 
> Constitution come from "God"?

I believe the Bible was written before the Constitution.

> In what Book does "God" give us "Freedom of the Press"? Where does he 
> give us "Freedom of Assembly"? Where "The Right to Bear Arms"?

These are intellectual rights derived from Christian ethics and enlightenment
philosophy as interpreted by the Founding Fathers. I think their interpretation
is right on, their conclusions supported later by a another philosophy written
by Robert Pirsig. 

> Where does "God", in the Bible, bestow "individual rights" on people? 
> What about non-believers? Certainly he does not give them "individual 
> rights" in the Old Testement. Does Jesus give pagans the "right to 
> assembly" in the New somewhere that I missed?

"Belief" is not a prerequisite for an individual to have the rights to Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Do you believe such basic individuals rights are granted by men and thus can be
justifiably taken away by men? If so, that's scary. Gulags cannot be far behind.

 




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