[Sonart]

Quote by: Mindonfire First of all no cursing please. It have not cursed you so please do not curse me.

What, because I said "damn... thread"? Sorry, although it strikes me as fairly tame and it wasn't directed at you personally but to your thread, but if you're that sensitive I'll try to refrain.

However, I was trying to make it very clear that I thought it was incredibly rude of you to leave posts on your own thread unanswered while starting a new thread with the same soapbox lecture on the same .... darn... subject. Was there some reason for that beyond simple arrogance in controlling the conversation?

Quote by: Mindonfire Secondly the issue is not about “never to give money to anyone in need if he doesn't feel like it, all with a clear conscience.” The issue is about making wise judgments.

No, it's about making judgements, period. That's not what compassion is. Compassion is simply about being aware of suffering in others and wishing to relieve it.

Quote by: Mindonfire Thirdly An addict is not in need of money. He or she is in need of treatment. So does an alcoholic and so does a mentally ill individual. A person that is an upstanding productive citizen that has fallen on hard times may be in need of money. So you need to be able to judge correctly so that you can see what an individual really needs.

Well obviously what they don't need is for people to turn and walk away. Perhaps giving money is not the best way to help or the only way to help, but walking away does nothing whatsoever to help. And I'm not condemning walking away, I do it all the time... real life doesn't permit us to be compassionate every minute of every day. But don't think you can rationalize turning away as compassion.

Quote by: Mindonfire Fourthly I don’t know what world you live in but this is not fiction. This “worst case scenario” happens everyday. Maybe you need to get out more.

I'm quite aware that such things happen, thank you. But your specific scenerio was a fiction - and you know it - specifically tailored to support your conclusion. As most agenda-driven fiction writing is. Just read anything by, say, Ayn Rand.

Quote by: Mindonfire Fifthly you are right when you state that addicts are victims. The problem is that they are victims of their own actions. You are wrong when you state that they are not criminals. They are criminals. Here is the definition of Criminal just in case you might have forgotten and also the definition of Crime.

Don't play word games with me. Y'know, America used to have things called debtors-prisons, since it was a criminal (adj.) offense (noun) to incur a debt you couldn't repay. It used to be a criminal (adj.) offense (noun) to marry someone of a different race, for a Jew to own property in certain areas or a non-Christian to run for public office in certain states. Just because our current miguided drug laws makes criminals out of victims doesn't make those victims unworthy of our compassion. For someone trying to define what compassion is, you certainly seem guided by a dogmatic set of judgements about who is worthy of compassion and who isn't.

Now if you're up for it, I have a little ficticious scenerio for you, and anyone else who's interested. But first, I need to ask....

Mindonfire, are you a devout and compassionate Christian? And if so, do you believe in eternal damnation?

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