tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post1144775253894222915..comments2024-03-27T17:15:37.606-04:00Comments on Triablogue: Why Victor Reppert is a DemocratRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17809283662428917799noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-43911674244537556362008-09-22T22:29:00.000-04:002008-09-22T22:29:00.000-04:00I did not say anyone was blameworthy for not helpi...I did not say anyone was blameworthy for not helping the poor. So I wasn't making a charge of being miserly. What I was saying is that under the circumstances private charity is not enough and that government involvement is a good thing. <BR/><BR/>Ideally we should let capitalism run in the public world and communism, free of state coercion, be the rule within the Church (as it was in Early Jerusalem). <BR/><BR/>I did not make it personal by what I said. I simply said that private charity seems not to be up to the task of taking care of human needs and that under some circumstances, government assistance is a good thing. The Church, for example, doesn't have the means and resources to solve the mortgage crisis today. It would be great if they did, but they don't. And it's the conservative George W. Bush administration who is saddled with the task of engaging in a little socialism to restore our economy. <BR/><BR/>Government assistance comes with a price tag. But I think you have to look case by case to see whether, all told, the price is worth paying. Surely you aren't suggesting that Social Security and Medicare were bad ideas. Republicans, nowadays, typically tell us we should elect them so that these institutions can be saved. <BR/><BR/>I don't think we need to criticize Christian institutions for not being powerful enough to care for all the people it would like to care for. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, you apparently accused me of a lack of personal generosity, without any facts about the situation to back it up. <BR/><BR/>Perhaps if all Christians, including me, were less sinful, less government welfare would be necessary. And such "welfare" often requires work, as in Obama's plan to pay for college education in exchange for government service.Victor Repperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10962948073162156902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-54145949013471983762008-09-22T08:26:00.000-04:002008-09-22T08:26:00.000-04:00james said...“You're being overly simplistic. I'm ...james said...<BR/><BR/>“You're being overly simplistic. I'm not certain what this man does for a living, but are you aware what the cost is for health care for the elderly? It can easily run into the thousands of dollars per month, sometimes tens of thousands depending on their health. This is out of reach for many, if not most Americans.”<BR/><BR/>If that’s your argument, then Reppert is being simplistic, not me. He is the one who cited the lack of alleged generosity among Christians as a justification of Medicare and Social Security. I’m responding to his argument as he chose to frame the issue.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547070544928321788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-89429325895821098642008-09-22T08:24:00.000-04:002008-09-22T08:24:00.000-04:00VICTOR REPPERT SAID:“You are treading on personal ...VICTOR REPPERT SAID:<BR/><BR/>“You are treading on personal ground when you make assumptions and statements about my family life, which I resent.”<BR/><BR/>You’re the one who chose to make public statements about your family life (i.e. your parents use of Social Security and Medicare) to illustrate and reinforce your argument.<BR/><BR/>You also made it personal when you accused other Christians of being misery—an accusation you used to justify the welfare state. You were making some very sweeping assumptions about them. <BR/><BR/>And I merely floated the possibility that you were tenured as a possible explanation for your intellectual sloth.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547070544928321788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-8474712280530685082008-09-22T02:06:00.000-04:002008-09-22T02:06:00.000-04:00And are Arminians liberals?If you mean by politica...<I>And are Arminians liberals?</I><BR/><BR/>If you mean by political liberalism, then no, arminians are not necessarily liberal Democrats.Truth Unites... and Divideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08891402278361538353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-29437219378177694282008-09-22T00:23:00.000-04:002008-09-22T00:23:00.000-04:00And are Arminians liberals?And are Arminians liberals?Victor Repperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10962948073162156902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-26784943578355644372008-09-22T00:22:00.000-04:002008-09-22T00:22:00.000-04:00I am not a tenured professor. I am, and have been,...I am not a tenured professor. I am, and have been, an adjunct at a couple of colleges for the past several years. I have had to work several non-academic jobs since I earned my doctorate. You are treading on personal ground when you make assumptions and statements about my family life, which I resent.Victor Repperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10962948073162156902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-69709289853592818332008-09-22T00:14:00.000-04:002008-09-22T00:14:00.000-04:00Why Victor Reppert is a DemocratArminian political...<B>Why Victor Reppert is a Democrat</B><BR/><BR/>Arminian political liberal (Victor Reppert).<BR/><BR/>vs.<BR/><BR/>Calvinist political conservative (Steve Hays).<BR/><BR/>My untested hypothesis: Steve is a political conservative because he's FIRST a theological conservative.<BR/><BR/>Victor is a theological liberal because he's FIRST a political liberal.<BR/><BR/>In fact, I'd generalize, BUT NOT sweepingly so, that the majority of theological conservatives are political conservatives because of their theological beliefs, whereas the majority of theological liberals are theologically liberal because of their identity and sympathies with political and secular liberalism.<BR/><BR/>Theological-Political Conservatives are God-pleasers.<BR/><BR/>Theological-Political Liberals are Men-pleasers.<BR/><BR/>Count me as a theological conservative who's a political conservative because of theological conservativism.Truth Unites... and Divideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08891402278361538353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-7991112691900771542008-09-21T22:28:00.000-04:002008-09-21T22:28:00.000-04:00"It can easily run into the thousands of dollars p..."It can easily run into the thousands of dollars per month, sometimes tens of thousands depending on their health. This is out of reach for many, if not most Americans."<BR/><BR/>Only because of greedy trial lawyers.Saint and Sinnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14166699860672840738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-40452546067833033932008-09-21T22:24:00.000-04:002008-09-21T22:24:00.000-04:00"But he wasn’t generous enough to dig into his poc..."But he wasn’t generous enough to dig into his pockets and provide for his own parents in their time of financial need."<BR/><BR/>You're being overly simplistic. I'm not certain what this man does for a living, but are you aware what the cost is for health care for the elderly? It can easily run into the thousands of dollars per month, sometimes tens of thousands depending on their health. This is out of reach for many, if not most Americans. <BR/><BR/>Health care can be affordable if we go back to the days when anesthesia consisted of a bottle of bourbon and antibiotic treatment consisted of blood-sucking leeches. As it stands, technology has rendered treatment more complex and much more expensive. <BR/><BR/>Medicare recipients now pay $400 per hospitalization (with Medicare!) <BR/><BR/>What are your expectations of him, exactly?Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387448864812957107noreply@blogger.com