{"aphorisms":[{"truth":"Children are always a blessing. I will say it again: Children. Are. Always. A. Blessing.","key":"9","tags":["morality","children"],"explanation":"
The value of a child is inestimable. I have heard it argued that “every child\nshould be a wanted child.” How ignorant? Every child is wanted. Every child is\nvaluable. Anyone who does not like children has a disease and is sick. Anyone\nwho wants to harm children or prevent their birth by violent means is wicked.
\n\nA child can soften the hardest of hearts. A child can teach an immature adult\nmaturity. Children demonstrate the beauty of innocence. There are so many\nlessons that adults miss or fail to be reminded of when they are not surrounded\nby them.
\n\nChildren are always a blessing.
\n"},{"key":"12","truth":"Parents are only responsible for their parenting, not for their children’s obedience.","explanation":"There is a strange notion out there that a child’s behavior is directly\nindicative of that child’s parents ability to raise them. While there’s an\nkernel of truth in that belief, it’s only a half-truth (a.k.a. a lie).
\n\nA child is responsible for his or her own behavior just as a parent is\nresponsible for his or her own behavior.
\n","tags":["parenting","morality"]},{"tags":["parenting","morality"],"explanation":"While a parent may not be responsible for the behavior of his or her children\n(see STFL #12). A parent is responsible for giving his or her children the tools\nnecessary to behave well.
\n\nThis includes teaching right and wrong, the rules of common ettiquette and\npolite behavior, how to cope with their passionate feelings appropriately, etc.
\n\nA child not taught these things may choose to behave well, but they may be\ncoarse and rude in the process because they weren’t given the tools they should\nhave been given. A child that is taught these things may choose to misbehave and\ndo so in a way that is polite and quite immoral. Neither of these outcomes is\nthe result or responsibility of their parents.
\n","truth":"Children are only responsible for their obedience, not for their parent’s parenting.","key":"13"},{"truth":"The belief in basic human goodness has led to many of the greatest evils in history.","key":"17","tags":["morality","politics"],"explanation":"If people were basically good, it would not be so difficult for them to get\nalong. There are various theories as to why basically good people do horrible\nthings, get into wars, and commit atrocities. All these are excuses and are\ndumb. There’s no special class of evil people that corrupt humanity in groups.\nThere’s no manipulative object like money or power that turns people evil. If\nthey were basically good, they would use those things for good. Evil comes from\nall places, but especially from within.
\n\nHowever, convincing you that people are basically good is the first step to\ntyranny. After being convinced, you can accept the ludicrous idea that whatever\nthe politicians are doing, they are working for good and they’re intentions are\nwhat’s most important. False. Some, even many politicians may be working for\ngood, but, as a general rule, only insomuch as it also benefits themselves.\nAnyone who does not see every politicians as at least a partial adversary, a\ncobelligerent you may be opposed to whenever we switch subjects, is making a\nmistake.
\n"},{"explanation":"Some have never forgiven God for this situation.
\n\nEach of us are forced to take by faith that our senses can be trusted, that some\nauthorities outside ourselves are trustworthy, etc. These are choices of faith\neven if you do not call them that.
\n\nI have been told that Christians can use God as a cop-out: if X cannot be\nexplained we just say, “God did it.” This is not a complete understanding of the\nChristian point of view, but let’s accept it for the sake of the argument. The\nthing is that materialists make the exact same copout: if X cannot be explained\nthey just say, “Science will progress to explain it or it cannot be known.” How\nis that different?
\n","tags":["religion","morality","faith"],"key":"20","truth":"Without omniscience, faith is inescapable."},{"truth":"If you are upset by how unfair life is, just imagine how upset you’d be if it were fair.","key":"27","ht":"Unknown","tags":["morality","humanity"],"explanation":"No explanation required.
\n"},{"truth":"Never dig straight down.","key":"29","ht":"General Knowledge","tags":["Minecraft","morality","humor"],"explanation":"It is such a bad idea. You never know when you might find you’re digging over a\nravine or a pit of lava. Digging straight down in the nether, in particular, is\nlike playing Russian Roulette.
\n"},{"explanation":"No amount of law or government programs will heal the divide that exists between\neach fallen man and the righteous man he could be. Government or anarchy or\nwhatever social system you most like cannot save you from yourself.
\n","tags":["politics","morality","humanity"],"key":"40","truth":"The system of government matters far less than the character of the people being governed."},{"tags":["morality"],"explanation":"A broken window can be repaired and replaced, but that is not without cost. Some\ntime and energy is lost to entropy forever. The same is true of any sin\ncommitted. Healing might take place, but there is always a cost.
\n","truth":"Like a glass window, a law broken is broken forever.","key":"49"},{"tags":["movies","humor","morality"],"ht":"Mel Brooks","explanation":"No explanation required.
\n","truth":"Evil will always win because good is dumb. ","key":"51"},{"explanation":"It is a popular myth that the Bible teaches people not to judge others. This is\nnot true. The Bible teaches all sorts of judgements. What the Bible teaches is\nthat you should take care in how you judge others. First, you ought to avoid\nhypocrisy. Second, you cannot be sure in judging a person’s motives because you\ncannot see into their mind to know what their motives actually are.
\n","tags":["morality"],"key":"54","truth":"“Don’t judge me” implies “I can judge you.”"},{"tags":["morality","religion"],"explanation":"Jesus lived a perfect life. He was literally pure, incarnate good. Yet, there is\nno being that is perfectly evil. There have been meny terrible men in history\nwho killed hundred, thousands, and millions. There have been monsters. Yet, each\nof these men showed some kindness. Many of them took care of their families and\nfriends, bought gifts, and even loved others at points in their lives. Even\npsychotics and sociopaths do good from time to time as far as this brief life is\nconcerned.
\n","truth":"Even the worst tyrants must do some temporal good.","key":"58"},{"explanation":"No explanation required.
\n","tags":["morality","friends","religion"],"key":"59","truth":"Job teaches us that God does whatever he wants, but also that seemingly good friends may be worse than useless in a crisis."},{"key":"66","truth":"Law defines what failure is.","explanation":"No explanation required.
\n","tags":["morality","humanity"]},{"truth":"There is a difference between liberty and license.","key":"68","tags":["liberty","morality"],"explanation":"Just because you can does not mean you should.
\n"},{"truth":"Just because an action is wrong does not mean there should be a law against.","key":"77","tags":["morality","liberty"],"explanation":"We have way, way too many rules in this country. It is un-American how many\nrules we have.
\n"},{"tags":["parenting","morality"],"explanation":"If an adult is not himself disciplined, he can’t hope to teach discipline to his\nchildren. This applies to basically all virtue.
\n","truth":"Disciplined children start with disciplined adults.","key":"78"},{"explanation":"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence\nearth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead,\ngreat and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another\nbook was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was\nwritten in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the\ndead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they\nwere judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
\n\n(Revelation 20:11-13)
\n","tags":["religion","morality"],"ht":"The Bible","key":"80","truth":"Everyone gets their day in court."},{"key":"94","truth":"The proper amount of consent before engaging in sexual congress with another person is, “I do.”","explanation":"“But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’\n‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,\nand the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.\nWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” — Jesus Christ
\n","tags":["marriage","sex","morality"]},{"key":"112","truth":"Forgiveness does not guarantee the restoration of trust.","explanation":"If a person declare’s bankruptcy, their debts are forgiven, but their credit\nrating might never recover. The same is true when it comes to forgiving sin.
\n","tags":["morality","forgiveness"]}],"title":"Sterling’s Truths for Life: morality","list":"tag-morality"}