That Annoying Bible

My friend Xerxes has proposed his own corollary to Godwin’s Law (sic): “Anyone who cites a text from the Bible to clinch an argument automatically loses. A biblical reference may well illustrate a point. It may show that an idea has been around for a long time. But it doesn’t settle anything.”

Xerxes does not explain why he thinks this is a good idea.

The Bible is held, after all, to be the revealed word of God by all branches of Christianity as well as all Jews; and, with caveats, by Muslims too. Even for those who are not religious, it is a compendium of the premises on which the Western world was built; rather like a civilizational constitution.

To say that it does not settle anything is like saying reference to the Constitution does not settle anything in court. If it does not, what does?

Perhaps, instead, we need to reason from first principles. But what then are the first principles we can all agree on?

Xerxes rules out this possibility by asserting a second law:

“And I’ll add a further Law -- … whatever you believe today to be absolute, certain, and unchangeable, you will have to reconsider. Maybe sooner than you think.”

He will recognize no first principles.

What is left as a basis for action?

Emotional responses to the moment, presumably, and animal urges.

This sounds appealing, in a romantic way; but emotions are not a trustworthy guide to action. Even leave aside unruly emotions like anger, fear, envy, hate, on which we surely do not want everyone to act, if we value our safety. Even an emotion like love: I might fall in love with a married woman. Or with someone other than my wife. I might have no emotional attachment to my children. So I neglect them, or abuse them if they insist on hanging around.

Then we come to acting on animal urges. Not a good idea, if you have qualms about things like rape, pedophilia, cannibalism, and murder.

If this is all too abstract, remember playing informal games in childhood, when you did not settle on rules in advance.

How did that usually turn out?

Fortunately, kids do not have access to lethal weapons.