This isn’t treating to me because I’ve been thinking about “natural rights”, or IOW, what are our “endowed by our Creator” rights? And the only thing I can think of is that God gives us the right to make choices. That’s it. Now, one might squeeze “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” into that, but I think that is stretching it. In addition, when one knows he has the ability to make choices, I think that increases one’s internal locus of control, which is essential to success in my mind. Do choices cause stress? Sure, but life is stress. It doesn’t have to be distress. That too can be a choice.
Very interesting and good explanation, Richard. The "choice" aspect of life is so deeply embedded within us now that it's difficult to see the problem.
This is very good, thank you. The net effect of the modern life script of unregulated freedom is to increase the burden of self-regulation, something we are proving ourselves to be extraordinarily bad at. I wonder if the only true alternative is a rehabilitation of submission. It’s almost a ruined word but it might be the life-ring we need, the intentional abandoning of self-sovereignty, shedding more of the self to open up to more of the larger mystery of God.
This isn’t treating to me because I’ve been thinking about “natural rights”, or IOW, what are our “endowed by our Creator” rights? And the only thing I can think of is that God gives us the right to make choices. That’s it. Now, one might squeeze “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” into that, but I think that is stretching it. In addition, when one knows he has the ability to make choices, I think that increases one’s internal locus of control, which is essential to success in my mind. Do choices cause stress? Sure, but life is stress. It doesn’t have to be distress. That too can be a choice.
Very interesting and good explanation, Richard. The "choice" aspect of life is so deeply embedded within us now that it's difficult to see the problem.
Dana
This is very good, thank you. The net effect of the modern life script of unregulated freedom is to increase the burden of self-regulation, something we are proving ourselves to be extraordinarily bad at. I wonder if the only true alternative is a rehabilitation of submission. It’s almost a ruined word but it might be the life-ring we need, the intentional abandoning of self-sovereignty, shedding more of the self to open up to more of the larger mystery of God.