Saturday, November 18
you shall cry, and He will answer 'here i am'
levinas is another christian philosopher
to him, ethics is first philosophy
and like kant, who believes in ethics in duty and moral obligation
levinas argues that the individual is held hostage by the gaze of the other
to whom one holds an undeniable responsibility
to the extent of being a substitute for the other in death
like God who in isaiah answers 'here i am' when we cry out for him
for levinas, to be made in the likeness of God
is to answer in the same way 'here i am' when faced with the demands of the other.
it might seem strange that i am devoting a blog entry to levinas
but that man is amazing
nevermind my philosophy classmate who thinks that it is precisely people like him
who give continental philosophy a bad name.
perhaps i am biased
towards people who argue for God's case
especially in times and intellectual circles
where it is difficult to hold strong to one's faith
or to believe as one sees fit to believe
if Levinas is right, and ethics is first philosophy
then we are made to be righteous
'What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not!
On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law.
For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said "You shall not covet."'
[Romans 7:7]
With the law there is temptation to sin
for sin makes us aware of it through the law
the law cannot make us righteous when the bearing of sin is in our flesh
if we are made to be righteous, then surely we are made to walk in God's ways...
0. oOo
