secular societies

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Originally Posted by mal4mac

If some people use the term "secular society" as a derogatory term for "States that are falling apart due to a rejection of God" then they need to make better use of the English language. To me, and I think most people, "secular society" is a value neutral term used to describe one kind of society, falling apart or not.

Platonic spirituality is hardly vibrant and alive. Who believes in the theory of Forms these days? It's the non-spiritual parts of Plato that remain alive - like Socratic questioning and the pursuit of values like Justice and Wisdom. That is, the important parts of Plato live happily in a secular society. The rest, like religion, can be ditched.

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This.

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Originally Posted by Varenne Rodin

I like Japan. I would live there. Have they gotten the radiation problem under control?

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That's debatable, but it's actually really hard to move there permanently. They're kind of full. Also, there a lot of complicated social rules that are taken pretty seriously, so not only do you have to learn a new language which is completely alien to most Westerners, you have to learn a new culture that's completely alien too. :p It's a lot of work to become a Japanese citizen, I'd just settle for Canada or one of the Nordic countries if I were looking for a nation that's good for the whole seperation-of-church-and-state thing (woot @ frozen countries!).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mal4mac

If some people use the term "secular society" as a derogatory term for "States that are falling apart due to a rejection of God" then they need to make better use of the English language. To me, and I think most people, "secular society" is a value neutral term used to describe one kind of society, falling apart or not.

Platonic spirituality is hardly vibrant and alive. Who believes in the theory of Forms these days? It's the non-spiritual parts of Plato that remain alive - like Socratic questioning and the pursuit of values like Justice and Wisdom. That is, the important parts of Plato live happily in a secular society. The rest, like religion, can be ditched.

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Wisdom is a Platonic form. Plato used the myth of the forms to explain things like truth and justice and wisdom. To say that he actually believed in metaphysical supernatural forms is to, at least in my opinion, misread him.

Platonism is alive and well, it has merely taken on a different guise. In science. But the myth is still alive too. Platonism heavily influenced Christianity. I find the New Testament to be replete with explicitly Platonic phrases and allusions.

Democracy,justice,christianity,ethics,secularism ,islam,judaism,hinduism,buddhism...Platonism for the people.