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From: garys@bunker.UUCP (Gary M. Samuelson)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: contruction/destruction
Message-ID: <732@bunker.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Feb-85 09:36:40 EST
Article-I.D.: bunker.732
Posted: Thu Feb 21 09:36:40 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Feb-85 05:44:55 EST
References: <1247@shark.UUCP> <253@cmu-cs-k.ARPA>
Organization: Bunker Ramo, Trumbull Ct
Lines: 36

> I have been rather puzzled lately by the messages concerning destructiveness
> and constructiveness and suggesting that the former is evil while the
> latter is good...

> Virtually all constructive activity requires a previous destructive act to
> clear the way...
> Take slum renovation, another constructive act.
> First the old slum buildings have to be knocked down, destruction...

> The universe is a continual dance of construction and destruction, and it
> was made thus by the Lord.  Destruction is no less good than creation, and
> neither could exist without the other.

> Tim Maroney.

Now I am puzzled.  Is this the same Tim Maroney who wrote "Even if I DID
believe...", in which said Tim objected to the God of the Bible
because of said God's destructive activities?  And this same person
is now saying that destruction is good?  There appears to be an
inconsistency here.

Opinion time: whether destruction is good or not depends on whether
destruction is for its own sake, or for the sake of the anticpated
construction.  In each of Tim's examples in which destruction is held
to be good, the destruction is good because it allows the construction
to proceed.  Therefore, destruction is "less good" than creation, in
that while creation may be viewed as good in and of itself, destruction's
goodness is contingent.

Also, destruction cannot occur prior to creation, but creation can
occur prior to destruction.  Before anything was created (if you
accept the possibility of such a concept), it was possible only
to create, not to destroy, since there was nothing to destroy.

Gary Samuelson
ittvax!bunker!garys