"An attainable goal is worth striving for, even if you can't attain it yourself. An unattainable goal is not. "
Ah! There I think we have the crux of the matter, and of my disagreement.
Option 1: "Aim for a height of 5 metres. We know from past experience that you'll achieve something in the range of 4.5 to 5.5 metres"
Option 2: "Aim for a height of 9 metres. We know from past experience that you'll probably achieve around 6 to 7 metres".
Option 3: "Aim for a height of infinity! It's impossible to reach it, of course, but experience has shown this is the only way anyone has ever achieved a height greater than 10 metres... and who knows, you might be the first person in the world to achieve 11!"
Which option would you choose?
And as ever, back to the gospel: It's a switch from the old way of judging moral rectitude - "As long as I meet the minimum standard of behaviour, as specified by the law, I'm OK (Corollary: But if I fail, I'm buggered!)" - to the new way - "forget about the minimum standard, it's a total red herring; I want (and God wants me) to achieve the highest level of goodness I'm capable of! Therefore I will take as a role model no less a person than Jesus Christ, the human incarnation of God, because even though a sin-infected mortal like me can't possibly ever attain his standard of goodness - can never *be* Jesus - I know that only by setting my sights on the target of his perfection (and failing, and then learning from my failure, and trying again, repeatedly) will I ever become the best *me* that I can be."
no subject
Ah! There I think we have the crux of the matter, and of my disagreement.
Option 1: "Aim for a height of 5 metres. We know from past experience that you'll achieve something in the range of 4.5 to 5.5 metres"
Option 2: "Aim for a height of 9 metres. We know from past experience that you'll probably achieve around 6 to 7 metres".
Option 3: "Aim for a height of infinity! It's impossible to reach it, of course, but experience has shown this is the only way anyone has ever achieved a height greater than 10 metres... and who knows, you might be the first person in the world to achieve 11!"
Which option would you choose?
And as ever, back to the gospel: It's a switch from the old way of judging moral rectitude - "As long as I meet the minimum standard of behaviour, as specified by the law, I'm OK (Corollary: But if I fail, I'm buggered!)" - to the new way - "forget about the minimum standard, it's a total red herring; I want (and God wants me) to achieve the highest level of goodness I'm capable of! Therefore I will take as a role model no less a person than Jesus Christ, the human incarnation of God, because even though a sin-infected mortal like me can't possibly ever attain his standard of goodness - can never *be* Jesus - I know that only by setting my sights on the target of his perfection (and failing, and then learning from my failure, and trying again, repeatedly) will I ever become the best *me* that I can be."