XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien, alt.religion.christian.east-orthodox   
   From: bobkolker@attbi.com   
      
   Steve Hayes wrote:   
   > I'm not sure that I agree with your line of reasoning.   
   >   
   > Would you say that death is a punishment for getting cancer, or measles, or   
   > pneumonia?   
      
   Distinguish between an effect and a moral consequence. Punishment is the   
   consequence of wrong doing. That is a moral principle.  Death the   
   consequence of various and sundry physiological malfunctions. That is a   
   cause-effect issue, not a moral issue.   
      
   Unfortunately we tend to mix the two sorts of consequences in our   
   thinking and language. Look at the word malfunction, for example. The   
   mal in malfunction means -bad- functioning. But bad has a moral   
   connotation even though we mean to say misfunction or dysfunction. That   
   is not operating normally.   
      
   Bob Kolker   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)