By all life do you mean all humans or do you mean every living thing? There is also the idea of how we go about showing respect, a warrior might bow and show respect to his foe just before they fight to the death. The same is true for the idea of cherishing something. We can cherish the fact that there is life, but if we cherish everything that has life the way that we do a beautiful vase or other delicate work of art then we must live a very peculiar life taking extreme caution where we step so that nothing is harmed by our presence.
If we only respect and cherish human life then how far does it go? Can I respect and cherish a man who would torture and kill my child or my wife? If not then who draws the lines and decides when respect has been lost or a person's life is so broken and tarnished that we can no longer cherish it?
I can say the same about kindness, my idea of what kindness looks like is a lot different than what a person living in another culture might view as kind. There are people in this world who would say that it would be doing me and the world an act of kindness if they were to take my life. In such a persons eyes my vile life (As seen from their viewpoint) would seem harmful to both me and those around me so it would be much better if I were dead. In fact they might say that it was the compassionate thing to do, just end my life swiftly so that I can do no harm.
What I am saying is that there is no consensus in the world concerning these words, they mean something different to different religions, different cultures and to different individuals. So who decides what is the right way to think of these words and what is the correct way to show respect, to cherish life or to show compassion upon others?
If such things as absolute definitions and examples are to be universally accepted and understood then they must come from a higher being with greater power, knowledge, wisdom, understanding and righteousness than mankind. It must come from someone greater than man and that someone must have the authority to declare it as so. For me that someone is the Creator God, if He created everything and made all living creatures then obviously He has the authority to give the pure and undefiled answers to these questions.
It is my contention that if every person in the world knew the Creator God referenced in the King James Bible and correctly understood His attributes, then they could follow the example that He gave us and live a life that I believe would fulfill perfectly what you seem to be implying. But I can't be sure of that because I may not fully understand the meaning of your simple one line comment without further explanation to define the terms and with no examples to compare against my views.
By all life do you mean all humans or do you mean every living thing? There is also the idea of how we go about showing respect, a warrior might bow and show respect to his foe just before they fight to the death. The same is true for the idea of cherishing something. We can cherish the fact that there is life, but if we cherish everything that has life the way that we do a beautiful vase or other delicate work of art then we must live a very peculiar life taking extreme caution where we step so that nothing is harmed by our presence.
If we only respect and cherish human life then how far does it go? Can I respect and cherish a man who would torture and kill my child or my wife? If not then who draws the lines and decides when respect has been lost or a person's life is so broken and tarnished that we can no longer cherish it?
I can say the same about kindness, my idea of what kindness looks like is a lot different than what a person living in another culture might view as kind. There are people in this world who would say that it would be doing me and the world an act of kindness if they were to take my life. In such a persons eyes my vile life (As seen from their viewpoint) would seem harmful to both me and those around me so it would be much better if I were dead. In fact they might say that it was the compassionate thing to do, just end my life swiftly so that I can do no harm.
What I am saying is that there is no consensus in the world concerning these words, they mean something different to different religions, different cultures and to different individuals. So who decides what is the right way to think of these words and what is the correct way to show respect, to cherish life or to show compassion upon others?
If such things as absolute definitions and examples are to be universally accepted and understood then they must come from a higher being with greater power, knowledge, wisdom, understanding and righteousness than mankind. It must come from someone greater than man and that someone must have the authority to declare it as so. For me that someone is the Creator God, if He created everything and made all living creatures then obviously He has the authority to give the pure and undefiled answers to these questions.
It is my contention that if every person in the world knew the Creator God referenced in the King James Bible and correctly understood His attributes, then they could follow the example that He gave us and live a life that I believe would fulfill perfectly what you seem to be implying. But I can't be sure of that because I may not fully understand the meaning of your simple one line comment without further explanation to define the terms and with no examples to compare against my views.