Gryphonette
Moderator
It seems to me there is a problem with the basic assumption underlying his thesis, i.e. an erroneous belief that If Only we avoid this or that, then hey presto! we'll avoid sin. It seems like the flip side of a works-righteousness mentality; instead of "Here! Do this, and this, and this and you'll please God" it's "Don't do this, or this, or this and you'll please God." If the "this" in the latter case is a sin (coveting, lying, lusting, drunkenness, etc.) that's fine. If "this" is "play the piano in church", "sing a song other than a psalm", etc., that's not so fine.
Talking and interacting with other people has a nasty tendency to trigger gossip, foolish talk, ribaldry, etc. So....is the solution to take a leaf from the hermits' book and live a life of isolation? Hide oneself away in a cave somewhere, far from other people, the internet, TV, etc. and it cannot be denied one would avoid myriad occasions for sin.
Frankly, it strikes me as a little simplistic to look at the sins and errors exhibited by the RCC (and others, of course) and identify the culprit as musical instruments, etc.
Talking and interacting with other people has a nasty tendency to trigger gossip, foolish talk, ribaldry, etc. So....is the solution to take a leaf from the hermits' book and live a life of isolation? Hide oneself away in a cave somewhere, far from other people, the internet, TV, etc. and it cannot be denied one would avoid myriad occasions for sin.
Frankly, it strikes me as a little simplistic to look at the sins and errors exhibited by the RCC (and others, of course) and identify the culprit as musical instruments, etc.
