I'm tired of conservatives using it as a moral denouncement and I'm tired of the liberals using the atheism as a denouncement of morals.  I hope to write a decent article showing how both parties are wrong.

I agree that Galt is turning the other cheek in the torture scene, but focusing on the principle as a tactic obscures the central issue. To turn the other cheek is to demonstrate that one is acting as a free moral agent, in that one’s response breaks the chains of cause and effect.

In the AS torture scene, Galt acts as a free agent. He is an engineer for whom the practical is the moral, and by telling the mechanic how to fix the machine, he is demonstrating his free moral choice.

Importantly, he is also granting the mechanic the same privilege. In this case, the outcome is beneficial, because the mechanic makes the right moral choice.

But this is not guaranteed. Moral freedom necessarily includes the freedom to make the wrong moral choice, and the downside of turning the cheek to one’s enemy is that he may decide that it’s a good thing to beat the shit out of you.

So turning the cheek isn’t a matter or rules or tactics. Jesus is using a highly counter-intuitive example to highlight a principle, that we should strive to act as free moral agents. But how we do that in any circumstance depends our own judgment.

Brendan.