Moral Relativism
After my last post on Relativism vs. Christianity, I began to do delve a bit deeper in to the subject. White pure Relativism has largely been discredited by most philosophers and thinkers, various forms of relativism have become part of everyday thinking in today's society. What I described in my last post on the subject would be classified as moral relativism, that is "a belief that there are no moral absolutes, that circumstances can change morals, that God's Word does not have the final say". It is this brand of the philosophy that is so dangerous to our society and to our churches.
In my last post, I talked about the dangers of moral relativism and its affect on our society in general. To recap, relativism rears its ugly head when 1) we redefine terminology to change circumstances in our favor, and 2) when we make moral decisions based on the final outcome of the circumstance rather than on established truth or morals (situational ethics). The way that separation of church and state has been redefined to the point where it no longer means what the founding fathers intended would be an example of redefining terminology. Killing a baby via abortion so that a teenager girl who didn't want to raise a child on her own would be an example of situational ethics. Throughout history, societies who have allowed their moral base to be corrupted by forms of moral relativism have crumbled to the ground.
Not long ago, a neighbor gave my child an old 1st grade health book which was used in our local public schools a couple of years ago. I thumbed through the book expecting to find in its pages chapters on personal hygiene, proper diet and exercise. While those topics were covered in the book, I was astonished to find chapters on family, illegal drugs, and general character. While these topics might seem harmless at first, reading carefully showed me how the minds of our children are being shaped to accept moral relativism. "Family" was not defined as a father, mother, and perhaps brothers and sisters. It was defined as "a group of people who live together". Drugs and character were handled in a similar fashion. While I would not go so far as to accuse the writers of this text (or any other for that matter) of purposely tricking our children into thinking in a particular way, I will say that because the writers of these texts already practice moral relativism as a way of life, it leaks into their writing in the same way that my beliefs in Christ and the infallibility of God's Word leak into my writing.
Moral relativism is all around us from a judge redefining the definitions of legal terms to suit his beliefs to a school teacher spouting off what's in the latest textbook to the teenage girl having an abortion. Our society has embraced moral relativism because it has been fed it from infancy.
We and our children are bombarded daily with relativism. It is in the school texts, in the media, in books. This was not always the case. From the earliest years of the colonization of this country well into the 1800s, everyone knew and read the Bible. It's influence can be seen in the early school texts and in the writings of the founding fathers. In short, the Bible shaped the minds of America. Gradually, as new philosophies crept in, the Scriptures were replaced, and by the early 1960s, it was banned completely from the public schools. Today, though the Bible remains on the best seller list, most people have not read or studied it, and there is an effort by some to remove any trace of its influence from American history.
While a move back to the Bible cannot change things without the power of God's Spirit working in the minds and hearts of men, it is part of the equation. What really has happened in our country is that we have departed from God Himself. Our eyes have been focused an amassing wealthy and enjoying ourselves. Relativism fits in nicely with these goals, since discarding the teachings of Scripture allows people to go for wealth and pleasure with no one to tell them it's wrong. The solution plain and simple is prayer and repentance.
In my last post, I talked about the dangers of moral relativism and its affect on our society in general. To recap, relativism rears its ugly head when 1) we redefine terminology to change circumstances in our favor, and 2) when we make moral decisions based on the final outcome of the circumstance rather than on established truth or morals (situational ethics). The way that separation of church and state has been redefined to the point where it no longer means what the founding fathers intended would be an example of redefining terminology. Killing a baby via abortion so that a teenager girl who didn't want to raise a child on her own would be an example of situational ethics. Throughout history, societies who have allowed their moral base to be corrupted by forms of moral relativism have crumbled to the ground.
Not long ago, a neighbor gave my child an old 1st grade health book which was used in our local public schools a couple of years ago. I thumbed through the book expecting to find in its pages chapters on personal hygiene, proper diet and exercise. While those topics were covered in the book, I was astonished to find chapters on family, illegal drugs, and general character. While these topics might seem harmless at first, reading carefully showed me how the minds of our children are being shaped to accept moral relativism. "Family" was not defined as a father, mother, and perhaps brothers and sisters. It was defined as "a group of people who live together". Drugs and character were handled in a similar fashion. While I would not go so far as to accuse the writers of this text (or any other for that matter) of purposely tricking our children into thinking in a particular way, I will say that because the writers of these texts already practice moral relativism as a way of life, it leaks into their writing in the same way that my beliefs in Christ and the infallibility of God's Word leak into my writing.
Moral relativism is all around us from a judge redefining the definitions of legal terms to suit his beliefs to a school teacher spouting off what's in the latest textbook to the teenage girl having an abortion. Our society has embraced moral relativism because it has been fed it from infancy.
We and our children are bombarded daily with relativism. It is in the school texts, in the media, in books. This was not always the case. From the earliest years of the colonization of this country well into the 1800s, everyone knew and read the Bible. It's influence can be seen in the early school texts and in the writings of the founding fathers. In short, the Bible shaped the minds of America. Gradually, as new philosophies crept in, the Scriptures were replaced, and by the early 1960s, it was banned completely from the public schools. Today, though the Bible remains on the best seller list, most people have not read or studied it, and there is an effort by some to remove any trace of its influence from American history.
While a move back to the Bible cannot change things without the power of God's Spirit working in the minds and hearts of men, it is part of the equation. What really has happened in our country is that we have departed from God Himself. Our eyes have been focused an amassing wealthy and enjoying ourselves. Relativism fits in nicely with these goals, since discarding the teachings of Scripture allows people to go for wealth and pleasure with no one to tell them it's wrong. The solution plain and simple is prayer and repentance.
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)
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