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(It Depends on Whom You Ask)
by Samuel E. Ward
Introduction:
Mark Twain (as Huck Finn) on Ethics, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Then I thought a minute, and says to myself, hold on; s'pose you'd a done right and give Jim up, would you felt better than what you do now? No, say I, I'd feel bad — I'd feel just the same way I do now. Well, then, says I, what's the use you learning to do right when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same? I was stuck. I could't answer that. So I reckoned I wouldn't bother no more about it, but after this always do whichever come handiest at the time.[1]
There is little wonder why it is difficult, if not impossible, for the world and the church to ever come to agreement on key moral issues. At the heart of the problem is whose moral standard is to be applied. There are several that have been offered and applied throughout human history.
The basic issue for morality is, "What, if anything or anyone, should govern human behavior?" How one answers that question will determine what one believes should be allowed or disallowed. Among those who put forth these views will be a full spectrum of possible positions that range from questioning the very existence of "right" or "wrong actions" to actions that ought be universally accepted as either "right" or "wrong" based upon various criteria that should be applied.
Orthodox or conservative Christians say that God has revealed absolutes that are either "right" or "wrong" for everyone and that He will hold each person accountable to His standard. This is why those of us who consider God to be the Lawgiver are frustrated when we hear others defending positions we hold to be absolutely "wrong" and cannot understand how anyone could ever find justification for an issue such as abortion.
I have two purposes in this broaching this subject which may not cure the frustration, but I hope will . . .
1. bring understanding as to how some non-Christians, and others, approach the concept of morality and standards for human behavior.
2. help us realize that the need for changing people's minds about particular issues is secondary to changing people's minds about God. Having the right view about God and His right to set the standards for human behavior (as well as to hold them accountable) will necessarily bring about a change in their views about issues where they felt the human will was considered the standard.
Major Views of Morality
I. Antinominanism: There Are No Absolute Rules for What Is Right or Wrong: Everything is relative.
No one has the right to tell anyone else what is right or wrong for them. This is the stance Satan took when he tempted Eve to act in defiance to God's will. (Gen 3)
Biblical insight:
The result of "doing that which is right in [one's] own eyes" is seen in a portion of Joseph Coleson's outline of Judges:
Disobedience Causes Chaos (Judges 1:1-3:6).
A. Partial obedience is disobedience (Judges 1:1-36).
B. Disobedience exposes people to further temptation
(Judges 2:1-5).
C. Leaders who neglect God's covenant lead the people into
punishment (Judges 2:6-15).
D. Failure to heed God's leaders leads to defeat (Judges 2:16-23).
E. God tests His people to see if they will obey (Judges 3:1-6).[2]
Modern examples: Although there is much discussion about a form of antinomianism known as (libertarianism), no society has been able to exist in such a state and eventually some form of order had to be imposed upon it. Note the histories of Afghanistan and Somalia as examples of the natural course of true antinomianism (libertarianism). The only structure for order is that provided by warlords who rule by force and brutality.
Major problem with antinomianism: The natural end of this view is ultimately chaos and anarchy. 1 John 3:4-5
2 Thessalonians 2:7 (NIV) 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
1 John 3:4-5 (NIV) 4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
II. Generalism: There Are No General Rules for What Is Right or Wrong: beneficial.
Generally, there are no moral laws to tell one what is right or wrong except that the action should provide a beneficial result. "The end justifies the means."
Origin: "The Greek playwright Sophocles wrote in Electra (c 409 B.C.), 'The end excuses any evil,' a thought later rendered by the Roman poet Ovid as 'The result justifies the deed' in 'Heroides' (c. 10 B.C.).[3]
Biblical insight:
Romans 3:5-8 (NIV) 5But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?"
8Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved.
Modern example: Nazism: Used to justify killing of Jews, physically and mentally challenged, etc,. in the pursuit of a pure race. These were deemed by Hitler as having lives not worth living.
Problem: Who decides what is beneficial to whom and at whose expense? Under such a rule there is the potential to able to justify any act.
III. Situationism: The Only Universal Rule for Man's Behavior Is Whether an Action Is "the Loving Thing To Do."
Origin: Joseph Fletcher (an Episcopal priest) presented in his book, Situation Ethics, 1968.
Biblical insight: Man has a tendency to slip into defining actions according to his own desires.
Isaiah 5:20 (NIV) 20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Modern example: Deciding to have an abortion on the basis that the child would put a burden on a family's financial resources and thereby reduce what is able to be used to the benefit of others might be defined by a situationist as the "loving thing to do" for the rest of the family.
Problems:
a. How is the "loving thing" to be defined? Is the loving thing for the short-term or long-term.
b. When the "loving thing" is not possible to be done for all who need help, Fletcher proceeds to offer guidelines to aid one to decide who receives the help.
In Situation Ethics, Fletcher . . . argues that the following general principles would enable an agent to arrive at an ethical decision: a) help the person whose need is greater; b) perform the action that helps the greatest number; and, c) help the person who is more valuable.[4]
c. As with generalism, almost any action can be justified.
Before considering the last three of the six moral views in this study, let me say that it is within these last three that conservative and orthodox Christians will likely find a moral "home" or base. This is because these are all views of absolutism. They represent moral and ethical systems that hold that there are many moral laws that are universally and absolutely "right" or "wrong" for all people. Christians derive their absolutes from the revealed Word of God, the Bible, which came from an absolutely perfect and holy God.
American conservative Christians will also tend to be politically conservative and comfortable with the notion of the U.S. Constitution being an absolute standard for the rights and governance of its citizens. Only by a strict process, and then only after careful review, can it be amended. The framers of the Constitution were evidently cautious about change, especially when driven by fluid ideas and whims that can be "in" today and "out" tomorrow.
IV. Unqualified absolutism: There Are Many Moral Laws and None of Them Should be Broken.
Origin: Early church father, Augustine, was among greatest expounders of this position.
Biblical insight:
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
(Daniel and the lion's den, three men delivered from fiery furnace, Sarah protected from committing adultery)
Modern example: Legalists, whether conforming to the Bible or other rule of law such as the Constitution, cannot conceive of any justifiable circumstance where a departure from a rule would be morally defensible.
Problems: Not everyone in Scripture was delivered and many became victims.
Hebrews 11:36-38 (NIV) 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned£; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
Though these were honored for dying for the faith, others were commended for protecting others from being murdered by yielding to a higher moral law (lying to prevent. murder). See Heb 11:31; Ex 1:18-20. These are presented later.
V. Conflicting Absolutism: There Are Many Moral Laws and None of Them Should be Broken
. . . unless the keeping of a greater moral law is jeopardized (i.e., lying to save a life). God desires that the greater moral law take priority and be obeyed but God will forgive the breaking of the lesser law.
VI. Graded Absolutism: There Are Many Moral Laws and None of Them Should be Broken
. . . unless the keeping of a greater moral law is jeopardized (i.e., lying to save a life). God desires that the greater moral law take priority and be obeyed but there is no need for forgiveness because the greater moral law is justifiable on its own as the right thing to do among two choices.
Biblical insights:
1. There is a priority in God's moral law.
1 Samuel 15:22 (NIV) 22But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Hebrews 13:17 (NIV) 17Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
BUT
Acts 5:27-32 (NIV) 27Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."
29Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!
2. God commends those who have discernment on the proper application of His moral laws.
a. God rewarded the actions of the midwives with no mention of a rebuke or condemnation in Scripture.
Exodus 1:15-21 (NIV) 15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16"When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." 17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" 19The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." 20So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
b. God rewarded the actions of Rahab with no mention of a rebuke or condemnation in Scripture.
Hebrews 11:31 (NIV) 31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
James 2:24-25 (NIV) 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
c. Christ teaches that there are some matters of the law that are more important than others and to neglect them is a sin.
Matthew 23:23 (NIV) 23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
d. There are degrees of love, the greatest of which was shown by Jesus Christ in the giving of His life for others. Though innocent of any crime, He allowed Himself to be executed so that we might have eternal life.
John 15:13-14 (NIV) 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command.
Conclusion
The difficulty of the church in persuading the world to our view of morality is due to the fact that the world is judging by its own moral standard which is largely non-absolute and atheistic in practice if not in actuality. We must preach the gospel as truth that has been verifiably revealed by a God who will hold all men accountable for their behavior according to His standards and not their own.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NIV) 13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Revelation 20:11-13 (NIV) 11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Debates against the world's views cannot be won apart from sharing the validity of Christ's gospel. By it, fallen man's comes to see his need to reconcile with the God who has revealed Himself and His will in history and in His Word in a way that no other system of belief can claim. Until then, man will continue to demand for himself the right to choose to be the judge of his own actions. Because they spring from a human nature at enmity with God, they are bound to collide until Christ returns to rule.
So, the frustration will probably continue with the world's inability to see the errors of their thinking on the issues we will study. But now we know why and perhaps can focus on persuading men to believe in the God of our values and let the values follow.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally I do not know, but The Monkees (a mid-sixties rock group) sang the following lyrics written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil which somewhat describes the morality of a simpler time.
Shades of Gray
by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
When the world and I were young just yesterday
Life was such a simple game a child could play.
It was easy then to tell right from wrong,
Easy then to tell weak from strong,
When a man should stand and fight or just go along.
But today there is no day or night.
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no black or white,
Only shades of gray.
I remember when the answers seemed so clear.
We had never lived with doubt or tasted fear.
It was easy then to tell truth from lies,
Selling out or compromise,
Who to love and who to hate,
The foolish from the wise.
But today there is no do or night.
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no black or white,
Only shades of gray.
It was easy then to know what was fair,
When to keep and when to share,
How much to protect your heart
And how much to care.
But today there is no do or night.
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no black or white,
Only shades of gray.
Consider these final observations:
· It is easier to tell right from wrong if we accept God's Word as the standard.
· It will become more difficult to stand on its absolutes as this nation and the world moves further away from accepting God as the Author of moral standards that tell us what is absolutely right or wrong.
· It may become costly for us to refuse to move from God's standard as ungodly men seek to take God's place in ruling this nation and the world.
· We will not be the first to stand firm with God at all costs, even at the cost of our "lives , fortunes, and sacred honor."[5]
_____________________________
5Declaration of Independence[1] http://www.afterall.net/quotes/466
[2] Joseph Coleson, Holman Bible Dictionary, "Book of Judges", Parsons Technology, 1994.
[3] "Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993).
[4] http://www83.homepage.villanova.edu/richard.jacobs/MPA%208300/theories/situationism.html
[5] Declaration of Independence
