Tag Archives: morality

Morality is Dead

Church Bulletin, Culture, News,

morality is deadMorality is dead. It’s as dead as old Jacob Marley.

Maybe that is an overstatement, but morality is surely on life support, and her heart rate is dropping quickly. Previously, we have written of moral failures by politicians. But more concerning is the excusing gymnastics done by church leaders in defense of their chosen party. It has continued this week in the form of “evangelical leaders” who are excusing reports of marital infidelity.  I support most of the political positions of this person. But I do not have to agree or excuse every aspect of his conduct. Indeed, I cannot. These so-called leaders should be ashamed.

God Judges Morality

God is the righteous judge (Psalm 7:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Timothy 4:8). He will judge all at the appointed time (Acts 10:42; Hebrews 9:27). God will judge based on his word (Revelation 20:12). No man has the right or responsibility to send another man to hell or to grant him eternal life. Such is solely the province of God. However, we do have a responsibility to identify and rebuke sin wherever it arises (2 Timothy 4:2). Such is impossible without wise observations.

If a person denies immoral conduct, we are almost certainly left with incomplete knowledge and should proceed cautiously and with extreme humility. But we must never squander the opportunity to call sin what it is: an unholy, God-opposing act of pride.

Unchanging Morality

Morality doesn’t change and is not modified by current thought. Society is must never be the source of morality. Morality is not a democratic principle to be debated and decided based on majority opinions or votes. Morality is fixed. The Lord is the source of morality, and he doesn’t change (Hebrews 13:8). God is not a man, and he is wholly external to our world. Since he is not subject to our world, he is  the perfect lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22; James 4:12). His word has been given “once for all.” (Jude 3).

To argue that morality changes with time are a human power grab. If a man can control morality, he can then live any way he chooses. Consider the immorality of human slavery. I doubt any thinking person would call the 19th-century American slavery laws moral. They were not. Yet, those laws were legal! The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were passed by the German Reichstag and were the basis for the immoral treatment of Jewish persons. These laws and their subsequent enforcement were undeniably immoral, but they were legal! It should be clear that man has no business tampering with morality.

Calling Sin What It Is: Sin

In an effort to appease some people we have become non-confrontational. We do not wish to offend. In truth, we do no good to a sinner when we ignore his separation from God. He has developed “itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3) and we are only scratching that itch! No man is perfect. All sin (Romans 3:23). We must all work together to overcome sin. I may support many things bout a man. I may respect his successes and his thoughts. But I must never be seen as supportive of his sin.

— Bryant Evans

The Basis of Morality, Part 2

Apologetics, Church Bulletin,

Last week, we discussed two possible sources for the existence of morality: law and society. In either case the resulting moral code is subject to change and to the vagaries of society. That which is wrong today is right tomorrow. All it takes to shift the moral code is a change of opinion on the part of culture. We now look at the third possible source of morality. We will see that the God of the Bible is the only satisfactory explanation for the existence of a global moral code.

The Christian argues that there is a firm basis for morality which is the God of the Bible. We accept that the atheist denies the existence of any supernatural being which would include Jehovah. But the Biblical portrait of God does offer a reasonable, rational explanation for morality.

The Basis of Morality is External to Humanity

The weakness of the atheistic position is that morality is established by culture. As one skeptic opined on Twitter: “There is no right or wrong. There are socially acceptable behaviors and socially unacceptable behaviors.” We would argue that there is a deep divide between “socially acceptable” and “moral.”

Any lawgiver must be separate or apart from that which he governs. Otherwise, he is subject to the same criticisms as the societal model of morality. The God of the Bible is separate from His creation. Remember, we only seek to show, at this point, that the Biblical model is consistent.

The Bible open with the familiar “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1). At the very beginning the Bible declares that God already existed. Genesis 1:2 declares the presence of the “Spirit of God” at creation and John 1:2, 3 says the Son of God, Jesus, was likewise present at creation. Thus, the entire Godhead is present before creation and is the Creator. The God of the Bible must be separate from that which it created.

The difference between the creation and the Creator is maintained in the prophets. Isaiah wrote: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8, 9).

The final 4 chapters of Job highlight the superiority of the God of the Bible over his Creation. The consistent Biblical picture of God is of one external to his creation. Therefore, he is not subject to the same criticism as leveled against internal participants. We have established that the God of the Bible may consistently be viewed as the creator.

If Jehovah is the Creator, and He is, then we would expect to be submissive to his will and way. He has the power to tell us what to do. We are thankful, however, that the God of the Bible is a God of love, mercy and justice. He is benevolent and loves his creation. Therefore we have two reasons to serve our God. The first is obvious. We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). But it is also true that we respect or fear the God of the Bible. His power is great and his might is beyond words. He has the power to compel our good conduct. Yet, he has chosen not to. Instead, he has given us a choice to obey or disobey. But, he has reserved unto Himself, the power to punish as a consequence for disobedience. Let us choose now to serve him gladly for his love and grace toward us.

The Basis of Morality

Apologetics, Church Bulletin, Culture, News, ,

Khalid_Shaikh_MohammedTerrible. Awful. Horrible. Confusing. Evil. Five words heard all week describing the events in France. It is hard to find words that adequately describe the carnage and brutality produced by Islamic terrorists. In my circle of associates, I know no one who would support these murderous activities.

Elsewhere in the news we hear of other barbaric events. A 10 year old girl was strapped with explosives and sent into a crowded market. The bomb was detonated killing her and at least 20 others.  In my area a man was sentenced to death this week for murdering his 3 and 4 year old children by choking them to death. His wife goes on trial next.

There is plenty of death and destruction to talk about.

But consider that every description declares or implies these events to be bad or evil. They are correct. They are evil. But what is the basis for that declaration? How can I say anything is morally repugnant or wrong? Is it simply a matter of law?

No. By declaring a thing to be wrong, we necessarily imply the existence of a lawgiver that is beyond our world. We cannot declare a thing to be absolutely wrong without God.

Indeed, morality without God is only an opinion.

Morality has only two possible sources apart from God.

Morality Comes From Law

We quickly see the emptiness of equating law with morality. Our national history is speckled with clearly immoral laws. Slavery was legal in this country until the mid-19th century. While some states did not allow slavery within their borders, the federal government did permit and condone its practice. I know of no one who would argue that slavery is moral.

Many of the actions of 1930’s and 1940’s Germany were legal within that country. Yet, when the war was over, Germans were adjudicated guilty. They were judged against the lofty standards of the victors yet we must agree that their evil conduct was legal within their country.

Oddly enough, El Salvador is being targeted by one human rights organization because abortion is banned in that country. It is illegal. Regardless of how you feel about abortion, note that law is not an acceptable substitute or foundation for morality. Even pro-abortion voices, who believe the pro-abortion stance is moral, will conclude the same.

Morality based on law is changed when opinions change. Slavery ended. Germany was defeated. If we argue that morality is based on law then we must accept that morality is easily changed and shifted. There is no objective standard. That’s not stable. It’s not moral.

Morality without God is only an opinion.

Morality Comes from Society

An advertising executive once said, “Truth is what the people believe.” I don’t agree and you probably do not either. We like to think of truth as being objective. Like 2 + 2 = 4. It doesn’t change. Truth and morality are inextricably linked. If truth remains firm and unchanging so does the behavior it reflects.

But if morality and truth are subject to societal shifts, we are again left with little more than an opinion. Until the 1970’s, homosexuality was considered wrong, even sinful. But today, society has largely changed its mind. Even some religious denominations now openly accept the practice of homosexuality. So what changed? Did morality change that quickly? If society and culture determine morality we must ask where we will be in another 50 years. Will society soften its view of pedophilia? In Utah the age of consent is 18 but a 23 year old may engage in sex with a 16 year old. In Mexico, the age of consent is 12 although there are some constraints until the child is older. Already, some communities view sex with children as acceptable in some circumstances. In this country, a small subset of the population argues for legalization of pedophilia.

What society once viewed as immoral is fast gaining acceptance. Ideas and opinions are changing.

Morality without God is only an opinion.

Our point is simply this: God, that is, a lawgiver apart from our own existence, is the only reasonable foundation for any moral proclamation. Otherwise, what is evil today is heroic tomorrow.

 

Should We Change?

Abortion, Church Bulletin, Culture, Government, Homosexuality, , , , ,

People vote for a candidate for one or many possible reasons. One very large set of issues are those that deal with social issues or moral issues. Things like abortion, gambling, gay marriage and work ethic issues define many American voters. For many years, politicos have been telling us that these issues are unimportant to many and downright offensive to others. In the aftermath of last week’s election those who seek an amoral approach to politics are even louder and point to our belief in certain foundational social issues as one major reason that a conservative candidate was not elected. One commentator was bold enough to say that it was time to leave abortion behind. Are they right? Should we become silent and even indifferent to moral issues? Of course not.

Moral Issues Are God’s Issues

Our support of moral issues is predicated on Biblical teaching. We support what God has taught and dare not support what he condemns. Paul says God has spoken to us through his Spirit and  that the Spirit has searched and knows “the depths of God”  (1 Corinthians 2:6-13). It is this same Spirit that guides men into truth (John 16:13) and moved holy men to compose the books of the Bible we have today (2 Peter 1:21). We can no more jettison clear Bible teaching than we can reject the sonship of Jesus Christ.

Moral Issues Are “Salt” Issues

Jesus expects his people to be men and women of influence. He uses common salt as an example of the Christian in Matthew 5:13. The idea is unmistakable. Christians must come into contact with the world so that we can influence the world. Peter, James and John could not live upon the Transfiguration Mountain; the apostles could not remain in the upper room after the crucifixion. The work was among men. Likewise, our work is among the people of our day. We must add influence where we can.

Moral Issues Elevate a People

When a nation pursues God and seeks righteousness and goodness, that nation is blessed. Solomon said, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” The founders of this nation understood that principle and sought divine blessings. Only succeeding, corrupt, generations have twisted their desires and intents to exclude righteousness from the public square. God blesses those who draw near to him (James 4:8) while opposing those who do not (Psalm 34:16).

Moral Issues Are Not Decided by the Majority

In Genesis 6, Noah did not take a poll before beginning the ark. Joshua did not seek military advice before encircling Jericho (Joshua 6). As Noah’s story makes clear, the majority is a horrible indicator of righteousness. The Lord himself tells us that most will be lost (Matthew 7:13). Pollsters and politicos would have use determine the important issues based upon focus groups and polling data. Sadly, some religious groups today survey their communities to decide what to preach on. Opinion driven preaching is driving millions into Satan’s arms every day. We must stand for truth even if we are the last man standing.

Christians must stand for goodness and influence others for righteousness whenever and wherever they can. We cannot be deluded into thinking that political victories are important enough to ignore what God has said. Let us stand until the Lord calls us home.

 

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter  @jbevans.

Militant Atheism

Apologetics, Culture, ,

Militant atheists are in the news again. This subset of the larger God-denying population is not content to live in disbelief themselves. They need to attack those who do believe in God and in the concept of a higher being. In California a militant group is publicly tearing pages from a Bible on a public pier. They argue that the Bible contains immoral passages. It’s a curious charge. From where, exactly, do morals arise? From government? Ask survivors of the American slave trade how that worked out. From the international community? Do you really want the United Nations declaring morality while it includes leaders of terrorist nations on its human rights committees? Maybe from the individual perhaps? Sure, let everyone craft a moral standard that meets their desires. We have name for that: chaos. Morality cannot come from within man or even from within society. The existence of common morals points to a divine God.

Meanwhile, another militant atheist group says Christians and Muslims must be “eradicated.” To be fair, the writer added a postscript to his article after he was called on the carpet. He says he means the doctrines of Christianity and Islam must be eradicated. But again, to be fair to both sides, his rant is full of hate speech and it doesn’t take much imagination to conclude that he would be just fine without any Christians around. In an incredible part of his  writing he links Christians together with those who practice bizarre and fringe conduct in the name of faith.

As long as they are allowed to exist, we will continue to be inundated with accounts of buses, buildings, markets and abortion clinics being blown up, rape victims being murdered for adultery, wives being beaten (sometimes to death), airplanes being flown into buildings, people being tortured and sometimes beheaded for blasphemy, people being burned for witchcraft and sorcery and all the other horrific, inhumane and insane practices that are part of fundamental Christianity and Radical Islam.

Read the article for yourself and judge.

We must not respond in kind to these sorts of attacks. Instead let us proclaim loudly the love of Jesus Christ for all men and that salvation is offered to whosoever will come. Only by shouting and living love can we silence the hate speech of others.

 

Teen Pregnancy

Abortion, Family Issues, Youth,

There is troubling news today about teen pregnancies and the rate of abortion. A new report suggests a rise in pregnancies and abortions although the long term trend remains downward. I’ll let you read it for yourself at TIME.COM. But we should be reminded that we all need to remain vigilant and maintain open lines of communication with our young boys and girls.

The answer to abortions is not legislation but solid moral training at home. Parents who wait for the schools or the churches to teach their children about sex make a profound error. It is the job of parents to teach children the all important facts of life. Parents must step up and teach their children.

When pregnancies do occur let us use compassion and love to help the young people make wise, Godly decisions. We must give them the tools and options which allow them to carry their children to term and we must encourage them to draw near to God who gives comfort as no other.

What are your thoughts?

A Broken Moral Compass

Daily living, Doctrine

compass_thumbnailI’m passing along a post this morning from a high school junior in Dobbs, New York. Charlie Nathan is part of the millennial generation, those born between 1981 and 2001. It is from this group that the next set of American leaders will come. These new leaders will have to fix, repair and rebuild what we have damaged. Our problems will become their opportunities to shine. But some are concerned that we have not properly prepared our youth.

It is refreshing to hear a young man such as Nathan address such a weighty issue as the lack of American morality.

Once America has weathered the current economic crisis, we Millennials will be called upon to bring the economy into the middle of this century — to take risks, create jobs, and elevate the nation to the next level of achievement by replacing our retiring entrepreneurs.

He is exactly right that his generation will soon lead the way. However even he is concerned:

It’s a shame we never learned the solid moral values necessary to accomplish these goals and maintain a healthy civil society.

Nathan observes many reasons for the lack of morality among some in his generation. Among those problems are parents – he calls them “helicopter parents” who hovered over their children doing “anything to give them the edge.” He also blames little league programs that reward winners and losers and even Mr. Rogers who told children that the world revolved around them. This young man leaves few toes untrampled in his comments.

Sadly, he misfires in his conclusion:

Whether it is God, Karma, or whatever else that informs our moral ethics, all that Millennials need to do is simply be good. As Rabbi Hillel said two thousand years ago when he summarized the Torah, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to others. All the rest is commentary.”

The Bible teaches that only God is good (Luke 18:19). All good blessings come from him (James 1:17). Apart from the goodness and might of God there are no morals, only shifting opinions. In any case, it’s worth your time to read this post in its entirety at the American Thinker.