Moral Clarity

We believe that we are morally superior to the rest of the world, when in fact we are morally bankrupt.  The spate of new laws and "recommendations" from efforts to undo the second amendment, to the government wanting banks to alert them when someone withdraws more than $5000, to the fraud of Ferguson and Michael Brown (and the complete silence regarding a victim who DID plead for his life) suggests that our world is completely upside down.  As Dr. Gracia Grindal said many years ago: there was a point in time where nothing was permitted and everything was forgiven.  Today, everything is permitted and nothing is forgiven.  How true.  And how telling of the moral crisis in America.

We have come to the point in this nation's history where somehow we seem to think that we can regulate morality and ethics.  The problem is that both must begin from within.  The prophet Joel said "Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love..."  No amount of regulation or legislation will stem the tide of moral bankruptcy here in America.  A change in the hearts and attitudes of everyone is the only thing that can accomplish this.  And that change must necessarily come about because of another spiritual awakening here in America.

The other day I was listening to the news on the way to Kearney.  A group of people were in a town hall meeting of sorts with the President.  He was asked what he would have done differently in his first 6 years of office, and the response was "I should have closed Guantanamo Bay on day 1" which was met with light, glib applause.  This only further illuminates the moral confusion and relativity that exists in this country, if that is the "worst mistake" he thinks he's made as president.  Until we collectively come to terms with the concepts of good and evil, this moral crisis will continue to grow.

Martin Luther, around the time of the Reformation (1517 AD), wrote this:  "A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil.  A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is." (LW 31:39)  While Luther's "Heidelburg Disputation" was concerned more about abuses among theologians regarding the Word of God, it certainly speaks to the moral ambiguity that exists today, in that anything goes.  It was in 1988 that a fellow through hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail commented that "if you can do it, then it is natural order, and therefore acceptable."  The implications of that statement are then that such things as murder would be a part of a naturally accepted order simply because we have the capacity as humans to carry it out.  Society has always viewed murder as a crime.

The "so-called" liberal ideology is what calls for all these regulations.  It goes by various names:  Liberation theology, Feminist theology, Social Justice, Restorative Justice, and so on.  They are needed, we are told, to ensure the collective good.  However, that is a lie.  It always has been.  There is nothing wrong, mind you, with seeking to bring about things that work for the collective good of society.  But in the end, we find all too often that such efforts are nothing more than selfish ambition.  Few people truly care about others.  They only seek to serve the good of those who are advocating such social changes.  With power comes great responsibility and that responsibility is usually squandered.  Instead, we find that it is true that "absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The prophet Joel was right:  humility in the face of God comes from the heart, and so must a collective moral responsibility.  As long as we act from our own self-interests, we will continue to see the world increasingly in crisis, and spiraling further downward toward self-destruction.

I will continue next week with a more in-depth look at history as we attempt to gain a better moral clarity for the world.