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In the Twenty-first Century how do we define morality? Some would rely on personal preference
or a "gut" feeling or whim. Others seek to frame morality in scientific terms. Yet many still
cling to morality as taught in the word of God — the Bible. But each definition essentially
comes down to what standard of authority one chooses to follow. However complex we strive to
make morality our decision is based on some standard, whether we admit it or not.
The tendency of modern man is to be morally ambiguous. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. We don't want to step on anyone's toes. The argument usually goes like this; "There are good, honest people on both sides of this issue. We can't know anything for sure so we must step out in faith and make a decision while agreeing to disagree". Their standard is moral ambiguity. Let us apply this ambiguity to the "real" world. I take a prescription from my medical doctor to a pharmacist. He fills it and returns it to me with these words: "I know the doctor prescribed this medicine but I feel that an alternative would be more effective, so I used it instead." You know that your doctor is a good, honest professional and so is your pharmacist. Which one would you choose to follow? For obvious, logical reasons I would choose the doctor and go to another pharmacist. My standard would be based on rationality. It would be the "moral" thing to do! I cannot come down on both sides. I must make a choice. There is no approved example of ambiguity found in the Bible. Its writers clearly come down on the side of absolutes. Notice this statement from the founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ: "Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:5-6). The definitive article "the" shows us that Jesus was proclaiming an absolute truth to Thomas and us. There is only one "way" to God and that is through Jesus Christ. There is no room for ambiguity with Jesus Christ. Wherever you look in the Bible you find moral absolutes. For example, "Thou shalt not kill," which God proclaimed in Exodus 20:13. The Apostle Paul reiterated God's command in the New Testament (Rom. 13:9). Yet it is obvious from the Bible that God meant the killing of innocent human life since capital punishment has been prescribed by God as the option of government (cf. Rom. 13:1-4). Paul, standing before the Roman Governor Porcius Festus on an erroneous charge, said, "For if I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die..." (Acts 25:11). He accepted the government's God given right to execute the guilty. But this does not mean government has the right to allow the termination of innocent human life — the innocent child in its mother's womb who has harmed no one as abortion on-demand routinely does. The Bible tells us that child was created "in the image of God" (Gen. 1:27). There is no other conclusion on this moral issue than that abortion equals murder. Again, there is no room for moral ambiguity. Some folk may feel discomfort at the standard of morality provided by the word of God. It requires them to make a choice in their lives that may offend others or conflict with their own wishes. If they reject God's word they reject His authority in their lives. There is no middle ground. |