Sunday, November 20, 2005

Random Thoughts on Religion, Evil and the arrogance of man

Time flies when you're caring for a new grandbaby. Time spent rocking such a small bundle of innocence gives time for pondering what kind of world she will grow up in.

My first thought was to pray to God she will grow up in a time when civility in discourse has a renaissance in this country. My second thought was to again pray, this time that God would awaken us to the problem of evil.

There is a distinct problem with many in America concerning a confrontation with evil. I think much of the problem may stem from a seismic shift from traditional moral values to the current prevailing view of moral relativism. We're hesitant to posit as "truth" anything outside of what is true for us. We feel uncomfortable invading someone else's space by telling them that what they are doing is wrong. We're victims of feelings-- so much so that we fail to see that feelings are of much less importance than the survival of a culture.

I wonder if this shift has something to do with people ignoring the call traditional morality places on their own lives. Perhaps they embrace moral relativism as a way of excusing their own behavior, or of insulating themselves against criticism from others. Aldous Huxley, at least, was honest about the reasons for his abandonment of morality and his attack on religion. He said, "We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom. ...There was one admirably simple method of confuting these people and at the same time justifying ourselves in our political and sexual revolt: We could deny that the world had any meaning whatsoever."

What arrogance! Why do I say that? I think it's extremely arrogant to assume a position that has proven in the past to lead to the downfall of a culture-- to believe that somehow a claim to sophistication will create a different result from the same behavior.

Something to think about.