I don't know which to be more worried by - the fact that I was so tired last week that I didn't notice that I failed to publish my post, or that noone emailed me to mention the fact that a post was missing. I'll write the latter off to people politely forgiving a lapse on my part and the former to my simply being tired at the end of a long week. Thus we move on.
"For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." (Psalm 48:14, NIV)
"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory." (Psalm 73:24, NIV)
"...He guides me in paths of righteousness..." (Psalm 23:3, NIV)
I find more and more in my life that there is rarely anything that is black and white. In fact, I find many of my decisions are choosing between the lesser of two evils (or, even worse, the least of many evils). Perhaps there is a way, given proper contemplation, energy, and resources, to make everything right, to always rise up in a situation and help everyone win. Most of us, however, can't be expected to be perfect all the time. So, within our daily limits, how do we find our way?
This reminds me of the day my father asked me why I was taking a course in ethics. He argued that everyone inherently knows what's right and wrong, and they'll act accordingly. He was of the opinion that noone needed a college-level course on what was "right" to behave better in the world. I explained to him that the course wasn't about what was ethical, it was how to decide what was ethical in the context of an apparent dilemma. I explained that we often have to decide what the right course is when there are unclear or contradictory guidelines, and I cited a number of examples being used in my course at the time (I seem to recall that he was particularly taken by the example of the young child in need of a blood transfusion but whose parent, being Jehovah's Witnesses, refused to allow it).
Ethics, and many related studies, including studies in religion, can guide us in decisions where it seems the course is not obvious. However, I want to believe that in some way my father was right - we all do know what's right, and if we listen to our hearts, and to God, we will always find the way. Perhaps the best ethicist, and the best religious leader, simply helps us hear ourselves more clearly.
May God guide us and give us strength.
posted by Michael A. Seidman @ 11:06 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Obviously your father has never heard of Nihilism.
I've wondered at times if there is such a thing as universal morality. Much of what we would consider obvious morals are, perhaps, cultural in origin. Think of the Innuits who send the old and infirm adrift on ice floes - surely Western culture would consider that highly immoral. Even murder, probably the most extreme immorality, is taken far more lightly in some tribal cultures. (See Jared Diamond's discussion of certain peoples of New Guinea in Guns, Germs, and Steel.)
Interestingly, by invoking scripture at the beginning of this post, you reinforce the idea that morality is cultural. You ask God for guidance in trying times - but by doing so you are asking for guidance within the specific Western religion which you adhere to, and by extension it's moral framework.
Of course, if God is universal, then wouldn't God give each person the advice appropriate to their particular religion?
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