{"id":17777,"date":"2018-05-24T15:58:24","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T22:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=17777"},"modified":"2018-05-24T19:17:03","modified_gmt":"2018-05-25T02:17:03","slug":"absolute-relative-certainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/absolute-relative-certainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Absolute Relative Certainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHALLENGE: Read through each item on this list. After each statement, decide if Jimmy\u2019s action is morally wrong:<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jimmy Burned an American Flag.
\nJimmy is a vegan and ate bacon today.
\nJimmy has two wives.
\nJimmy worships the sun god, Ra.
\nJimmy is a Muslim.
\nJimmy is a Jew.
\nJimmy killed a rat.
\nJimmy killed a cat.
\nJimmy killed an endangered white Rhino.
\nJimmy voted for Donald Trump.
\nJimmy voted for Hillary Clinton.
\nJimmy goes to the park every day to watch children play.
\nJimmy belongs to the N.R.A.
\nJimmy donates money to Planned Parenthood.
\nJimmy is gay.
\nJimmy has one-night stands.
\nJimmy came to America illegally.
\nJimmy divorced his wife.
\nJimmy asked his wife to have an abortion.
\nJimmy killed his wife.
\nJimmy smokes a pack of cigarettes every day.
\nJimmy has beer for breakfast.
\nJimmy is 19, his girlfriend is 16.
\nJimmy is 21, his girlfriend is 16.
\nJimmy is 31, his girlfriend is 16.
\nJimmy is a television preacher who asks widows for money.
\nJimmy claims to be Christian but never goes to church.
\nJimmy weighs 350 pounds.
\nJimmy tells gay people that they need to repent of their sins.
\nJimmy smokes marijuana.
\nJimmy steals food when he is hungry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As you read that list, what emotions did you feel?<\/h3>\n

Was this exercise easy or difficult?<\/h3>\n

Did you find yourself rationalizing your answers (example: Jimmy steals food because he is a 6-year-old orphan living on the streets)?<\/p>\n

As we think about morality, politics, and religion, most of us believe that there is a right and a wrong way to think and act. In fact, many people have strong feelings about a lot of the statements on the above list. Why is that? Why are some of the above statements \u201cwrong\u201d and others \u201creprehensible?\u201d Why do some statements cause us to say, \u201cthat is his decision, even though I would not do that\u201d and others cause us to say, \u201cthat behavior is absolutely repulsive?\u201d \u00a0Why can one good person say that it is immoral to vote for Hillary Clinton and another good person say that it is immoral to vote for Donald Trump?<\/p>\n

In his book, The Righteous Mind, social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt searches after the reasons that good, intelligent people have such strong feelings about morality, politics, and religion that are opposite of one another. By examining ethnographies, scientific studies, and philosophy, Haidt digs deep into some interesting material. In his research, Haidt asked participants to respond to outrageous and emotive moral questions. His goal was to determine what led some people to respond that, for example, incest is always wrong, and others to say that it is tolerable if birth control is used.<\/p>\n

Haidt builds his theories around Scottish philosopher David Hume\u2019s statement that reason was \u201cthe slave of the passions\u201d. In other words, our gut tells us what is right and wrong, and our mind justifies what our gut tells us. He develops these thoughts more in the latter part of the book and concludes that individuals need to learn to understand what is referred to as the \u201crighteous mind\u201d of a people who belong to different groups.<\/p>\n

Muslims believe that Sharia law is God\u2019s plan for humanity, while Hindus do not. Christians and Jews believe that God Himself gave humankind the Ten Commandments. Taoists do not agree. In the end, Haidt basically says that we inherit our beliefs from the groups that we most identify with. He encourages all of us to be more tolerant of one another.<\/p>\n

As Christians who are rooted in God\u2019s word, we believe that morality and ethics is something that God cares deeply about. To take out all references to morality, behavior, and holiness from the Bible, and you would end up with a very thin book. Also, who wants to follow a savior who says, \u201cLove your enemies\u2026or don\u2019t\u2026you decide?\u201d<\/p>\n

Politics, morality, and religion are clashing in contemporary society. Courtrooms, the press, and social media are confronted with at hotbed of quandaries:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Should Catholic nuns be required by law to pay for health care plans that include abortion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Should Muslim truck drivers be forced to transport beer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Should Christian adoption agencies be able to deny the placement of a child in a home based on their view of the morality of the parents?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Should a\u00a0Walmart\u00a0employee who morally opposes the sale of guns be forced to sell rifles?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Should a government employee who is overheard using a racial slur in a private conversation be fired?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Should a Mennonite couple who owns a wedding chapel be forced to host a gay wedding?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Should sports teams forbid any kind of social protest by players at athletic events?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Should America stop accepting refugees in order to focus on the welfare of the people who are currently living here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I think about these buzzworthy questions, I both appreciate Haidt\u2019s work and reject it.<\/p>\n

Let me explain. I appreciate that my mind is stretched by Haidt\u2019s intriguing research. A reader cannot help but to be challenged personally by A Righteous Mind. \u201cDo I hold to my beliefs because they are right?\u201d \u201cAm I just a product of my upbringing?\u201d These questions cannot be avoided. Haidt rightly challenges us to be compassionate with people who have different beliefs. This is something that we need to see more of in this world.<\/p>\n

Yet, as a person of faith, I have committed my life to the God of the Bible. Scripture is filled with instructions about justice, moral purity, loving relationships, and holy living.<\/p>\n

In addition to this, I have a relationship with God through the Holy Spirit which guides me in life choices. In my experience, the Holy Spirit has never led me to do something contradictory to scripture. At the same time, I do not think that the Holy Spirit has every checked the latest Gallup Poll before giving a Christian guidance.<\/p>\n

Sure, there are parts of the Bible that are difficult to figure out…<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want me to take my son, Isaac, on a hike up a mountain and do what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that, Jesus? I almost thought that you said that I needed to pluck my eye out? I must have misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, the Bible is filled with clear and consistent instructions about morality and relationships.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the end, I reject Haidt\u2019s premise that morality is a solely a matter of personal preference based on the group which I identify. I believe in a holy God who challenges us to lives of holiness\u2026 not by our definition but by His. Not as slaves to our desires, but as children of the King.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHALLENGE: Read through each item on this list. After each statement, decide if Jimmy\u2019s action is morally wrong:   Jimmy Burned an American Flag. Jimmy is a vegan and ate bacon today. Jimmy has two wives. Jimmy worships the sun god, Ra. Jimmy is a Muslim. Jimmy is a Jew. Jimmy killed a rat. Jimmy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":17779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1265,1214,869,758,1262,1264],"class_list":["post-17777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-and-stuff","tag-haidt","tag-morality","tag-politics","tag-the-righteous-mind","tag-the-sevens-are-righteous-bro","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17777"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17789,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17777\/revisions\/17789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}