Insecurity => creativity LO11055

Benjamin B. Compton (bcompton@geocities.com)
Mon, 18 Nov 1996 20:59:19 -0700

Replying to LO11012 --

Kerr, Donald wrote:

> Ben Compton logically expresses concern for my views about morality as
> defined as unconditional belonging and living moral as "Love and do as you
> please." Question is what is logical?
>
> >I think we should be careful when we say morality is doing that which we
> >love and wish...
>
> I believe you have made a leap of abstraction here that needs clarified.
> "Love and do as you wish" is very much different from "Do as you love and
> wish." The former starts and ends with Jesus Christ. The later starts
> and ends with you. Whom do you trust?

I see your point. My frame of reference was one of "morality relativism,"
which pervades the life of some of my closest friends. I was sitting at
the top of the ladder of inference.

> >unless of course we're willing to accept all the implications of such a
> >statement.
>
> It is not up to me to accept or reject the implications. The one who
> loses his life will find it.

Without question this is a Christian belief. The question this raises is
how does someone who is "loosing" their life, and still not finding
happiness, accept the fact that they may need to do something rather
drastic to find happiness?

For instance, take someone who is unhappily married. After years of
"loosing" themselves in a bad relationship, they finally discover that the
pain is so acute that it is ruining almost every aspect of their life.
However, they're afraid that if they leave the marriage, they'll be
committing a sin (which both the Old Testament and the New Testament more
than imply). What does this person do? By leaving the marriage they're
voluntarily separating themselves from a valued community -- the family.
Is their behavior immoral?

> >If one "loves and wishes" to murder, then we'd have to say, "Hey, thats
> >ok, its what that person likes." I have a small problem with that idea.
>
> If one "Loves...and does as one pleases" it is impossible to love murder.
> If one has a small problem, one has not yet lost one's life.
>
> >Which implies there is no such thing as moral absoluteness.
>
> If one choses to hold on to one's life, one needs rules. If one loses his
> life, one does not need rules...just trust.

Take my previous example. How does that impact that person's trust in God?
They've followed the "rules" and they haven't brought happiness?

Now for a little diversion. . .

When I was 19 or so I read a wonderful book, "The Man Called Intrepid,"
which I still read frequently. It is a documentary about the "secret war"
Britain and America (along with many allied countries in occupied Europe)
waged against the Axis Powers.

The Germans relied heavily on communications sent through the Engima, a
machine which encrypted each message. The British were able to steal a
copy of the Enigma, and spent tremendous resources on trying to "decrypt"
the orders sent from Berlin to field commandors.

At one point, the British discovered that the Germans were going to bomb
Coventry in a fortnight. Churchill was immediately notified. The question
he then had to resolve was, did he evacuate Coventry, and tip the Germans
off to the fact that he could decipher their codes, or did he leave the
people there, give the normal warnings, and let innocent people die? He
had a couple of weeks to think about it.

When I read this tears swelled up in my eyes. For the first time I
realized how insufficient my moral code was to deal with such an
overwhelming decision; and I felt for Churchill, who had no choice but to
make a decision that should probably have been refered to God. In the end,
Churchill left the people in Coventry. Thousands were killed. The Germans
boasted, after the attack, that they were going to "Convetrytize England."

I'm not sure religion always provides us to the answers to moral dilemas.
I think, sometimes, we have to "fill in the gaps," and do our best. I
think religion can and does provide a set of formal rules that have broad
relevance; but God expects us to use our mind and make difficult decisions
on our own.

-- 
Ben Compton
The Accidental Learning Group                  Work: (801) 222-6178
Improving Business through Science and Art     bcompton@geocities.com
http://www.e-ad.com/ben/BEN.HTM
 

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