...crazy, right?
Morals are being compromised at an alarming rate. Things that never used to be okay are now considered normal. Here's one example (please forgive the accuracy of the following statistics--I'm going from secondhand information because I can't use Google): about 100 years ago, committing adultery was still considered a crime in the United States, subject to substantial fine or even jail sentence. And now, something like 60% of couples cohabit before they're married, which is, in effect, committing adultery. If the same rules from 100 years ago still applied, 60% of couples in the US would be in jail right now.
Think about that for a second.
Moral values in this world have changed drastically. Do you really think that morality has changed, or man's perception of morality? I don't know about any of you, but I believe in eternal Truth. Right and Wrong are concrete; they don't change. God's rules don't change because of what His rebellious children think they want to do.
A lot of these things in the world today are poisonous. There's some seriously harmful stuff out there. I think one of the greatest tasks of mortality is to learn to overcome these negative moral influences--to rise above the "world," so to speak.
I'm reminded of a story from the Old Testament. When Moses was leading the Israelites through the wilderness, they came across some fiery serpents (poisonous snakes) that started biting people. Moses asked the Lord what to do, and under His direction, "Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived" (Numbers 21:9). All the people had to do was look at a brass snake and they would be healed of all their afflictions. They just had to look, and they would be able to overcome this trial of the world.
I don't know about you, but if I were one of the Israelites, I would be looking at that snake about like this.
That brass serpent was a symbol of Christ. If we look to Him--if we stick to the moral guidelines and strive to live the teachings that Christ gave us--we would be build upon a solid moral foundation. We would be okay when the world hit us from every direction. "...Remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Helaman 5:12, Book of Mormon).
As we look to Christ, we can overcome the world. As we embrace Him and His teachings, we can not only rise above many temptations and negative influences, but we can find peace and joy from His love.
Embrace the brass serpent.
(I know, it's a stretch, but I wanted to show off the snake I caught...)
Friends, I know how important it is to stand on high moral ground in this stormy world we live in. I promise, you can find much more happiness here than you can anywhere else. I know because I've looked elsewhere--I've checked out both sides of this--and the other side has nothing you want. If you want to find lasting joy in this world of instant gratification, send me a message or a letter. I can help you. Promise.
I think access to statistics are essential in a discussion like this.
ReplyDeleteThere is a vast difference between legal and ethical. One of the reasons we have divested the laws that criminalize adultery is that adultery laws have a serious record of punishing women more than men for comparable offense. Changing a systemic ethical problem is ethical. It is moral progress.
There is no reason on earth to think that people are having more sex now than they did in the past.
Education plus progressive, sex positive culture leads to first sex happening on safer terms. There are some indications that it delays first sex experience rather than encourage lax approaches.
Adultery and fornication are wholly different actions precisely because adultery includes the breach of an explicit promise. Fornication is sex without the navigation of agreement. No matter what you think about marriage, a breached promise is a different matter and in addition to the sex thing.
Sex should never be the sole gage of morality. There are far more serious problems than people having sex outside of marriage. Murder and almost every other type of direct violence are on the decline world-wide. That seems to be a clear indication that humanity is becoming more ethical, more moral.
The single strongest correlation between declined marriage rates and ethics are the economic empowerment of women. As women have become financially independent, they have felt empowered to choose other paths. That has correlated with a dramatic decline in domestic violence. I think these are all indicators of improved ethics and a more humane world.
Morals are not being compromised at an alarming rate. That just doesn’t add up to the many indicators we have available. The world has always had many problems, and that is still the case, but it just isn’t true that things are getting worse.
(part 1)
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to briefly (revision… this turned out to be NOT so brief) respond to the comment above. I do agree with Paul.is.slow in his last comment of "The world has always had many problems, and that is still the case" I also agree that it is hard to quantify the amount of sex from the past to present. I do challenge the statement that things aren’t getting worse.
Here are ten indicators we have available to determine if morals are being compromised at an alarming rate or not.
There were TEN commandments given... and TEN are still in place.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Who do we idolize? Who do we “worship” with our time, talents, money. I would wager that the majority put many pastimes, video games, pop stars or sports heroes in line before My God.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Yes… this is in the same list of Thou shalt not kill…. how many people even know it’s a commandment?!?!? I can’t hardly go to the grocery store any more without my ears hearing this once or twice!
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
I’m not going to bother with statistics here… and it would be hard to set some cross denominational agreements on “what” keeping the sabbath holy even entails… but I feel safe to say that over the past 100 years this is something that is indeed gotten substantially worse.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother.
Here’s a quote from a wonderful talk by an apostle of God in our day. It can be found here in it’s entirety and is well worth the read. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/no-other-gods?lang=eng
• In many countries and cultures (1) the traditional family of a married mother and father and children is coming to be the exception rather than the rule, (2) the pursuit of a career instead of marriage and the bearing of children is an increasing choice of many young women, and (3) the role and perceived necessity of fathers is diminishing.
(part 2)
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard to honor thy father and mother… when the idea of family is hardly honored anymore. In our day, for the convenience of man, every part of a family can be outsourced. Cooking can be bought, cleaning arranged for, childcare provided, and meaningful in person relationships replaced with texting and chat rooms. An entire blog can easily be dedicated to the subject of the degradation of the family and I guarantee you that Satan is doing a happy dance over his victories.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
I’ll go on your statistics. This is awesome. I’m glad that at least one commandment of God is still considered pretty haynes.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
True that fornication and adultery are different. But again… I think the point isn’t so much how many people are doing it… as it is… what is society’s views of acceptability? With shows like Glee that (while highly entertaining… darn catchy tunes!) practically have viewers begging Mr. Schuester to give in to his feelings for the sweet Emma, THOUGH he’s married…. it’s these examples in popular culture that lead me to think that many find adultery justifiable depending on the circumstances. Which… it is not.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
Generally still widely accepted as wrong I think.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Generally still widely accepted as wrong I think… BUT I do believe the idea of Honor and Integrity are being lost.
10. Thou shalt not covet.
Keeping up with the Joneses anyone?? In this age of excess, I shouldn’t even have to touch this one. I don’t know that it’s worse now than in the past… but I know it’s bad now.
By the way the above review by which to judge the moral standing of society is the lesser law. Review Matthew 5:17-48. Specifically verse 27 & 28 which says
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Christ holds us to a higher law because he knows that it brings a higher happiness and greater blessings.
OK… so, sorry for the LONG reply… especially to a reply…. but I think it’s important to look at the whole picture.
One last link to check out… Sorry sister Nealy you’ll have to watch it post mission. It’s from a youth pastor (not sure which denomination) entitled, If You’re Not Married and You Do This— it’s Dangerous. The Reason Why Will Make Total Sense After…
http://www.faithit.com/john-mark-comer-biblical-talk-sex-purity-beauty-love/#.UwYzZiZnUcg.facebook
When you hear the real, biblical, reason behind sex, it’s more beautiful and rich than you could ever imagine.
and THAT… is the point. God has defined what is moral. And though many try, these morals can’t be changed based on popular opinion.
This is a pretty good run down of a few versus in Exodus 20, popularly known as the ten commandments, and how they might relate to modern moral issues. But keep reading a you'll come across equally authoritative commandments to stone your recalcitrant children to death, lock away menstrual women for being unclean, killing all the men in the local villages and taking their young virgins as prizes, killing witches, the taking and keeping of slaves, and a whole lot of other reprehensible things the children of Israel claim God wanted them to do. I suggest the moral basis for these commandments is at best situational, and at worst, non-existent. Do you really think you can just pick and choose the commandments based on what suits your personal view of what's moral?
DeleteNone of these other commandments or ethical questions were addressed in the original post. I don't have an arsenal of statistics to see the direction of these things. Nor do I care. It isn't that I am comfortable living in a world where it is ok to steal. Rather, I think direct violence is the worser problem. I don't care about a claim to a higher law until we have substantially addressed the basic law (or moral imperative. As I already indicated, I think legality is separate from the ethical position). Murder rides the top of that chain for me, and for most people when it comes down to it. Even LDS people.
ReplyDeleteI can contradict that by saying that an absence of murder done not set the bar adequately high for socially acceptable behavior. I am simply pointing out that improvement in murder stats and rape stats and other violent crime outweigh the more nuanced and internal work yet to be done. There is still substantial improvement in the world’s ethics (righteousness).
If I go down the list of the 10 commandments, I still believe there is ample evidence that things are improving.
Your scripture indicates concisely and clearly how to determine the ethical position at any given time. Observe the way that poor people are treated. Is there work to be done? Certainly. But there is also clear indication of progress and not regression. There is growing awareness of global poverty issues, and there are resources and attention paid to these issues. People may be busily lusting after all kinds of body parts on the internet and in the streets, yet millions and millions of people are being pulled out of abject poverty. If you trust your scripture, the improved lot of the world’s poor is adequate evidence that the righteousness of the world is in fact improving. To believe otherwise is a negation of your own scripture.