GOOD VS. EVIL

[WaltL1]

Southern Baptist Convention or any other organization has adjustable standards. When you make the rules you can change them as you see fit. Like playing back yard ball. Perfect example of the situational ethics and floating guidelines that I referenced earlier. I sat in on a lecture of a political scientist that says the Constitution was written with the idea in mind that even though society wasn't quite ready for it yet, slavery would be abolished in the near future. I don't know if he is right or not. If so, kudos to those founding fathers for being ahead of their times. Seems like most of us would deem slavery as bad/evil. Ok, so we're getting somewhere. No one told us slavery is wrong but somehow we just know? Maybe?

We don't just know. Slavery didn't used to be considered "wrong". Now it is.
How did we figure that out? A light bulb just went on or years of people trying to change our minds?

 

[ky55]

Southern Baptist Convention or any other organization has adjustable standards. When you make the rules you can change them as you see fit. Like playing back yard ball. Perfect example of the situational ethics and floating guidelines that I referenced earlier.

Is this inconsistent with your earlier post #6?

“Situational ethics, floating guidelines, adjustable standards but no black & white concrete rights or wrongs. Interesting, but I'm not buying it.”

The “adjustable standards” thing isn’t working out well for the United Methodist Church right now...

http://www.andrewthompson.com/chris...venant-schism-in-the-united-methodist-church/

“The issues that have led to schismatic actions within the UMC are no secret. The primary issue is the way that people read the Bible and understand biblical authority. Closely related to that is how we identify and interpret the work of the Holy Spirit. And of course, the actual presenting issues are those related to God’s intention for our sexuality, the definition of marriage, and the standards for ordination.”

*

 

[ambush80]

Southern Baptist Convention or any other organization has adjustable standards. When you make the rules you can change them as you see fit. Like playing back yard ball. Perfect example of the situational ethics and floating guidelines that I referenced earlier. I sat in on a lecture of a political scientist that says the Constitution was written with the idea in mind that even though society wasn't quite ready for it yet, slavery would be abolished in the near future. I don't know if he is right or not. If so, kudos to those founding fathers for being ahead of their times. Seems like most of us would deem slavery as bad/evil. Ok, so we're getting somewhere. No one told us slavery is wrong but somehow we just know? Maybe?

The idea that slavery is wrong came from The Enlightenment.

We don't just know. Slavery didn't used to be considered "wrong". Now it is.
How did we figure that out? A light bulb just went on or years of people trying to change our minds?

The immorality of slavery can be derived from the principle of Human Rights. I personally believe that the only right we have is to our own body. That alone will show the immorality of slavery.

 

[matt79brown]

I'm guessing that if I'd been around in the 1800's I'd been riding with John Brown! Regardless of how the Baptist felt.

 

[WaltL1]

I'm guessing that if I'd been around in the 1800's I'd been riding with John Brown! Regardless of how the Baptist felt.

That is one dude who definitely led an eventful life!

 

[atlashunter]

Devil's Advocate (DA):

"The words are perfect. The failure is Man's."

Let's assume that's true. Fact: People used the Bible to support slavery. Fact: People used the Bible to dissolve slavery. I've heard believers (my mom included) that say that God was speaking to people to whom the institution of slavery was deeply rooted in their culture and that He knew that one day humankind would be "mature" enough to understand the ultimate evil of slavery. If that's true then it's an example that God's will might not be clearly understood by the people of any given time and that as humankind matures they might eventually understand His true message.

What else are modern believers (yes, YOU) misunderstanding? What else may He reveal as Right for our time and yet Wrong for all time? And what exactly are the methods by which the TRUE GOOD is revealed. How was slavery changed from bad to good? Were abolitionists given a spark of revelation? They were certainly looked upon as agitators perhaps even heretics during their own time. Who are those people today?

I’ve heard that one too. In other words he was compromising his own morality by sanctioning what he knew to be immoral in order to conform with human culture and norms. Someone can believe that if they want but it begs the question why all the murderous activity then against those he found morally repugnant? Seems to me this is just another example of Christians making it up as they go along and looking for a dishonest excuse to avoid responsibility for a clear moral failing in their religion.

 

[atlashunter]

Southern Baptist Convention or any other organization has adjustable standards. When you make the rules you can change them as you see fit. Like playing back yard ball. Perfect example of the situational ethics and floating guidelines that I referenced earlier. I sat in on a lecture of a political scientist that says the Constitution was written with the idea in mind that even though society wasn't quite ready for it yet, slavery would be abolished in the near future. I don't know if he is right or not. If so, kudos to those founding fathers for being ahead of their times. Seems like most of us would deem slavery as bad/evil. Ok, so we're getting somewhere. No one told us slavery is wrong but somehow we just know? Maybe?

Even the morality of slavery is subjective. We think of it as wrong just as we think of murder as wrong but there are situations where killing is moral and I would argue there are situations where slavery is moral. People want moral absolutes because they want easy answers. But there are always exceptions to the rule in real life. Morality isn’t that easy or simple. It requires thought and judgment, as imperfect as that is. That’s really off putting to some folks.

 

[atlashunter]

They continued with racism and segregation long after abolition-all the way up to their public apology 150 years after their separation from the abolitionists......
while claiming the approval and support of their God.

The Bible doesn’t indicate to me Yahweh has an issue with either racism or segregation.

 

[bullethead]

Even the morality of slavery is subjective. We think of it as wrong just as we think of murder as wrong but there are situations where killing is moral and I would argue there are situations where slavery is moral. People want moral absolutes because they want easy answers. But there are always exceptions to the rule in real life. Morality isn’t that easy or simple. It requires thought and judgment, as imperfect as that is. That’s really off putting to some folks.

People like to think that there is a level of Moral above their own in the hopes that all their immorality is canceled out because of it, but the the truth is (that none of them admit to) is they are just as immoral as the next person in daily life and would change their morals as the situation dictates if needed.