Moral relativism is nothing new. It has been around for quite some time within philosophy. Heraclitus, Epicurius, Jeremy Bentham, Stuart Mill, Joseph Fletcher and host of other philosophers have evolved their versions of moral relativism. But, what is new is that moral relativism is no longer in the fringes of academic debate. It has slowly but steadily seeped into mainstream consciousness. Slowly but steadily our sense of identity, dignity, responsibility and destiny been sucked into the quick sands of post-modernity. Our popular belief that nothing is true and everything is permitted has fragmented our lives more than ever before. We have lost of the wonder of being human – the capacity to discern the right from the wrong, to reciprocate love, to be responsible etc.
In the words of Robert Fitch, we live today in an age when ethics has become obsolete. It is superseded by science, deleted by psychology, dismissed as emotive by philosophy. It is drowned in compassion, evaporated into aesthetics and retreats before relativism. Is there a good reason to believe that morals are absolute? Is belief in moral absolutism reasonable? I believe so. And it is reasonable to believe in moral absolutism rather than be peg our entire lives in the delusions of grandeur.
C. S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, gives a very helpful illustration. Imagine we are a fleet of ships sailing in formation to a particular destination. Now if the fleet is going to arrive safely without mishap, three things are necessary.
- First, the individual ships must be seaworthy. Their insides must be in good working order so they can keep afloat, steer well and have the motive power to make the journey.
- Second, they must be aware of the other boats so they don’t bump into one another and so cause harm to themselves and others.
- Third, they must have some idea about where they are heading – why they are afloat in the first place. It will be of no used if, after a good journey, they end up in Calcutta when they were supposed to get to New York.
The first of these we could describe as individual morality – virtues, vices and character building, which we don’t hear much about from our modern ethical philosophies. We have got to keep ourselves shipshape for the journey. The second we could call social ethics – how to get along with one another and help, rather than hinder, others on the journey. The third issue is – why are we here at all and where are we supposed to be going? Many modern philosophers avoid this issue as they have no answer to it. And yet this is the most important question of all. For morality to be of any use there must be some point to it all. We have got to know our destination.
Ravi Zacharias has reminded that we may believe in anything. But everything we believe need not be right. It is easy to follow the fad but with every loss of value we leave a small tear in the fabric of our society. Sociologist Emil Durkheim, almost a hundred years ago predicted a rise in suicide, violence and mental illness when a community loses its values base and therefore meaning. He called this condition ‘anomie’ and considered it the worst condition of society. And such a threat is very real today. The remedy lies in our return to the moral values outlined by our maker.
Times are changing, with morals in decay,
Human rights have made the wrongs okay.
Something’s missing, and if you’re asking me,
I think that something is the G- O- D.
To label wrong or right by the people’s sight,
Is like going to a loser to ask advice.
And by basing your plans on another man’s way of living life
I is creating a brand of ethics sure to be missing the punch,
No count morals that are out to lunch.
They’re sliding away ’cause everything is okay,
It was taboo back then but today we say, “What the hey.”
We gotta back to the principles found in the Word,
A little G-O-D could be society’s cure.
