It is our mandate our divine command to pursue truth to its end. However I have continually caught myself extending my beliefs over too broad a spectrum. It occurs when I would rather apply a general rule of morality to complex issues than trudge in the grey areas of a specific dilemma.
We raise a cry to the evils of homosexuality for example and frequently condemn its rampant destruction of our society while hardly giving a thought to the life and reason that may have led to their decisions. We are focused on the broad impersonal moral perspective which we observe from our high horse and shy away from getting our hands dirty with the undesirables that live on the margins of our ever-endangered universe of comfort.
If faith led one to aspire to Christ then they would realize that He saw all sinners as equal – we may recall a story about his encounter with a prostitute about to be executed. If we truly seek to view our lives through the lens of Christ we would see that we are no less guilty of being rejected from love than the homosexuals prostitutes and drug abusers that line the streets and alleys of our hometowns.
Ignorant condemnation at its core is the antithesis of truth searching. When – as an individual a society a religion or simply humanity – we would rather accept moral tradition than set out on a dangerous quest to find our own – to find the truth – our living on this earth becomes worthless. This complacent and superficial relationship to moral dilemma is what cultivates consumerism and widespread ethical erosion in our generation.
Simply by nature of our environment we are forced to collect an idea of personal outward morality. As students barreling toward adulthood many of us find ourselves forging the necessary sense of ethic that has been said to lead to success. Ethics in business the classroom and in relationships are usually held paramount in a university setting. You’ve felt it I’m sure when questioned about your faith or what you would do when such and such a moral dilemma should arise.
“I wouldn’t cheat on my boyfriend.” “I wouldn’t just have sex with random people I don’t know.” “I would never have an abortion.” “Gay marriage is wrong.” “Cheat on my taxes? I’m not that kind of person.”
Yes many of us formulate principals based on faith tradition or experience. But what should be the goal – the end pursuit of a healthy maturation – is the ability to forsake a set of rules ideals or beliefs that one has previously held when legitimacy is found to be in question. This is to pursue truth – whether or not that pursuit yields a complete overhaul of your moral complacency that you have allowed yourself to fall into. The pursuit of the learned individual should be to forsake all empty tradition and put aside the rhetoric of a fashionable and unobtrusive view of biblical texts. One should want to free his or herself from the ever-constricting oppression that a regurgitated faith can inflict.
It’s so easy for the indoctrinated church-goer to reiterate various stances on today’s socio-political issues like gay marriage or abortion. But his training often fails him when the intellectual questions of the paradoxes of the Bible are posed:”So today you Bible-believing Christians hold that polygamy is a detestable and reprehensible act that should be abolished in all its forms from our society?”
“Yes God created a man and a woman to have only one partner.”
“Then based on your answer you would afford that the lineage of Judaic Kings were in complete sin when they took part in polygamy? Or did God change his mind?”
This should back you into your fighting stance; The truth of the matter is to simply concede a logical point to an adversary. The mistake here would be to as most Christians and overzealous students would behave attack the questioner rather than the question. Since the search for truth is often the road to recognizing insurmountable ignorance then the intelligent Christian would not fear a concession – rather they would embrace personal belittlement to the mind of God. Proceed then to be heroic enough to live each day in light of the truth you have learned. It is a dangerous practice and it is a rarity and clearly at odds among those who would rather regurgitate than procreate ideals.