Morals and Values

Philip Adams: columnist, broadcaster (Late Night Live) and atheist, has mentioned a couple of times that he has had religious people tell him that he cannot have morals of values unless he believes in a God. However, he says he can and I believe him. Further more, I think that people of faith (of any kind) need to have morals and values aside from God as well.

My hunch is that most Xns believe that they get their morals and values from God and that it is God that teaches them what is right and wrong. I think this way of thinking is flawed and in a worse case scenario it leads to someone believing that God’s morals and values are that killing others is ok and that suicide bombing will be rewarded which then means that suicide bombing is a moral thing to do. Although not like this extreme case I think that the run of the mill Xn can fall into similar traps. Evangelicals can fall into the trap of saying I think X is from God and therefore it is the right thing to do. Liberals can fall into the trap of saying X seems like the loving thing to do to me and God is loving so therefore it's what God wants. The problem in both cases is the belief that we as Xns hold the monopoly on morality and values and therefore do not need to listen to others.

My thought is that morals are not from God, because “morals from God” are used to judge other people. Rather morals are aside from God and what humans use to judge God. Surely this is why (if you are) you are a Xn. I am nota Xn because God performed miracles or has power and authority over me. Rather I am a Xn because of the love through action that God has shown to me particularly in Jesus. Or, because of the values and morality that God has demonstrated to me. This is why I respect the God I find in Jesus.

Maybe God doesn’t tell what is right and wrong but shows us how to live right and helps us to live right through forgiveness and by demonstrating love in action in Jesus. The big struggle in life is not work out what is right and wrong but how best to do what is right. Most people want to help people in the 3rd world but what is the best way? Lend them more money, give them more aid and then is that the kind of aid where we go in and do it all for them or do we take a more hands off approach. One right thing to do – help others. One big ocean of grey when it comes to how do we do that? This is why I think the Bible is more story than rules and quite often the rules (take lots of Leviticus) are culturally specific. The beauty of the stories is they to show us how to love in creative contextually ways and this is what we need to be and do. Love in creative and contextually appropriate ways, which will always mean reinventing the wheel, but that it was relationships are all about. Just because Dad liked a John Pilger book for Christmas doesn’t mean mum will. The way we stand out is the way we love not the morals and values we tell others they need to have.