The Shifting Moral Culture...

The knowledge of good and evil seems to be the aim of all ethical reflection. The first task of Christian ethics is to invalidate this knowledge.

Jesus calls men, not to a new religion, but to life.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In his book Moral Freedom, Alan Wolfe writes about a shift that he believes is occurring in the cultural landscape of America, most notably in the sphere of morality. What are the reasons for this shift in the moral culture and is its influence being manifested in the rest of the world? Answering those two questions and commenting on the how this shift challenges the Christian worldview will be the intent of this paper.

Alan Wolfe puts forth the idea that, “…the three main formative institutions –family, school, and church – are as important as they ever were if people are to learn what it means to be a moral person” (Wolfe, 2001, p. 186). However, “…Americans look with suspicion on all of them” (2001, p.186) which is one of the reasons that Wolfe gives for the moral shift, because as he writes, “Our respondents seem to be rejecting old fashioned ideas of character formation without having well-articulated new ones to put in their place (2001, p.186). In his estimation, Wolfe see’s a jettison of the “old ideas” and as a consequence a vacuum being created which is the abyss of moral freedom. The apparent lifting of the strictures of an established moral system and the corresponding existential choices afforded the autonomous individual are part of the moral situation that America finds itself in. As individual believe or feel that it is now up to them to decide good and evil and often for practical personal reasons, or put another way – what works best for them is the best thing.

All that to say, “Americans have become comfortable with the idea of moral freedom because its optimistic theory of human nature makes more sense to them than the one it replaced. Earlier worldviews in America, from the Puritans’ to the Victorians’, argued that a strong God, like a strong state, was required by the failings of weak people. Many of our respondents do not view themselves as weak (2001, p. 197). Consequently, Wolfe argues that the moral freedom now known in America is, “…so radical an idea, so disturbing in its implications, that it has never had much currency among any but a few of the West’s great moral theorists. Even those who made passionate arguments in defense of freedom in general did not extend their arguments to moral freedom (2001, p.200).

Does America’s moral freedom or moral code migrate to the rest of the world? And if it does, what is the significance if any? Julia Galeota wrote, “…it would be nearly impossible to create one bland culture in a world of over six billion people. And nor should we want to. Contrary to Rothkopf’s (and George W. Bush’s) belief that, ‘Good and evil, better and worse coexist in this world,’ there are no such absolutes in this world. The United States should not be able to relentlessly force other nations to accept its definition of what is ‘good’ and ‘just’ or even ‘modern’ (Galeota, 2004, p. 276). Beyond the issues of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ and who decides and enforces these moral codes, “…the issue of cultural imperialism remains. Larger and more intrusive networks of communication, trade, and economic exchange bring values. In this world of value collision comes choices and change. Unfortunately, millions will find themselves drawn toward a lifestyle of materialism that carries with it a host of value choices” (Harf, 2009, p.283). The suggested cultural imperialism of America or more generally the West may have some part to play in the migration of moral freedom as technology continues to develop that makes communication quicker and easier.

As easily as currency can be exchanged through the global financial system and as integrated as the global economic and political systems are so too are the spectrum of ideas and thought. It would not be possible to contain a thought or an idea such as moral freedom which is defined as an idea that means, “…that individuals should determine for themselves what it means to lead a good and virtuous life” (Wolfe, 2001, p. 195). Moral freedom opens the possibility to Americans and anyone to, “…find answers to the perennial questions asked by theologians and moral philosophers, not by confronting to strictures handed down by God or nature, but by considering who they are, what others require, and what consequences follow from acting one way rather than another” (2001, p. 195). As the utility and practicality of moral freedom becomes more ubiquitous in America it is hard to imagine that it would not find receptive adherents in other parts of the global system.

When thinking about what challenges the idea of moral freedom brings to the Christian worldview one could think dismally and agree with some that there would be a need to get back to some sort of right moral code to make good people. However, the Christian goal is not to make “good” people, but rather to create people like Jesus and this isn’t accomplished by rules or a moral code but by faith and transformation. So, the idea of moral freedom and whatever that may mean or look like for various individuals may indeed not be a challenge but an opportunity for discipleship as out of moral freedom can come crisis and decision which can lead to a faith which is authentic and rooted in love rather than fear based behavior modification.

To understand how this concept of moral freedom can be an opportunity it is first necessary, “…to understand and internalize the biblical teaching that our fundamental sin is not our evil – as though the solution for sin was to become good – but our getting life from what we believe is our knowledge of good and evil. Our fundamental sin is that we place ourselves in the position of God and divide the world between what we judge to be good and what we judge to be evil. And this judgment is the primary thing that keeps us from doing the central thing God created and saved us to do, namely, love like he loves (Boyd, 2004, p.17). This central Christian theme about love and not judgment is paramount to a Christian worldview and is not determinate upon a moral code; in fact it is antithetical to it. Boyd wrote, “Because we do not usually understand and internalize the nature of our fundamental sin, we usually think our job as Christians is to embrace a moral system, live by it, and thus to be good people in contrast to all those who are evil….God’s goal for us is much more profound and much more beautiful than merely being good: it is to do the will of God by being loving, just as God is loving” (2004, p.17). By letting go of the idea that a moral code is what is needed for Christianity so that its adherents can become “good” then there can be a corresponding collapsing of our judgments of others and even the judgment of the concept of moral freedom itself can occur.

Jesus becomes the compulsion to loving action in the world so then moral freedom is not a challenge but really a necessity for discipleship. For if all an individual is doing is following a moral code, perhaps out of fear or some other sort of compulsion and this moral code is altering behavior but not essential being, then what good is the moral code to that person? It is not real and in many ways would in fact perpetuate a deception as to who that person really is.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer indeed was correct when he wrote, “The knowledge of good and evil seems to be the aim of all ethical reflection. The first task of Christian ethics is to invalidate this knowledge” (quoted in Boyd, 2004, p. 13). Moral freedom in a sense can be seen as a part of the invalidation of the knowledge that Bonhoeffer was thinking about and the liberating opportunity that comes from the possibilities of being free in Christ and not bound or caught in a religion or religious or secular system that attempts to curb or tweak behavior but fails at transforming an individual into a truly free human being and not a human doing. Jesus, “… calls men, not to a new religion, but to life.”

 

Bibliography

Galeota, Julia (2004) Cultural Imperialism: An American Tradition. In J. E. Harf, & M. O. Lombardi, (Eds.), Taking sides: clashing views on controversial issues (5th ed.), (p. 276). Dubuque: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin.

Boyd, Gregory A. (2004) Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God . Baker Books.

Harf, J.E. & Lombardi, M.O. (Eds.), (2009). Taking sides: clashing views on controversial issues (5rded.), Dubuque: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin.

Wolfe, Alan. (2001)

Moral Freedom: The Search for Virtue in a World of Choice.W.N. Norton & Company.