Sunday, February 2, 2014

Which moral law to choose?



“The most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of your own nature and set it up as the thing you ought to follow at all costs. There's not one of them which won't make us into devils if we set it up as an absolute guide. You might think love of humanity in general was safe, but it isn't. If you leave out justice you'll find yourself breaking agreements and faking evidence in trials 'for the sake of humanity,' and become in the end a cruel and treacherous man.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity
summer, Finland

How can you tell if one moral law is better than another?

According to Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary Moral law is “a general rule of right living; esp:  such a rule or group of rules conceived as universal and unchanging and as having the sanction of God's will, of conscience, of man's moral nature, or of natural justice as revealed to human reason”.

In totalitarian system one person or party dictates the moral law. The moral law may be based on what is useful and what is not. In this kind of system, the moral law may accept the slavery or euthanasia, because they are useful to the society in general.
summer, Finland

C. S. Lewis asks “When you think about these differences between the morality of one people and another, do you think that the morality of one people is even better or worse than that of another? Have any of the changes been improvements? If not, then of course there could never be any moral progress. Progress means not just changing, but changing for the better”.

So, how can we tell our, or my, moral law is better than someone else’s?

I can say, my moral law is better because it respects the human rights. But the human rights are just a set of moral laws, done by people.

The other person may as well say, my moral laws are better because larger portion of people are happier and wealthier. There is a small portion of people that must suffer or even die, but it is for common good, not for anyone’s personal gain.

Is moral law just democracy? The idea that has most of the people voting it wins. It is the new moral law.
summer, Finland 
According to C. S. Lewis “The moment you say that one set of moral ideas can be better than another, you are, in fact, measuring them both by a standard, saying that one of them conforms to that standard more nearly than the other. But the standard that measures two things is something different from either. You are, in fact, comparing them both with some Real Morality, admitting that there is such thing as a real Right, independent of what people think, and that some people’s ideas get nearer to that real Right than others”.
summer, Finland

Now, if you believe in relativity. Everything is relative, there is no absolute truth. There can neither be an absolute moral law. Many people claim that this will lead to less injustice. Because people no longer need to fight about who is right and who is wrong.

People don’t need to fight about it. That is true.

But it is also true that they keep fighting.

To quote C. S. Lewis (again) “It begins to look as if we shall have to admit that there is more than one kind of reality; that, in this particular case, there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men’s behavior, and yet quite definitely real – a real law, which none of us made, but which we find pressing on us”.

If you find this post interesting and want to know more you should read the other posts of this on-going series.

To begin, read Natural law. A post about the law we all have in our hearts.

If you want to know more about Moral law, the post before this one talks about it.

If you agree we need to choose a moral law, maybe you'll agree that We need God.

44 comments:

  1. Sadly, I think moral law has become a democracy, It shouldn't be though.

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    1. I agree, Christina. That is exactly what is happening and it's sad to see.

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  2. I don't live by others set morals, I set my own. Live and let live is my motto. As long as they aren't hurting me, nor I them, then I think I've got a good moral code.

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  3. I feel like we're all guided by individual moral compasses. Some people have stricter ones and some people way too loose.

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  4. Such a great post for us all to be reminded of. We were just talking about this in a way in our small group today.

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    1. I'm glad to hear that, Felicia. It's a very important topic.

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  5. I think it all basically comes down to the fact that we have to do what we feel is right - and hopefully we all have a built in moral compass to help guide us towards what's right.

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    1. I think we all have one. The problem is that every time we stray, the voice gets smaller and smaller.

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  6. Really loving that quote and everything that follows. Definitely made me think.

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  7. Hi I see you are a member of Social Media Sunday, i like to participate in that too when i can remember to do so. Thank you for some great pointers and beautiful photo inspiration

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  8. It's all subject, of course, but I just try to make the best choices I can. You can only hope that others do the same.

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  9. It feels as it CS Lewis is trying to make you think, not propose a new "law". Moderation seems to be his message, or at least that's what I'm gleaning.

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    1. Have you read Mere Christianity, Lindsay? It's by C. S. Lewis and I really loved to read it.

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  10. Love C.S. Lewis. When it comes to anything I try to think about God's grace and how Jesus would act if He were here. That thinking has definitely transformed my thought process.

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  11. I'm such a big fan of CS Lewis! Love that you used these quotes with your lovely photos!

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  12. I think everyone needs to follow their own moral laws, and not impose them on others or try to follow anyone else's. There is no "better than another" when it comes to morality, I don't think.

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    1. In theory that is wonderful, Kecia. But in practice it leads to a very sad end. As we can see in the world today.

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  13. I agree with others that we need to follow our own moral compasses, and not let others thrust their own upon us.

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  14. Lovely photos and makes me want warm weather! Ok, I dont know Cs lewis but great quotes.

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  15. I think everybody has their own set of moral laws. It's different from one person to another, and from one society to another. It depends on what you value and what you believe in.

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    1. That is true, Pauline. The problems come when moral laws differ. Should we accept burning of widows, or female circumcitions? They are both a very integral part of someone's moral law.

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  16. I would like to think that I base my morals off of my faith in God. These are some beautiful images!

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  17. I definitely think we all have our own moral laws we follow. Not everyone has the same moral compass, though.

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  18. Very thought-provoking post. I too feel like we all have a moral compass but that they certainly differ based on age, beliefs, stage of life, etc.

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    1. That is true, Susana. But the problem of living in a society is that we all have to live together. And other's moral laws may not respect my life or persona. And that is where the difficulties stem.

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  19. CS Lewis was such a wise, wise person. Timeless messages.

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  20. I love these quotes from CS Lewis. I think everyone has their own moral compass.

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  21. I think everyone is guided by a moral compass...I just don't think that everyone's North is the same. This can be come an issue when my North is someone else's South. This was a very thought provoking post, and you take great pictures :)

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    1. Thank you, Cassie. I agree, the difficulties begun when our moral compass's digress. The question is what we should do if that happens?

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  22. I always comment on how I love your photos! :) You really do take beautiful photos.

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  23. I love CS Lewis! I think there is a difference between government laws and personal moral laws, for sure. Hopefully the government laws are a bare minimum, since they lack so much in common courtesy.

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  24. everyone has a different moral outlook. I think that's what makes us who we are

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  25. I don't live my life to any other's morals either. I like to live each day to the fullest and try to be happy.

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  26. Everyone sees things differently. It's hard to judge by a moral code when there isn't just one.

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  27. While there are laws that guide us in society, each of has our own compass... Sadly, we seem to bump up against immoral leaders trying to foist their crap on us all.
    Eliz

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  28. I think people have to do and live by what they feel is right.

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  29. Great post. So much to think about and consider.

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  30. It was interesting to read your discussion about morals. I am sure it inspired conversations in many households.

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  31. You posed some really great questions in this. It offers some good food for thought. I think the answer depends on the person and the situation.

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