By Edwin Cooney
In a very recent column, I proclaimed that contrary to the preachings of many Conservatives, there’s absolutely nothing either moral or immoral about being a Conservative. The same is also true of Liberalism or any other political “ism” if you ask me. So the question is:
If political ideology is amoral, is morality to be found solely in our Christian, Jewish, Muslim or kindred religious faiths? Well, let’s see now. What exactly is a religious faith?
As I understand it, a religious faith is a belief in the existence of a higher power with a greater knowledge and comprehension of the human condition than we mortals can possibly grasp. We Christians believe that God created all time and matter and has given us the resources to construct our lives and beings in such a way that over time morality will be as natural as breathing. After all, the more we learn about human nature, how it works, wherein lies its greatest assets and greatest liabilities, the more we’re likely to overcome our fears and thus treat one another as we ought. In other words, over time, we’re destined to love our neighbors as ourselves which Christians believe is God’s first law equivalent to the Ten Commandments and in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Just a few days ago, in response to last week’s column in which I raised the question of morality in politics, I got a letter from a Minnesota woman who has struggled as I have with the tendency on the part of political Conservatives to see themselves as morally superior to Liberal Christians.
Ideological Conservatives insist that their opposition to abortion, for instance, makes them morally superior to those who support freedom of choice as many (although not all) Liberals do. That sense of superiority can intimidate some potential Christians. Yet these same Conservatives support capital punishment because they know no other way to protect society from the marauder and the murderer. As this gentle lady points out, she might not ever choose to have an abortion, but she can’t and won’t condemn others for making an opposite decision.
As I see it, there is an overwhelming tendency on the part of many devout Christians to use human death to solve many of our problems be they matters of individual or international conflict. Both war and capital punishment are no more than prescriptions for “legal death.” You’ll have a hard time convincing me that killing is moral just because it’s legal.
What makes a person moral is only partly due to his or her religious beliefs. Religious beliefs are primarily interpretations of scripture or, specifically, God’s wishes for our individual well-being. One of Princeton University’s early presidents proclaimed at the close of the 18th Century that if God didn’t want human beings to get smallpox, he wouldn’t have created the disease. What this theologian failed to consider was that God had given human beings minds capable of overcoming smallpox and countless other human diseases. The earth may have been created in six days of some length beyond 24 hours, but humankind’s capacity to use God’s greatest gift took much longer to develop. The appearance of Holy Scripture even preceded the full utilization of humankind’s greatest gift: inventive intelligence.
I’m sure that probably most American Christians are convinced that humanity is becoming less morally inclined than were our ancestors. While I have yet to see a comprehensive study comparing our morality to that of our ancestors, I’m convinced that we are more morally oriented today than those who lived during the time of Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Wilson.
The time and resources we apply toward the overall improvement and comfort in individuals’ lives has never been equaled. The standards for safety in the workplace, the ending of abusive punishment in schools, the comfort and counseling we offer to one another in the face of all types of tragedy, these are a testimony to our increasing acknowledgment of each other’s right to consideration and dignity. Additionally, our willingness to protect the rights and safety of consumers, the social and financial status of the poor and the well-being of the planet are all moral issues.
As I see it, morality is not a matter of religious or political faith. It is ingrained in our DNA. Morality is centered in our consideration, inclusion and treatment of other human beings. Our relationship with that higher power, whatever name you give that power, is strictly an individual matter. As for myself, I reject the idea that by being “good” I am earning a place in Heaven or that because I’ve been “bad,” I am going somewhere else. To me, morality isn’t about being nice to other people in exchange for an eternal reward, it is about the “golden rule” because, for the most part, the golden rule works.
National policy such as institutional slavery or a policy of genocide against Native Americans are matters of morality. However, insofar as I’m aware, no nation, including America, will realize salvation because it has been blessed by God.
As I see it, perhaps the most controversial issue in early 21st Century America, the abortion question, boils down to an individual’s relationship to both humanity and God. Very often opponents to abortion are the same people who continuously vote to withhold funding to feed the very babies they insist have a right to be born. Where’s the morality in that inconsistency?
I believe human morality doesn’t rely as much on what we believe as on what we do. I’m convinced that fundamentally immoral people are invariably unhappy people.
No, people of faith, as moral as they may indeed be, have no monopoly on morality. While they possess a right and even a duty to witness to others, such witnessing must be inspiring rather than threatening to the nonbeliever.
As for my Minnesota friend, she is as entitled to be a Christian as Jerry Falwell, Bob Jones, or Billy Graham. I am privileged to know and be close to many “liberal” or socially progressive Christians. Grace covers all.
Now, it’s your turn! What say you?
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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