Founded by Bryant Wright, Right from the Heart is a
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Legislating Morality Sep 23 2008
"And God spoke all these words: '...You shall have no other gods before me...You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God...Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy...Honor your father and your mother...You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'" - Exodus 20:1-17
How many times have Christians been told that you can't legislate morality? While it is true that we cannot force anyone to believe in moral principles, we certainly can call for laws to protect the innocent, the weak, and the most basic human rights. For instance, shouldn't there be laws against rape? Or laws against stealing? Or how about laws against prostitution, narcotics, and child pornography? Of course there should be and there are; but don't these laws legislate morality?
Understand this: legislatures make laws. That's what they do. And all those laws are based on somebody's view of morality. Laws are passed to try to protect people from being taken advantage of, or abused, or mistreated, or even killed. So, anyone who declares that Christians can't let our moral beliefs influence society as a whole is not only speaking an untruth about Christian influence, but is also speaking an untruth about the influence of that same society. All societies base their laws on somebody's view of morality. To exclude Christian moral belief is not only naive, but closed-minded and prejudiced. True morality comes from God. We are made in His image, and unlike every other creation, man has a sense of morality. In that light, I ask, "Can you find a higher sense of morality than Jesus and His Word?"
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7 Comments
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Yes, report it NevermindWhile it is true that you can't legislate morality, you can legislate laws tat seek to protect those whoe are victims. We can't make anyone adhere to moral laws, but we can help to make sure that they are not free to prey on the innocent by putting them where they can do less harm to others.
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Yes, report it NevermindThank you RFTH for this relevant and truthful devotion. So many of our laws are based on Christian morality and when those laws are undermined then we will be under the rule of chaos. That is why it is important to not have judges that legislate from the bench.
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Yes, report it NevermindThis is all very true. So many people today think they believe in a relativistic world view, but pretty much everyone makes moral judgments and also believe that moral questions should be legislated. If they argue with you, steal their car and see if they change their mind.
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Yes, report it NevermindIt seems that we learn of some new story of corruption in our government everyday now. How can we expect corrupt people to make just law. Or, as Jesus said, "if a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch". I fear that our country is suffering from a terminal case of moral cancer.
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Yes, report it NevermindI agree, Grant.
I'd add that our country was designed/structured for a group of people that subscribe to moral laws backed by Judeo-Christian values. The further we get from those values, the more this country is going to become divided, weak, and unjust. I don't know what the solution to the problem will be, since you can't force people to truely believe in traditional princibles, but God calls us to be the "salt of the earth."
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Yes, report it NevermindThere is a vast difference between laws based on broadly accepted morals (most people, Christians, athiests, and otherwise would agree that murder and rape are wrong) and making laws based on Christian belief. While it is true that many of our morals and laws have a basis in the Judeo-Christian tradition, this is a democracy not a theocracy and as such legislation based solely on Biblical scripture (the interpretations of which are often debated by scholars) is a different matter entirely from 'morality laws'.
If you think this comment should be removed because it is mean spirited, compromises someone's privacy, or is SPAM, then let us know.
Yes, report it NevermindThere is a vast difference between laws based on broadly accepted morals (most people, Christians, athiests, and otherwise would agree that murder and rape are wrong) and making laws based on Christian belief. While it is true that many of our morals and laws have a basis in the Judeo-Christian tradition, this is a democracy not a theocracy and as such legislation based solely on Biblical scripture (the interpretations of which are often debated by scholars) is a different matter entirely from 'morality laws'.