The New Testament itself suggests that the rules
of ethics
are not always absolute even if God
created them,
along with everything else. Passage
is ... Lk 6: 3 ff or
Jn 15: 22.
I'm not defining the 'good.' Just observing
that there is a
subjective element not only to
what we consider delicious and yummy in
the
tummy but also to what we deem 'the good.'
For instance, Corporate leaders and businessmen
abhor the evils of theft, slacking, and fraud. Greed,
on the other hand
is understandable as the lubricant
of the prosperous society.
Government leaders deplore civil commotion,
civil disobedience
(even for a good cause), along
with uncivilized rabble-rousing, and running
off at the mouth
(commonly called freedom of speech)
For the military the cardinal sin is disobeying orders,
or
cowardice. The latter has gotten many a manshot
at sunrise and sooner.
Violence is part of doing the job.
Since St. Augustine many church leaders have
targeted sexual
perversion as 'The sin.' For instance,
if you refer to a woman as a sinner,
no elaboration
or explanation is needed. A Roman Catholic told me
"If
your uncomfortable, or feeling a little pain, you're
behaving. If you're
having fun, watch out the devil is
knocking at your door." I wonder how this
applies to
sex in the back seat of the old Chevy...
Church leaders are also a bit edgy about any failure to
observe
the Sabbath or taking the name of the Lord
our God in vain..
Parents are keen the preacher harps from time to
time on "honor
thy mother and father that thy days be
long in the earth" Someone
told me a couple in
Quebec who recently won a couple of million lottery
dollars were ordered by a court to support either his
or her parents
even though they were reluctant to
share the booty. Seems Quebec has a
law saying
you must tend to your parents material needs in their
old
age. How do I know, the Bible tells me so......
Doctors blow a gasket when they see the protruding
evidence of gluttony. Restauranteurs don't seem to
mind!
The ancient Greeks knew all about this. They had a
little story. Each man carry two knap sacks (back packs)
One on the back and one hanging down the front. The
back one carries one's own sins.
While the front has the sins of others. Hence, one sees
clearly the sins of others while hardly noticing one's own
sin.
So, the ancient Greeks were clearly aware of the subjective
nature of
our moral judgements.