Evaluating 2005: The Often Overlooked Moral Dimension
A commentary by John Ross Schroeder
Good News magazine Senior Writer, United Kingdom
In late December
newspapers are always full of reviews of the year's major happenings.
Some observers thought that the bad news of 2005 could have been even
worse. A few even took consolation in catastrophic events of the past
like the Black Death of the 14th century when a third of Europe's
population perished.
However, following the disastrous Asian tsunami, what did happen later
in 2005 was far from comforting. Katrina and Rita reminded Americans
of the fragility of our planet and the devastation such storms could
wreak in our own homeland.
But more important than natural disasters and even the cruel damage
done by terrorist groups is a crucial factor that the world's media
almost always overlooks—namely the seismic shift that has taken
place in our moral standards. The ground shifted considerably in 2005,
especially late in the year.
The civil same-sex "marriage" of world famous singer Elton
John to David Furnish greatly furthered the acceptance of the gay movement
in a previously unprecedented manner. Even British Prime Minister Tony
Blair publicly offered his congratulations on television.
Probably even more lasting in its effects is a new epic Western film
from Hollywood featuring two gay cowboys. Brokeback Mountain has
been widely acclaimed by critics as well as being a big hit at the box
office. In this regard those who still adhere to traditional biblical
standards have been fighting a rearguard action for over 40 years, steadily
losing ground. But these two very recent factors are expected to greatly
enhance public acceptance of homosexuality.
On a broader level the recent book Decadence, edited by British
writer Digby Anderson, states: "Britain, Europe and the United
States are decadent in a special sense of the word. They have traded
in an old morality that served them well throughout their civilisation
for a new experimental quasi-morality" (quoted in the Financial
Times).
Noted British columnist Melanie Phillips articulated the baleful effects
of this so-called new morality in The Jewish Chronicle. She
wrote: "The onslaught of traditional family life by those who promote
lifestyle choice and said that anyone who disapproved of unfettered promiscuity...was
a fascist, was mounted by people who wanted to overturn that [Judaeo/Christian]
heritage and replace it with secular human rights—in other words,
to make up our own moral rules." Even God must not challenge our
rights, says this liberal line of thought.
King Solomon twice put the whole matter in proper perspective. He wrote: "There
is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs
14:12; 16:25). Jettisoning biblical morality will bring massive suffering
on our peoples. We don't seem to grasp what we are giving up. In
her feature article Melanie Phillips paid tribute to the basic law of
God. "The Mosaic code gave the world the concept of morality, the
sense of obligation to others which makes a civilised society."
The greatest enemy to humankind is a way of life that rejects biblical
standards and makes up its own rules. This used to be called "situation
ethics." At the end of the day Americans will recover from 9/11,
Katrina and Rita. But if they and all of the other nations that were
formerly sensitive to biblical principles keep trampling on the laws
of God in ever greater intensity—sooner or later not only the United
States but the whole Western world will pass the point of no return and
really begin to self-destruct just like the Roman Empire did.
   If
you would like to understand the massive moral and cultural shift currently
taking place in these nations and what it means for the future, please
request, read online or download our free booklets Are
We Living in the Time of the End?, Marriage and the Family and The Ten
Commandments.
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