World News and Trends: America and amorality
Far too many Americans have chosen a path of make-it-up-as-you-go morality or even amorality. Amorality admits no moral distinctions or judgments and lacks moral sensibility, not caring about right and wrong.
Far too many Americans have chosen a path of make-it-up-as-you-go morality or even amorality. Amorality admits no moral distinctions or judgments and lacks moral sensibility, not caring about right and wrong.
A new study by the Barna Group ("Young Adults and Liberals Struggle With Morality," Aug. 25, 2008) shows that Americans have "redefined what it means to do the right thing in their own lives." Researchers asked adults which behaviors they had engaged in during a one-week period. Behaviors listed included pornography, profanity, gambling, gossiping, sex outside of marriage, retaliation, getting drunk and lying.
The study found that a majority of adults had engaged in one or more of these behaviors. Nearly three in 10 had used profanity in public; nearly one in five had gambled or intentionally viewed pornographic images. About one in 10 had gossiped, gotten drunk, lied, had extramarital sex or engaged in some form of retaliation.
It also found that "one of the most stunning outcomes . . . was the moral pattern among adults under 25. The younger generation was more than twice as likely as all other adults to engage in behaviors considered morally inappropriate by traditional standards."
For example, almost two in three in this group had used profanity publicly, almost two in five had lied or engaged in sex outside of marriage, a third had viewed pornography, and one in four had gotten drunk.
Not surprisingly, adults who described themselves as liberal on sociopolitical issues were twice as likely as those who described themselves as conservative to engage in these activities. Atheists and agnostics were about five times more likely to participate in these behaviors than those who identified themselves as evangelical Christians.
As Americans depend less and less on the Bible for their source of moral judgment, they become their own independent judges of what is right and wrong. George Barna believes that "it is not likely that America will return to a more traditional moral code until the nation experiences significant pain from its moral choices."
America's founders relied on the Bible as their guide. Read their history and you will consistently find that God and the Bible were often mentioned in matters of state. But times have changed, affluence has turned our heads, and we follow in the footsteps of ancient Israel during the period of the judges: "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). Forget God and God says He'll forget us (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). To better understand what this all means, request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Source: The Barna Group.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: November - December 2008
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
