I was having a discussion with my Mom about the depravity of Islamic fundamentalists who have sentenced a 70-year old man to jail and 30 lashes for walking his dog in public. A dog is considered unclean in Muslim countries and walking your dog is a crime punishable by death. My mom said that while we think this is insane, morally, it is not our place to judge, so I felt I had to reply. Of course, I went into great detail, because I felt inspired to do so. Some days, I just want to write, and I write until I run out of thoughts. If you feel ambitious, feel free to read this rambling post regarding morality and judgment. If you don’t feel like it, run along and read something else if you so choose. Isn’t freedom great (while it lasts?)
Without further ado, this is part of the discussion. I felt it was worth posting for those who wish some insight into my thought processes.
With the suspension of rational thought versus reactionary and licentious incommensurate punishments for simply living your life, I say that we can and do judge, because we must judge. Before you have a coronary and start spouting Biblical phrases ("Judge not, lest ye be judged” comes to mind, but doesn’t fit my application of judgment), let me explain.
We can and must make judgments on the morality of actions, and in doing so, do not stray from the will of God. This is because you HAVE to make judgments. For example, our children will NEVER attend a public school, because of the normalizing of behaviors that we find to be offensive and wrong. The homosexual agenda is a fact: public school districts have filed suit against non-compliant parents, and courts have already made numerous state and federal district court orders that say the SCHOOL IS THE SINGLE PARTY with the obligation to teach children about homosexuality as young as age 5. The court in Massachusetts said last autumn that parents have NO RIGHT to opt their children out of homosexuality education and that the SCHOOL DISTRICT had the final say in these matters, NOT THE PARENTS.
Parents face fines and confinement for violating a court order requiring their children to attend school district-sponsored classes teaching that homosexuality is equally valid, and arguably superior to traditional marriage. Even a parent speaking out against the teaching of homosexuality to their children can be arrested and charged with a hate crime. This can further escalate to the point that family protective services can get involved and parents can lose custody of their children for refusing to comply with court orders requiring the school district homosexual teachings for all children. This started in Massachusetts but stands by court order in Vermont. As time goes on, more states are following this model.
As parents, we have to understand that there is a defined right and wrong, not moral relativist judgments. To my knowledge, the loss of parental rights has not happened in the United States yet, but it HAS happened in Germany. Remember that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg stated that her frame of reference for the validity of law includes not only the laws of the United States but also the laws of Europe and legal input of the rest of the world. With the U.S. Supreme Court acting as final arbiter of jurisprudence for the United States, I find it disturbing and frightening that the legislatures of foreign countries can have a de facto statutory influence on the state of legal proceedings in the United States (transparently unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court is generally the final authority of U.S. law).
According to moral relativists, if one person steals or has an abortion because it does not conflict with their self-styled belief system, then it is not a sin for them. However, my belief system says that stealing and abortions are wrong. By the moral relativist standard, larceny and abortions can be sin-free if it suits the personal system of morality for that person. The same goes with homosexuality, promiscuity, and on and on.
Be mindful that there are organizations whose sole purpose is to normalize sexual relationships between adults and children, and this is a fact, not hyperbole. For example, the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) openly calls for normalizing relationships that are now the crime of pedophilia. This statement is copied verbatim from the web site for NAMBLA:
NAMBLA's membership is open to everyone sympathetic to personal freedom. Our goal is to end the oppression of men and boys who have freely chosen, [sic] mutually consensual relationships.
Is that sick or what? According to their individual belief system, pedophilia is not wrong, and is even to be encouraged as something healthy, normal, and positive for the development of boys.
Theologically speaking, we can never convict people based on the morality of their actions. We cannot determine the eternal destination of any person, we cannot forgive sins, and we cannot guarantee the salvation of any person. The obvious exception, of course, is the action we can take to make Jesus our personal savior, repenting and asking for God's mercy for our own salvation.
Put another way, we should always denounce actions which are morally wrong, but we should never condemn the people who commit these acts because we can never know what was in their hearts or minds that may have lessened their guilt. For example, a starving child in Uganda might feel compelled to steal bread to stave off hunger. Is it our place to judge a person such as this? We abhor the sin, but do not judge the person. To live our lives in defense of morality, we must be ready and willing to judge the morality of actions. However, the judgment of individuals is reserved for God.
Divine judgment is out of our hands. Day to day decision-making about our children's future is absolutely in our hands, with reverential prayers to God the Father for guidance.
This is my point about judgments. As parents, we categorically must make judgments reflecting the best choices for our children. If it offends some secular progressive with control issues and an ingrained loathing of religious faith, that is their problem, not mine!
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