Intolerant of tolerance

El prisionero en esta fotografía apodado Maestro, estuvo de acuerdo con la publicación de esta fotografía bajo la licencia expuesta debajo de este mensaje. Prisión del Condado de Mantras, Colombia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve been having a discussion in the comments section of this post about whether morality is subjective or objective. Feel free to read the discussion if you fancy, although like any conversation it drifts off on tangents. Here’s the summary:

• Objective morality: God has a standard of what’s good and what’s bad. An action is either good or bad based on this one morality.
• Subjective morality: Actions are neither good nor bad, they just are. I hold my own moral standards which are likely to be different to yours.

Now, these are the extremes. Most people in today’s secular society would probably hold a position somewhat in the middle (some actions are objectively good or bad, some actions are neither good nor bad), but that doesn’t really work. If God holds an objective morality then that’s it, end of story. And if he doesn’t, then nothing’s subject to an objective morality.

In other words, to believe that some things are morally subjective rather than objective is to have to believe that all things are.

And here’s the example. There’s a tribe somewhere that doesn’t have the concept of personal possessions, so theft isn’t simply not considered bad, it’s not considered an action. Who am I as a westerner to tell them that their morality is wrong because of something like this?

In today’s society politicians love to talk about tolerance; people hold different cultural standards, but we should tolerate them. People disagree with our opinions, but we should tolerate them. One politician recently said something like ‘the only thing we’re intolerant of is intolerance.’

And that all sounds lovely until you apply it to real life. A man is drunk, gets angry and murders his wife. Under an objective morality, this is wrong. Under a subjective morality his defense in court could be ‘I believe it was the right thing to do under the circumstances,’ and it would be morally wrong to then judge him; he’d done what he thought was best.

Two problems:

1. The obvious one is that if you think him murdering his wife was wrong, then you probably believe he should face consequences for his bad actions. But under a subjective morality this can’t work because it can’t be applied to other people by definition. That’s a problem.
2. If morality is subjective then judging someone else for doing something they consider to be morally right is surely morally wrong (as in the example above)…but that shows that having a subjective morality is logically incoherent; it assumes an objective morality within which subjective morality must operate.

Conclusion: Subjective morality simply doesn’t work, therefore morality must be objective. Murder is wrong. Forgiveness is good. Rape is wrong. Mercy is good. Racism is wrong. Love is good. Lust is wrong. God is good.

Is it ok to say it’s ok?

A fighter attempts to escape from an armbar by slamming the opponent to the ground. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have a habit of making myself laugh. I think that it keeps me feeling young and vibrant, but Anna thinks it just makes me look like an idiot. I’ll let you keep your thoughts in your own head, thank you very much.

Anyway, the other day I didn’t see someone coming through the door behind me so almost let it slam right in their face. ‘Oops, I’m sorry,’ I said. They replied, ‘That’s ok.’

So as I approached the next door, I thought to myself that I ought to let that one slam them right in their face. They’d just said it was ok, so surely they wouldn’t mind, would they?

You’ll be glad to know I didn’t go through with it.

Of course, we say it’s ok when someone says they’re sorry more out of habit than anything else; more often than not it’s actually not ok, but we’re saying thanks to them for saying sorry.

A guy has passed on that his pastor told him that saying ‘I forgive you’ is better, because it reminds you of your sin, and reminds them that they’ve done something wrong and therefore should be sorry.

A good idea, but I’m not sure that work when someone squeezes through me to get out of the tube next week. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.

What I’ve learnt about fathers and sons

George and Barbara Bush with their first born child George W. Bush, while Bush was a student at Yale (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My son’s coming up to four months old, and parenthood’s teaching me quite a lot. Expect more posts to appear over time, but I thought I ought to start somewhere.

Fatherhood’s definitely different to what I thought it would be – it’s nowhere near as complicated (actually, right now, it’s pretty straightforward) but it’s way harder.

One particular thing that struck me immediately as different was the fact that I didn’t cry when he was born. Having talked to lots of dads, and having watched One Born Every Minute, I was convinced that I’d be a babbling wreck when he arrived. As it turned out I was far too tired to respond like that, and thank goodness I’d watched One Born because having a purple son would have freaked me out otherwise.

In fact, the whole concept of immediately feeling overwhelming love towards my son had almost set the bar so high that I was never going to experience it. Where people have said before that your feelings for your kids teach you about God’s heart for you has turned out to be a bit of a let-down so far if I’m honest. When he’s older and sets fire to my car in anger and I still forgive him, maybe then I’ll get it a bit better.

But something struck me that I never knew would.

The Father was willing to sacrifice his son for me.

I think perhaps I’m learning after all.

Do I need to forgive God?

Image via Wikipedia

I’m pretty guilty when it comes to making Christianity too complicated. Someone says something that they think sounds spiritual, and I’m pretty quick to decide whether they’re right or not, whether they’re biblical or not.

That sort of happened recently when I was reading a memoir (see my review of it over here) in which the author, Ian Morgan Cron, said he was in church and heard a voice audibly speak to him, saying ‘forgive me.’ My mind instantly shot to the simple fact that God is perfect and doesn’t sin, and therefore doesn’t need to ask for forgiveness. This guy must have been mistaken.

Unfortunately, the author had my number. He said that he thought exactly the same thing so had gone to a Christian friend of his who basically said that God just might have told Ian to forgive Him – God should never have been punished for sin but He humbled Himself and allowed it to happen anyway, so who are we to say that He wouldn’t have humbled Himself in that way as well? His friend summed it up by stating this simple, humble, biblical truth:

Love stoops.

Suddenly my judgment against what he did or didn’t experience seems insignificant and actually unbiblical – who am I to say how God can or can’t speak, even if I’m saying it based on Scripture?

Perhaps faith in Jesus is just a bit simpler than I imagine it to be.

My hope is built on nothing less

A friend of mine recently posted the excellent quote by B. B. Warfield:

There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. . . This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ doesn’t cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His ‘blood and righteousness’ alone that we can rest.

Check out the rest of his blog over here.

Ransomed Dreams by Sally John

Quick synopsis: Sheridan is married to Eliot, but they’re estranged due to his physical and emotional disabilities he received after he was shot. She discovers something about her hated father which opens up a journey of forgiveness and reconciliation.

I found myself drawn into this book. Sally John writes well – she inspires laughter and tears, develops believable stories, and puts in enough deep material to encourage the reader to think. This is particularly good thanks to the group discussion questions which are presented in an appendix.

That said, I spent a good two-thirds of the book not really empathising with the main character. The reasons for the relationship breakdown aren’t really explained until way later on, so at the start it seemed to me like a wife who was eternally grumpy with her disabled husband, and a husband who was ungrateful for her care and efforts. Only once the lifestyle was described in more detail did I understand what was going on.

The ‘spiritual’ message behind the book is reasonably clear – trust in God through trials, and be willing to forgive others. But exactly why remains a mystery. In short, if you’re looking for a theological message in a book this one’s ok, but not great.

So, an enjoyable, light-hearted read so long as you stick with it. I’d read others by the same author.

I got this book for free as part of Tyndale‘s blogger review network. I’m not required to give a positive review.

Seasons of Grace: The Telling by Beverley Lewis (audio)

This is a fictional account mainly following an Amish family dealing with sin, forgiveness and grace. It’s quite a pleasant story, although a bit predictable, and has enough varied content to keep your attention.

To be brutally honest, I didn’t really get it. This is the third of a trilogy – it took me a while to understand what was happening, and perhaps this is why. There’s nothing wrong with the story but it just seemed a bit light in terms of content for me! I’d spend an hour or so listening to the narrator, and feel like nothing had really happened.

The narrator gives a clichéd accent to all the Amish people which frustrated me but at times does help to dramatise the story a bit.

Biblical insight into God’s grace is in there, but for me, Christian fiction comes far better than this. That being said, I think this is aimed overwhelmingly at American ladies, so if that’s you don’t hesitate to give this a go!

I got this audiobook for free as part of the christianaudio.com reviewers programme. I’m not required to give a positive review.

Unshackled & Growing: Muslims and Christians on the Journey to Freedom by Dr. Nabeel T. Jabbour

This book is written primarily for Muslims who have an interest in Jesus, or Muslims who have become followers of Christ, but the audience isn’t limited to them. It takes you on a journey in the direction of Jesus, ending with very practical appendices.

The structure of the book is phenomenal, and I’d recommend it to any reader. The chapters are short with questions for application, and the variety of topics covered is immense. A new Christian following this book would be more spiritually mature than a lot of believers who have been around the block a few times!

Due to the intended audience it does talk about Islam and quotes phrases in Arabic, which may put off a non-Muslim reader, but this certainly doesn’t detract from the text. On occasion, particularly in the first part of the book, the difference between the Muslim culture and the Muslim faith is not clarified quite as much as I’d like, but for a Muslim audience I think this is actually exactly right.

And quite honestly, there’s an absolute wealth of practical ways to grow in your relationship with God. Every Christian should get a hold of this book and do what it says!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of theirBlogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The question which proves I’m a hypocrite

Someone asked me this question today:

Which would you rather live in: a world that’s only ever merciful, or a world that’s only ever fair?

My heart leapt to saying ‘merciful’! I instantly thought of something I’d done wrong, and was so grateful for the mercy I received.
But then I thought, ‘what if someone did something shocking, like raped a friend of mine?’ Surely, in the grand scheme of things, I’d want a fair world where justice would be done.
But the moment I thought back to myself, my mind returned to wanting mercy.
The whole of creation cries out for justice, yet we all have a personal desire for mercy. But you can’t have both – as much as the rapist wants mercy, that would be unfair.
Isn’t it wonderful that justice and mercy met at the cross? Gerald Sittster said:

It is the tension between God’s justice and mercy that makes God so capable of dealing with wrongdoers. God is able to punish people without destroying them, and to forgive people without indulging them…Mercy does not abrogate justice; it transcends it.

A pretty girl

I’m on the tube and a pretty girl sat opposite me and proceeded to begin falling asleep. My sin was not moving to sit elsewhere to flee temptation but after a stop a man in his late 40s-early 50s came on board and simply stared at this pretty girl, who is in her early twenties.
Now normally I would have jumped on the ‘he’s a sinner and needs Jesus’ van but on this occasion my heart went out to this young lady; she doesn’t even know she’s being sinned against but is picking up this filth anyway and needs Jesus just as much.
Thank God that Jesus’ sacrifice was not just to forgive our sins but to remove every penalty and consequence of that sin – if that girl becomes a Christian (and my prayer is that she will, or has!) then she is washed completely clean of that horrible man’s eyes.
Thank God there is no sin in heaven.
I think I’m going to like it there.