Griz Bear Comments: Moral absolutes remain absolute, even if rejected

— It always amazes me that people can be so foolish as to think they have the authority to determine what is morally right and acceptable and to speak out against and attempt to silence any argument to the contrary.

Now before you begin to think that I am going to castigate the religious right for its views and outspokenness against the many forms of immorality and evil, let me explain.

My point is that whatever people determine to be morally right and acceptable really does not change anything in the end. If our nation, society in general or even churches determine that what was heretofore immoral is now okay, that does not make it so. And of course, the reverse side of the coin is also true. What was or is considered immoral is not so just because a nation, society or even a religious groups says it is so.

Therefore, if our nation bans prayer, throws out the Ten Commandments or makes it morally acceptable to lie, cheat, gamble, disobey parents, kill the unborn and aged, practice fornication and other indecent acts, that doesn’t make it so.

I know the world doesn’t think in terms of moral absolutes anymore - everything is relative - but that makes moral absolutes no less absolute. Yes, there is still a moral absolute, a law above the law, a law which supersedes man’s laws and the decisions of governments, society, and even churches and religious bodies. And to disregard and cast off that law doesn’t make it null and void. It’s still there. It still stands.

I may not like the law of gravity. I may wish I could fly and could even demand that no one speak of certain “offensive” laws of physics in my hearing. But I’ve learned to respect thelaw of gravity and give it due heed - and more and more so as I’ve grown older and the ground harder. And the fact is, like it or not, the same Person who brought into being the law of gravity also gave us other laws - moral laws - summarized in the Ten Commandments and explained in the Bible.

Yes, I’ve also learned over the years, and sometimes the hard way, that God’s laws are good and right. In fact, they were written on our hearts and recorded in the Bible for our good, so that we would know what is good and right and avoid much unnecessary evil and hardship.

Disobedience to God’s law has consequences - both here in this world, as well as in the hereafter. Whenever you or I think we know better than the Creator and disobey, there are sad consequences, such as guilt, shame, alienation from our Maker, ruined and even wasted lives.

God would rather we not have to know the pain and heartache of destroyed relationships, broken families, ruined lives, disease and death, but we do. Why? Because our first parents disobeyed God’s law and we continue in their ways.

So, if our government, society in general, or even churches and religious groups are so foolish as to declare that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right, it doesn’t change the truth. If groups supporting immorality succeed in silencing those who would speak the truth and warn of consequences for disobedience, it does not change the truth.

What’s right is still right, and what’s wrong is still wrong.

And, yes, the consequence of disobedience will not go away just because people wish it so.

Even if I thought it would be good if I could raise my arms and fly like Superman - even if I had enough unfounded faith to believe it - it wouldn’t get me off the ground. And I hope you don’t expect to see me try it, because I firmly believe in the law of gravity. That law tells me that my body has plenty of mass to keep me planted firmly on the ground.

Even if all the world told me I could fly without the aid of some sort of aircraft, don’t expect me to be jumping off any buildings or hanging over any steep cliffs because I knowwhat is going to happen if I do. I can’t change the way God made things just by pretending it is so!

So also it is with God’s Word and His commandments.

People can say what they wish about them, interpret them away or just completely disregard their message. But they remain true. They have suffered no loss. Those who disregard them and fail to listen to their warnings are the ones who lose and suffer loss! Those who try to fly without them will be most sadly disappointed.

“I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right ... all Thy commandments are truth ... Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:128, 151, 160).

Let government, society and even churches say otherwise.

Let them seek to silence the witness of the Bible and all who testify of its truth. Let them tell us we can’t say what God says in His Book anymore. Will it do them any good? Will it change anything? What’s true is still true, and the consequences of disobedience will still be the same.

Of course, God said this would happen. The Bible says the heathen would rage and the people would imagine a vain and foolish thing. It says kings and rulers would take counsel together against the LORD and His Messiah, saying, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2).

What the rest of the psalm says is also true: “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure ... Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”

Instead of trying to silence God, His commandments and the Bible, people would be wise to listen to the truth and heed it. Regardless of what we believe, say or do, God’s law still stands. His Word remains true. How much wiser to accept the truth than to deceive ourselves and attempt to silence it!

Opinion, Pages 5 on 10/14/2009