Lubbock Church - Covenant Life Fellowship

Life Point
Moral Relativism or Spiritual Activism?

When I was working on my Human Sciences degree from Texas Tech University, I was exposed to many humanistic philosophies. One of those philosophies was moral relativism. It is a view which foundationally denies the existence of absolute truth outside of one's own experiential concept. For a more precise definition, read on. 

The following paragraph was taken from the free, on-line encyclopedia, called Wikipedia: "In philosophy moral relativism is the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect objective and/or universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances. Moral relativists hold that no universal standard exists by which to assess an ethical proposition's truth. Relativistic positions often see moral values as applicable only within certain cultural boundaries (cultural relativism) or in the context of individual preferences (individualist ethical subjectivism). An extreme relativist position might suggest that judging the moral or ethical judgments or acts of another person or group has no meaning, though most relativists propound a more limited version of the theory. In moral relativism there are no absolute rights and wrongs."

Unfortunately, many people in the United States have adopted this philosophy over THE STANDARD for determining right and wrong...THE BIBLE. When people begin rationalizing their moral decisions in light of culture, circumstances, and personal desires, they inherently choose unwisely to follow whatever is currently "IN". The term "IN CROWD" is a familiar one. Those in the "IN CROWD" are accepted not for their individual viewpoints, but for their association with so many others who hold unique, self-serving beliefs, who have basically given up the stance of determining right from wrong. The phenomenon about the "IN CROWD" that is so interesting though, is they have no foundation for what they believe! Moral relativists are people who have strong beliefs based upon unsubstantiated feelings, thoughts, or ideas. They consider themselves to be free thinkers...bastions of hope and liberty. They are enlightened philosophers who encourage others to express how they feel. They encourage others to be tolerant of ANY views another may espouse, no matter how vile, perverse, or hitherto unaccepted by society as a whole. They hallow everyone's (except Bible believing Christ follower's) feelings as holy, untouchable, and altogether good on their own merit alone. When Barak Obama was asked by the pastor of Saddle Back Church (Rick Warren), when he believes life begins, he responded with a morally relativistic answer. He said, "that is above my pay grade". What in effect he said was, right now I would rather not say what I really think because morally speaking I am relatively on the ropes...which is evidenced by my staunch pro-choice stance. Morally speaking, he was relatively out of touch with God's Word! But remember, he, like so many Americans, have bought into the moral relativism lie. He wants to be able to make that decision when the time comes, according to the circumstances. Of course, we know what he would do if one of his daughters became pregnant as a teen. He said, "I don't want to punish them with a baby!" God's Word clearly states that "children are a blessing". 

Understand, people have been being trained in moral relativism for a long time. Twenty four years ago I was in Lubbock, Texas (Bible belt), in college hearing the tolerance mantra, which by the way, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO A MORAL RELATIVIST! I remember being in a Family Studies class at good ol' T.T.U. where we were culturally enlightened by a panel of people who were "monogamously living the homosexual lifestyle". To my chagrin, I heard those men and women spout God's Word out of context, to support their choice of the "alternative lifestyle"! The professor had forewarned all "radical Christians" to mind our "P's" and "Q's" if we knew what was good for us! We were told that if we embarrassed any of the panel guests, our grade would reflect it in a negative sense! So much for tolerance. Sadly, I followed two freshman girls out of the class that day, and heard the success of the brainwashing they had received. One girl to the other expressed, "that really opened my eyes...they really are just like we are!" The other girl responded, "yeah, those old men were so sweet...did you see how Tom kept patting his partner's knee?" Dumbfounded, I walked to my car trying to realize what had just happened. The Holy Spirit revealed it to me. Those in the room that day were in a sense, like Eve in the garden of Eden, when Satan tempted her to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They either heard the lie and swallowed it, or they remembered God's Word and were sustained by it! Those who were trying most to get in touch with their feelings, and understand the feelings of others, swallowed it whole. Those who had been established in the Word of God, did not concur. In fact, we presented questions that were dangerously close to embarrassing the panel guests. We were censored and even squelched when our views did not meet the professor's expectations. Funny, but that is how moral relativism works. Those who hold any view which can be considered intolerant of the views of others is discounted as hate speech, and must be stopped at all cost!  Does this sound familiar? Have you noticed how easy it is to hear the opinions of the far left today? Have you noticed that the major news networks lean toward the left? Have you noticed that the voices of those who believe in the Bible are often unheard? Have you noticed that concerns and talking points of Christ followers often go unmentioned by ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN? Why is that? Because, the liberal media IS MORALLY RELATIVISTIC in nature! Those networks, by and large, are made up of people who espouse to tolerance as a life philosophy! They may claim to be Christians, or believe in God, but they do NOT hallow the scriptures, as high as popular opinion, and free thinking!

Daniel of the Bible was a spiritual activist of sorts. He was not willing to go against his GOD no matter what. God had favored him while in captivity. God had given him high standing in society as a leader. God had distinguished Daniel by HIS EXCELLENT SPIRIT! He was set apart. When the other jealous leaders learned that King Darius was considering Daniel as their overall leader, they plotted to silence him once and for all. The only problem was, they couldn't dig up any dirt on him! He was truly a man of integrity, and oneness of heart unto God! So, they decided they would have to use his strong beliefs to trip him up. They got the king to decree that no one should pray to any other god except him for thirty days. The king signed it into law. It could not be undone. Anyone caught breaking the decree would be thrown into the lions' den...certain death. Knowing this, what do you think a moral relativist would do? He or she would probably comply with the decree based upon the notion that it might make one more culturally diverse, and tolerating this slight inconvenience might have a positive impact on one's overall personal development. What did Daniel do? What he did every day! He went into "his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days". Earlier in this paragraph, I identified Daniel as a spiritual activist of "sorts". What I meant by that was this. When pressed by the moral relativists of his day, Daniel took action. He took the same action he had been taking since he was young! He prayed! He did not heed one iota to the decree! Now you may be thinking, "Should we be spiritual activists today?!" The answer is, "yes, and no". You see, Daniel didn't act out AGAINST the decree. He acted out in favor of his beliefs in the true and living God! He spiritually acted on his FAITH! He didn't change his mode of operation to conceal his beliefs. He didn't heed as valid the reason for praying to King Darius. Instead, he heeded as valid, the TRUTH he had known for so long...the TRUTH of GOD! There was no contemplating in Daniel. He didn't have to go "think" about the consequences of praying openly after the decree had been signed! He went home and made a statement...to God. By praying openly, he effectively defied the decree, and distinctly proclaimed his TOTAL TRUST IN GOD!  Daniel was a spiritual activist according to his relationship with God. We need to pray for the heart of Daniel in these days ahead. We must not bow to the moral relativism of our day. We must bow ONLY TO OUR KING...GOD ALMIGHTY! 

When it comes to taking a stand, we must follow the words of Jesus..."No one when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light". The enemy of our soul wants to silence the TRUTH. He tried to silence the TRUTH by crucifying Jesus. He tried to silence the TRUTH by killing the apostles. It never worked! And it never will! As a matter of fact, because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the TRUTH WILL NEVER BE SILENCED! It will always be proclaimed by those who love Him, and are called according to HIS purpose! The proposition of death did NOT sway Daniel to denounce his love for GOD! The proposition of death did NOT sway Jesus from going to the cross for us! The proposition of death did NOT sway the apostles from sharing the GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST! They were resolute in their FAITH! They resolved to please GOD above pleasing men! I tell you the truth...if you are more concerned with pleasing yourself than pleasing God...you might be a moral relativist. If you are more concerned with popular opinion than the TRUTH of GOD'S WORD...you might be a moral relativist. If you are more concerned about being politically correct and tolerant than what the Holy Spirit says...you probably are a moral relativist, and I pray you will come to TRUE ENLIGHTENMENT before it is too late! 

God is calling His church to assemble as a mighty army! He is breathing His spirit into the body. Are you in HIM? Is HE in YOU? What is your philosophy? Is it human, or spiritual? Is it of this world, or the world to come? Daniel counted each day as a blessing from God. He lived each day honoring the One Who gave him breath. What about you? Is each day precious? Are you living a thankful, devoted life, as unto God and not unto man? Do you acknowledge GOD in ALL of your ways? Are you praying for Barak Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and others whose philosophies you disagree with? Regardless of rhetoric and political stance, EVERYONE on the planet was made by the hand of God. It is not our place to judge these. It IS our place to extend the love of Jesus to these! Daniel was a man of prayer. He didn't try to overcome his enemies with a secretive plan. He was NOT vindictive. He simply made a stand for righteousness...from his knees!

Until next time, I pray God will reveal Himself to you in NEW and POWERFUL ways. I pray that you will take your place in the Body of Christ! I pray you will seek the Lord with all of your heart. That you will listen to the HOLY SPIRIT, and OBEY. Be blessed with GOD'S BEST...which by the way...IS HIS WILL FOR YOU!

Your Partner In Ministry,
Greg McCowen