WE NEED TO DRAW a line as far as morals and morality are concerned, what is right and wrong behaviour. This in any society is based on or following the code of behaviour that that society considers acceptable. Today old morals are falling away.
New practices are being introduced and adapted. Many ethical standards have been upended.
We have a moral duty and obligation to do good and this stems from God’s teachings. Europeans have and are redefining morals. Marriage now is not between a man and woman, but two individuals. The church has the massive task of dealing with this changing moral.
In recent times the first legal same-sex marriage occurred in the United States between an Episcopalian bishop and his mate. Here in Barbados, several denominations have taken a negative stance to this issue, but this matter is bound to recur, as groups try to fight for their “human rights”. In this case it may be just a claim against right-thinking people.
Science can defy the laws of gravity. It can split the atom, send a spacecraft to Pluto. Scientific advancement can help us to live the “good life” with all the material gadgets which make life easier.
Such issues as to why some people suffer and why some people prosper at the expense of others are beyond the realms of science. Science has no morality moreso when its inventions fall into the hands of evil men.
Such matters as the value attached to human life, the sanctity of human life, which is a God-given right, not to be terminated before birth or during life, are paramount.
Such crimes as murder, torture of people – especially children – and the abuse of women by men are questions which we have to tackle with vigour. Also, what initiates our sensitivity to suffering.
Child sexploitation is a prominent feature as well as human trafficking for economic gains, mainly through prostitution and forced labour. Such practices only become crimes when societies condemn them. We need to judge society by moral standards, that is, of what we know to be right or wrong.
Science is only aware of the natural world and cannot be a barometer for morality. Materialistic science does not elevate man above the realms of animals, and in contemporary societies the answers to many moral questions are elusive. The solutions to these though exist in the word of God.
There is no biological race – this is only a construct of the divide and rule phenomenon. We are one race, and need to understand our oneness, the oneness of everyone and everything in essence, and take the conversation beyond what the priests, politicians and contemporary education think that we can assimilate.
– PHILIP HUNTE