Perils of moral relativism

THE EDITOR: The practical result of moral relativism and religious pluralism (all truth is relative) is hedonism – pleasure at any cost regardless of the pain inflicted on God, others or oneself. It is manifested in the proverb: “Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”

This is a form of religious or naturalistic annihilationism, reincarnation or purgatory. Annihilationism is the belief that “when yuh dead yuh done” – like a dog. The culture of crime is the mindset of no accountability here or hereafter. The consequence is chaotic insecurity as lawlessness takes over in the home, school, society and the State.

People do not commit crimes for basically three reasons:

Firstly, conscience or fear and love for the Creator and most high (authority) and others. Secondly, coercion or fear of consequences from delegated authorities. And thirdly, the combination of conscience and coercion.

Crime is promoted by the Babylonian order and brotherhood of false religion, corrupt government and greedy business, which exploit the poor and the powerless, with gross injustice and inequity.

It is facilitated by a messy toxic system of corruption, inefficient service delivery, bribery and abuse of authority, flowing from the most high to the lowest places.

White-collar “untouchable”criminals who are permitted to operate “above the law” and with impunity create a culture of resentment and disrespect for authority and the rule of law. As Lord Cypher sang: “If the priest could play, who is we?” (I Corinthians 15:32-34; Hebrews 9:27; Romans 13.)

Idolatry inevitably leads to various forms of immorality and amorality, and sometimes illegality and criminality. You become like what you worship. You worship what you value most. Thus moral relativism is a form of vain self-worship by which men: “Professing to be wise...became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds, and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (Romans 1: 22-23).

We cannot properly guide youth and build a better society if we are building on the shifting sands of moral relativism. If there is no such thing as absolute moral truth, then we have no valid basis for distinguishing right from wrong, good from evil, true religion from false religion, the truth from the lie, and Christ from Satan (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

TT, the Caribbean and the world are becoming more and more like Israel in the time of the judges, when “every person did what was right in his own eyes.”

Lawlessness or sin, in relation to the law of God (theology and morality), often leads to or manifests itself as civil lawlessness or crime, with respect to the laws of civil society (legality).

Murder is an attack on the image of the Creator in mankind and if the delegated minister of God or state authority is negligent in executing convicted murderers by due process of law, then the basic principle of natural justice and the rule of law would be undermined.

Also, murder, inclusive of abortion, and sexual immorality, inclusive of adultery, rape and unnatural sex or homosexuality, are destructive attacks on the divinely created institution of marriage and family, which is the social foundation of society (Ecclesiastes 8:11; Genesis 9:6).

As King Solomon asserted: “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. “Chaos could well become the order of the day.

CLYDE PILGRIM

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