Moral Irrationalists
May 18th, 2006 by Wyatt
I caught this blog entry by Jonah Goldberg over at The Corner. He neatly summarizes the problem of people seeking alternate religions and coins a term that nails it on the head:
They are moral irrationalists, by their own definitions, who want to replace one moral system with another more to their liking — one which usually champions their pet political and cultural priorities.
Incidentally, he points out that folks who do this almost reflexively deride Christianity. They want to tolerate everything except the truth.
This moral irrationality is the root of a spiritual issue that I come back to again and again. Presumably, religion and faith are attempts at connecting with the spiritual forces that created and may be actively involved in the world we see. If you start from the idea that you are attempting to connect with something bigger and more powerful than you, how can you take the approach of seeking the system you like best. Shouldn’t the search be for the system that reflects reality? Shouldn’t we be searching for truth rather than personal preference?
I am baffled by folks who will choose a moral structure or religion based on whether they agree with it or not. How backwards are we that we’ve decided that we can define reality the way we want.
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
John 13:15-16 NIV
The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
Psalm 14:1 NIV
As usual, the Word speaks the truth.