HS #98 2023.9.14
Discerning Moral Truth
When teaching my senior seminar at Hope College, I gave the assignment of writing a paper selecting one of two titles: “I am a Seeker of Truth” or “I am a Child of God.” I explained that these are not mutually exclusive. However, if someone on the street asked, “Who are you?” although there are myriad possible responses, a person’s answer would reveal what is most central to their identity. Similarly, they were to pick the title which best described their core.
Personally, I pick the former. I live my life very imperfectly pursuing truth, beauty and love.
If there is a Supreme Being who encompasses these in all their fullness, then worship and love is the natural response. Thus, being a seeker of truth can set one free to become a devoted Child of God as well.
How does one seek truth? Scientific research is a powerful means to converge on truth about our natural world. The process of experimentation – repeated by others who are motivated to find flaws – doesn’t prove anything true with certainty, but it does lead to increased confidence.
But how does one discern moral truth – what one “ought” to do? Especially for the Child of God, how does one combine scripture, culture, and one’s own experience? A recent Holland Sentinel column by Bill Sutton (July 30) on the LGBTQ+ issue suggested that the Bible preempts all else. I think it’s more complicated than that. Why? Whether using the Bible or any other source, EVERYTHING is interpreted and understood by our faulty minds. And everything, even the Bible, comes to us through imperfect humans. Thus, all must be interpreted in light of the others.
It wasn't long ago (1970's) that same-sex attraction was considered by psychologists to be a malady - something from which to be cured. Then, gradually, two things were realized: i) sexual attraction doesn’t change, ii) gays and lesbians enjoy healthy happy wholesome lives (except for rejection by some) by living in accordance with their same-sex attraction. Since a guiding principle of the medical world is “Do no harm” the medical community changed its stance on the issue. Was this wrong, or a step towards finding moral truth?
Also, sometimes culture seems to be ahead of the church in recognizing Biblical truth.
Women’s suffrage, abolition of slavery, the 1990 Americans with Disability Act were all issues which are in step with biblical precepts, but where secular society took the lead. I can imagine a child of a slave holder in the 18th century understanding the Bible as endorsing slavery. Then, the child becomes friends with children of slaves and sees life through their eyes. Suddenly, it is OTHER verses of the Bible which impinge upon the youngster. The Bible hasn’t changed, but the eyes reading the Bible have. They have been sensitized by experiencing a different culture. Is this wrong or a step towards discerning moral truth?
In explaining why there is pain in the world, there is a “baby test.” Any explanation must be able to be given to a couple who has just lost an infant child. I thought of that recently when I met two beaming and wholesome gay 30-something men vacationing in the UP. Having met at “Teach for America” they have been a couple for seven years and were obviously enjoying their vacation and their lives together. What would anyone against gay marriage say to them?
Should they separate? No longer be friends? Should they be friends, but not live together - robbing them of the joy of each other's constant companionship? Should they live together, but unlike every hetero couple, resist the urge to embrace each other fully in love? Pats on back? Quick hugs? Long hugs? Walks hand in hand? Sleep next to each other?
What if one gets aroused? Then quickly move to another room or bed? Take a cold shower? Repent of their sinfulness and return to separate beds with guilt and sense of their fallen nature?
Years ago, after Hope College professor David Myers gave a talk defending same-sex relationships, a burly construction-clad middle-aged man stood up and remarked that no matter Myers’s argument, he still believed it was wrong. He was followed immediately by a similar looking man who said, “Last year I would have said the same, but this past Christmas my son told me he is gay – and I love my son.” Should such be discounted when finding moral truth?
All worth pondering.
