Whatever happened to... (Part 3)

Yet more painful observations

Whatever happened to…

Morality—A good working definition of “morality” is “A doctrine or system of ideas concerned with conduct.”¹ Bad conduct goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 3. In chapter 2, Adam is expressly warned by God not to eat the fruit of a particular tree—the tree of knowledge of good and evil—or else he will die. Evidently, this message is passed on to Eve, who informs the serpent in chapter 3 that she is forbidden to eat that fruit lest she die.

Ah, but the cunning serpent knows only too well that Eve believes that the fruit is poisonous, and would kill her instantly, rather than her simply dying eventually. So, Eve is tricked in a way, but nonetheless exercises her free will, and disobeys God. Likewise, Adam takes the fruit, and later tries to blame Eve for his indiscretion. For this act of willful disobedience, the couple is expelled from Eden.

Consider that the entire system of morality in Eden consisted of only one rule. Yet, the sole residents of this paradise were only too happy to chuck it all, and be sent out to the real world, where they would have to earn a living by the sweat of their brows.

Alas, things don’t improve from there. The eldest son of Adam and Eve, Cain, murders his own brother Abel (Genesis 4:8). In chapter 6, God decides to destroy the world—except for a small remnant—since people had become so wicked. Genesis chapter 27 gives us the story of Jacob’s deception of his father Isaac—as orchestrated by his mother Rebekah. Chapter 37 describes Jacob’s son Joseph being sold into slavery by his own brothers.

The more detailed moral code of the Ten Commandments would come generations later (Exodus 20). Even so, the Old Testament chronicles all sorts of immoral behavior, not the least of which was King David arranging for the death of Uriah, to get his wife Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). Cold comfort, indeed, that David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

The New Testament provides more lessons for good conduct, including the beautiful Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). Yet, slavery is seemingly tolerated (Ephesians 6:5).

Turning to the secular world, evil has always been with us, and as governments grew stronger and technology improved, it could be carried out on a far grander scale—all for a good cause, of course. Thus, the inconceivable devastation of World War II— whereby horrible dictators in Europe and Asia were replaced with different horrible dictators in Europe and Asia—is celebrated by many to this day as some sort of triumph of civilization.

In the aftermath of this war, except for Pearl Harbor, our own American homeland was unscathed; so attention turned to making “improvements” on our domestic situation. All sorts of “rights” were discovered, including one to be free of religion. Not surprisingly, within ten years of the school prayer cases of the early 1960s, we would see promotion of abortion and homosexuality.

Voices at the time, including the Vatican’s, warned of the consequences, but these were mocked as being contrary to our newfound Sexual Revolution. Still, few could have predicted the travesties of gay “marriage” and mutilation surgery to advance transgenderism.

So…what happened to morality, you ask? Our human race started off compromised, and while the boundaries of civilization hold back the Law of the Jungle, our collective mortality has certainly not improved. Some might argue that it has only deteriorated.

1. “Morality.” Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/morality. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.