Morality to me is about social justice and fairness. Are people being singled out for harsh treatment, or is everyone equal before the law?
The persecution of gays is one of the glaring injustices in contemporary society.
The treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay is another egregious injustice that readily comes to mind.
The way the death of almost 100,000 Iraqi civilians has been all but glossed over in the MSM is also deeply immoral (are there deaths any less worthy of mentioning because they are Iraqi not British or American?)
Other major examples of social injustice include citizens' unequal access to education and health care.
I think the challenge of being a moral society involves seeking fairness and equal treatment for all citizens (in the context of a liberal-democratic capitalist society).
You'd think the Church would be an important moral voice in society, but it seems that the various christian churches are mostly obsessed with sex and what others are doing in the privacy of their bedrooms.
According to mainstream conservative christian/ Republican ideology, morality in public policy involves barring gays from marriage, securing enormous tax cuts for the wealthy, and preventing women from having abortions.
How did Jesus' message become so twisted in the hands of these people?
Interesting article on the struggle to define Christian values.
Losing Their Religion
"Jim Wallis has a radical religious proposition: if Jesus were setting American priorities, the first two would not be tax cuts for the rich or the occupation of Iraq.
This might come as a surprise to America's religious right, who solidly endorsed both policies, along with most of the Republicans' platform. But plenty of people are listening, among them British Prime Minister Tony Blair, heir apparent Gordon Brown, and probable US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, all advised by the dapper American reverend.
Jim Wallis is the evangelical Christian who has loosened the stranglehold of the religious right on American politics. He did it by asking loudly and often: how did Jesus become pro-rich, pro-war and pro- America alone?
These questions resonate with a much wider audience than just Christians, including all those who resent the way the right - religious and political - managed to hijack faith and reduce it to a couple of narrow issues...
According to Wallis, moral or religious issues for Christians go far beyond abortion and gay marriage ? the only topics the religious right allowed under that rubric at the 2004 US election. The environment (caring for God's earth) is a religious issue, so is war (Christians are called to be peacemakers), truth-telling, human rights (people are made in the "image of God") and, above all, poverty.
The Bible has several thousand verses on poverty. Clearly, it matters to God, and much more than some issues that the religious right prefers to talk about.
The persecution of gays is one of the glaring injustices in contemporary society.
The treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay is another egregious injustice that readily comes to mind.
The way the death of almost 100,000 Iraqi civilians has been all but glossed over in the MSM is also deeply immoral (are there deaths any less worthy of mentioning because they are Iraqi not British or American?)
Other major examples of social injustice include citizens' unequal access to education and health care.
I think the challenge of being a moral society involves seeking fairness and equal treatment for all citizens (in the context of a liberal-democratic capitalist society).
You'd think the Church would be an important moral voice in society, but it seems that the various christian churches are mostly obsessed with sex and what others are doing in the privacy of their bedrooms.
According to mainstream conservative christian/ Republican ideology, morality in public policy involves barring gays from marriage, securing enormous tax cuts for the wealthy, and preventing women from having abortions.
How did Jesus' message become so twisted in the hands of these people?
Interesting article on the struggle to define Christian values.
Losing Their Religion
"Jim Wallis has a radical religious proposition: if Jesus were setting American priorities, the first two would not be tax cuts for the rich or the occupation of Iraq.
This might come as a surprise to America's religious right, who solidly endorsed both policies, along with most of the Republicans' platform. But plenty of people are listening, among them British Prime Minister Tony Blair, heir apparent Gordon Brown, and probable US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, all advised by the dapper American reverend.
Jim Wallis is the evangelical Christian who has loosened the stranglehold of the religious right on American politics. He did it by asking loudly and often: how did Jesus become pro-rich, pro-war and pro- America alone?
These questions resonate with a much wider audience than just Christians, including all those who resent the way the right - religious and political - managed to hijack faith and reduce it to a couple of narrow issues...
According to Wallis, moral or religious issues for Christians go far beyond abortion and gay marriage ? the only topics the religious right allowed under that rubric at the 2004 US election. The environment (caring for God's earth) is a religious issue, so is war (Christians are called to be peacemakers), truth-telling, human rights (people are made in the "image of God") and, above all, poverty.
The Bible has several thousand verses on poverty. Clearly, it matters to God, and much more than some issues that the religious right prefers to talk about.
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