The widespread abandonment of Christianity in the West is leaving a moral vacuum.
In pop-morality of Hollywood heroes, there comes a time when it is right to kill the bad guy. This concept takes the sanctity of human life to a level that demeans it by destroying justice. The left of politics is trying to develop political correctness as the new morality- the best of humanism.
Startrek for instance, the initial moral conundrum of "Startrek: Into Darkness" is that Kirk has been sent to assassinate the murderer Kahn. Kirk is ready to carry out his orders, but Spock declares this is immoral to execute him without trial and that they ought to capture Kahn and return him to Starfleet for trial. Kirk is actually being played by the Admiral, and it is as well that he captures, rather than kills Kahn. But this is a plot twist that undermines the thought experiment and attempts to justify, ad hoc, the decision to spare Kahn. The reality of the thought experiment is seen in real life in the capture and trial of Saddam Hussein, and the hunting down and execution of Osama Bin Laden.
Kahn later crashes a starship into the sky scrapers of San Fransisco in an attack not dissimilar to the World Trade Center after making no pretense of innocence, but merely attempts to justify his actions as retaliation for wrongs done to him, In comparison with Bin Laden. In the movie, Kirk is under no misapprehensions of Kahn's guilt. Kirk is an eyewitness of Kahn's unprovoked attack that leads to the death of Kirk's mentor, Admiral Pike. In the end, Kahn is captured and not tried or executed, but placed back into cryogenic hibernation.
In many TV shows, the hero, through some moral consideration, passes up the opportunity to kill the bad guy, where there is no mistaking guilt, and the hero is the appropriate agent to administer justice. This behavior is believed to have stemmed from a misguided application of the principle of the sanctity of life.
Since jettisoning Christianity as the majority morality of the western world, Utilitarianism has been limping.
We are left with a loose idea of the sanctity of human life. Some sort of Eastern / Buddhist / Hindu / New Age conception of reincarnation and the value of all life is present in our milieu. But it condemns one to vegetarianism, and is based upon some other religious concepts that most Westerners find hard to credit. So we cling to it, emphasizing it to the exclusion of all else.
A newspaper article recently suggested that the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center marked the end of Post Modernism. No longer could one really countenance the central tenant of Post Modernism that moral truth was relative.
Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind." one comes up against the justice of God If one bases morality on the existence and moral character of God.
With the Osama Bin Ladens of the world, what is to be done if one bases morality on the sanctity of human life alone?
What it believes is one of the things the West needs to make up their minds about.
In pop-morality of Hollywood heroes, there comes a time when it is right to kill the bad guy. This concept takes the sanctity of human life to a level that demeans it by destroying justice. The left of politics is trying to develop political correctness as the new morality- the best of humanism.
Startrek for instance, the initial moral conundrum of "Startrek: Into Darkness" is that Kirk has been sent to assassinate the murderer Kahn. Kirk is ready to carry out his orders, but Spock declares this is immoral to execute him without trial and that they ought to capture Kahn and return him to Starfleet for trial. Kirk is actually being played by the Admiral, and it is as well that he captures, rather than kills Kahn. But this is a plot twist that undermines the thought experiment and attempts to justify, ad hoc, the decision to spare Kahn. The reality of the thought experiment is seen in real life in the capture and trial of Saddam Hussein, and the hunting down and execution of Osama Bin Laden.
Kahn later crashes a starship into the sky scrapers of San Fransisco in an attack not dissimilar to the World Trade Center after making no pretense of innocence, but merely attempts to justify his actions as retaliation for wrongs done to him, In comparison with Bin Laden. In the movie, Kirk is under no misapprehensions of Kahn's guilt. Kirk is an eyewitness of Kahn's unprovoked attack that leads to the death of Kirk's mentor, Admiral Pike. In the end, Kahn is captured and not tried or executed, but placed back into cryogenic hibernation.
In many TV shows, the hero, through some moral consideration, passes up the opportunity to kill the bad guy, where there is no mistaking guilt, and the hero is the appropriate agent to administer justice. This behavior is believed to have stemmed from a misguided application of the principle of the sanctity of life.
Since jettisoning Christianity as the majority morality of the western world, Utilitarianism has been limping.
We are left with a loose idea of the sanctity of human life. Some sort of Eastern / Buddhist / Hindu / New Age conception of reincarnation and the value of all life is present in our milieu. But it condemns one to vegetarianism, and is based upon some other religious concepts that most Westerners find hard to credit. So we cling to it, emphasizing it to the exclusion of all else.
A newspaper article recently suggested that the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center marked the end of Post Modernism. No longer could one really countenance the central tenant of Post Modernism that moral truth was relative.
Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind." one comes up against the justice of God If one bases morality on the existence and moral character of God.
With the Osama Bin Ladens of the world, what is to be done if one bases morality on the sanctity of human life alone?
What it believes is one of the things the West needs to make up their minds about.
About the Author:
Interested in hunting and social issues? Why not try David Greentree's new book, 'Tom Grafton Vs The Environmentalists'.
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