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Does America Have an ‘Official’ Morality?
American Thinker ^ | September 18, 2016 | Does America Have an ‘Official’ Morality?

Posted on 09/18/2016 5:00:26 AM PDT by NYer

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To: NYer

Since the founding of the US, its people have created a division between the ideas of ethics and morality, as was wanted by the founding fathers.

As background, since time immemorial, national leaders claimed that they were anointed, sanctified, and placed in office by God or “the gods”, thus to object to their laws and dictates was an affront, not just to them, but “to heaven” as well.

So our founding fathers did something radical. While they admired and honored God, they were very clear that our constitution and laws are written *by men*, and so could be changed again by men, without offending God.

But, they also were very concerned that anti-religious radicals would run away with the idea, so very carefully enacted the “endowed by the Creator”, “natural rights” of the Bill of Rights. Specifically out of the realm of man made changes.

This handled the God-man dichotomy, but it left unsettled the “equality of different religions”.

Over time, this resulted in the distinction of ethics and morality in the common mind.

Ethics is seen by the public as adherence to the written law, so that more or less, a politician who claimed to be ethical could be evaluated by the public as to whether he actually was, or not.

However, a claim of morality by a politician only muddies the water, because the question remains, “Whose morality?” That is, morality is *sectarian*. The morality of a Methodist, a Baptist, a Catholic, a Mormon, a Jew, etc., etc. vary a LOT. Because, in effect, morality is obedience to the “laws of heaven”, not mankind.

What is certain is that an atheist, of whatever stripe, has no claim to morality *at all*, though they may claim to be ethical. But the essence of morality is that it is *not* self created, subjective or changeable by the individual, which atheists almost have to insist it is.

While an atheist might live a life that to others appears moral doesn’t matter. It just means they have greater self control. Nothing *guarantees* that they act morally. They could be grotesque, like the Clintons; but they are not, nor have they ever been, moral.

The best indicator of amorality or immorality is socialism, because it is inherently atheistic, elevating man, in their minds, to take the place of God. So a socialist is never a moral person.


21 posted on 09/18/2016 7:40:50 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: GreyFriar

Thanks for the ping and your post #11. America was built on Christian morality. The left is inventing and imposing their own anti-Christian “morality.”


22 posted on 09/18/2016 7:41:10 AM PDT by zot
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To: McBuff
"The rights which he possesses are, it is believed, conferred upon him, NOT BY HIS CREATOR, but RATHER, by the society to which he belongs." Get that? Society. .NOT God. . are the source of our rights. He goes on "What they are (your rights) is TO BE DETERMINED BY THE LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY." You see? The Founders said our rights are endowed by God and that fact is NOT something that must be determined by any other authority of the earth. . .because THAT FACT IS SELF-EVIDENT!!
SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil . . . - Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776)


23 posted on 09/18/2016 7:46:15 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion ('Liberalism' is a conspiracy against the public by wire-service journalism.)
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To: NYer

Bookmarked for later


24 posted on 09/18/2016 7:49:58 AM PDT by Zeneta
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