First:
1. I am speaking of society in general. 100 years ago, if you slept with a woman who was not your wife, it was considered intolerable, and both parties would have been ostracized. Yes, what is considered moral changes with society.
2. Yes, what we consider moral now may not be considered so in the future, or vice-versa.
Third, you must really think I am stupid if you think I am going to be drawn into the trap you are trying to set.
Good Try, but no cigar!
Society certainly changes over time.
Having an illegitimate child, interracial marriage, homosexuality, etc. were all shunned by society when I was a child and are now accepted as the norm. Even a divorce back then would have people whispering about you. Cigarette smokers were normal then and they are shunned, now. So just in my lifetime society has changed as to what is and what is not “moral”.
Most do not understand how the entire economy of the south in the 1860’s was so intertwined with slavery. Plantation owners borrowed money, bought slaves, cleared land, planted fields, and hoped for a good harvest so they could pay off their loans and still make a profit. Most of the rest of society (shop keepers, share croppers, cart drivers, railroad operators, carpenters, blacksmiths, etc.) either lived well or starved depending on the success of the plantations.
The economy of the northern states had no such reliance on slavery and it was easy for them to take the arrogant moral high ground on the issue. It is certainly true that slavery was one of the main issues that led to secession, but even more-so it was about “who” had the power and authority (states vs. feds) to make decisions about slavery.
Every effort was made to resolve the issue in a peaceful fashion, but Lincoln would have none of that. If Beauregard hadn’t lobbed shells at Fort Sumter, there would have been some other flash point, Lincoln would have seen to that. The war was about secession, not slavery.
“1. I am speaking of society in general. 100 years ago, if you slept with a woman who was not your wife, it was considered intolerable, and both parties would have been ostracized. Yes, what is considered moral changes with society.”
In my community and the America I live, adultery is still considered intolerable and those who commit adultery are ostracized.
Perhaps attitudes are different in your part of Texas.
“2. Yes, what we consider moral now may not be considered so in the future, or vice-versa.”
In this and most Western nations, we have the Bible to help guide our moral values. And nowhere in the Bible have I found a passage that states that the morals set forth in the Bible can be eliminated over time.