Posted on 06/09/2010 6:20:24 AM PDT by rhema
Years ago, when our daughter attended a church- sponsored preschool, we were invited to an informal meeting about parenting techniques. After orientation by the school director, we broke into discussion groups. The topic was discipline, a burning issue for preschool parents, swerving naturally to "How do we teach them right from wrong?" One father in our group apparently wanted to stir the pot. Early in the conversation he asked, "But how do we know what's right and wrong? Do those words have any meaning?"
If he was hoping for a Socratic discussion he didn't get it, neither the first time nor the second time he asked. No one even challenged the premise. I didn't know the man: He might have been an amateur student of philosophy, or a Hindu, or just a provocateur. But to parents of preschoolers, the question itself was meaningless. We all had some notion of right and wrong that we sought to inculcate in our young barbarians; the only issue was how.
New research indicates parents may have a little underlying cooperation in that quest. I mean "little" literally. "The Moral Life of Babies," appearing in The New York Times Magazine last month, outlines extensive study by Yale University researchers into the degree that right and wrong is recognized by children as young as a few months. Surprisingly or not, overwhelming evidence points to a sense of morality either inborn or developing very early.
The study involved babies being exposed to mini-dramas, both live and on film. Two puppets or two shapes were shown either helping or hindering a third character, with the babies encouraged afterward to respond. The youngest subjects were capable of nothing but watching, so their response was measured by how long they looked. But 9- to 12-month-olds could register approval or disapproval in a variety of ways, including punishing the bad actors when they had an opportunity. "In the end," writes professor Paul Bloom, "we found that 6- and 10-month-old infants [in a given study] overwhelmingly preferred the helpful individual to the hindering individual. This wasn't a subtle statistical trend; just about all the babies reached for the good guy."
The overwhelming response among the public: interesting. Writes Albert Mohler on his blog, "Does the fact that infants have an innate moral sense underline the importance of the fact that human beings are made in God's own image? It would certainly seem so." Meanwhile, a fan of atheist Richard Dawkins, commenting on Dawkins' website, draws quite another conclusion: "This will be a rather bitter blow to the religious who are convinced that humans are born sinful [and] incapable of telling right from wrong without moral guidance from the bible. . . . What a delicious laugh."
Not so fast. Paul says that even those without the Mosaic Law nonetheless have God's law written on their hearts, "while their conscience also bears witness" (Romans 2:14-15). While babies can't acknowledge the first table of the Law (loving God), the second table, about loving their neighbor, seems firmly fixed. Why?
The evolutionary bias assumed by the researchers can only shrug. Conceivably, a strong sense of group sympathy can help an individual survive in a harsh environment, but what explains the babies' apparent sympathy for animal puppets? Dr. Bloom admits that "the morality of contemporary humans really does outstrip what evolution could possibly have endowed us with." And there's another, rather obvious problem: "If children enter the world already equipped with moral notions, why is it that we have to work so hard to humanize them?"
That's the conundrum C.S. Lewis addresses in the first section of Mere Christianity: (a) everyone seems to have a sense of moral law, and (b) everyone breaks it. The little one who shows sorrow for a thwarted puppet will likely knock down a smaller child someday, or snatch a toy, or lie on a resumé, or cheat on his income tax, and natural selection will not justify him. Someone else will have to.
>>Sun moon, mercury, venus, mars,jupiter, saturn.
The ability to predict the seasons, eclipse, comets... and other astrological events was stock and trade for the religionist “priests” who used this occult (hidden from common sight) knowedge to Shock, Awe, and control the sheeples.
Right on up to and including Al Gore - High Priest / Chief Globalwarmatologist. (Ooops, musta been the wrong hat!)
I doubt Jefferson’s Creator was much amused.
What sort of garbage are you peddling on here troll?
This sounds like a bunch of pro-eugenics Darwinian leftist garbage.
>>But to parents of preschoolers,
>>the question itself was meaningless.
And that’s precisely why sexualy (homo and otherwise) dysfunctional Activists have been enabled in their bamboozling of the public edumacation into allowing them to “teach” that Mary has “Two mommies” and trees have “Partners”.
For men with minds created free by God - IT SHOULD NOT BE “MEANINGLESS”.
Rom 1:25-27
25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. Amen.26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
NIV
What's amusing is how those who have obvious God issues always presume to speak for Him and tell those they disagree with the divine position on everything from genetics to the price of white bread, as if they have an in with the Deity they so obviously reject.
Yes troll, we’re all very familiar with how Darwinists use Scripture to advance their agenda.
Here’s a question for trolls who like to speak about “Jefferson’s Creator”:
Is Jefferson’s Creator somehow different from our Creator? Are there multiple creators?
People who don’t like the real one tend to make up their own.
I don’t question for a moment that they are serving a different master, but there is only One Creator.
Why do you think they want every child in Pre-Pre School?
Relying on parents who have no moral values themselves, don't help much either.
Kids are kids, unfortunately adults may or may not be adults.
Rom 1:25-27
25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. Amen.26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
"The right to search for truth implies also a duty; one must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be true."
--Albert Einstein
That’s exactly what it is.
Free will isn’t based on a physiological mechanism.
It’s innate in the soul.
But if you are a mechanistic materialist you of course won’t see this.
Due to your free will of not wanting to see it.
Free will is great! We see what we want to see; but the wonderful part is that if we want to know the Truth and are willing to change our fondly held beliefs, convictions and ideas to serve the Truth, we will see the Truth.
The author posited that the man questioning how to find right from wrong (or even if such exist, I guess) might be a Hindu.
The Hindu scriptures not only teach that there is absolute right and wrong, the topic is vast and detailed.
But she just didn’t know. I’m just setting the record straight!
God has put the TRUTH in everyones heart including infant & toddlers. If you pay attention a 6 month old begins to sin and the look on their face lets you know that they know what they are doing is wrong.
I began recognizing this in our 3rd child and each one after that with the exception of our special needs son who developmentally remains 2 months old. Sin does not abound in him like the rest of us.
Romans
1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness,
19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.
Excellent post!
So, you believe there are multiple creators?
Jefferson's Faith was a product of self-evident Truth, including truth which is revealed via natural Creation.
All revealed truth has been revealed through His Creation.
Truth such as the relationship between reproductive fitness and behavior, for example.
Darwinian eugenics is not truth it is satanic.
The material I cited regarding Wilson and Daly was taught over 20 years ago in the Biology Department of an LCMS College/University.
So?
Now, again, what are the physiological mechanisms by which nature's Creator "gave them over to shameful lusts"??
It's really quite simple, it's called SIN.
Are you incapable of applying logic and reason to articulate an answer - or are you just dishonest?
The fact that I disagree with your agenda does not make me illogical, unreasonable or dishonest.
But children also have a natural sense to take what isn’t theres and fight with people over nothing and steal and lie and assult others too. I imagine anyone who has ever watched preschoolers or even toddlers knows this; they act as of anything that looks like theirs is theirs and take it from other toddlers and hit and bite at each other and scream and cry over nothing. Their rules are, if it was mine, it is always mine. If it looks like something that is mine, even if someone else is now playing with it, it is mine, period. Humans truly do have the nature to fight and make war born within them, one of many reasons why I regret being human.
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