"Responding to The Intolerance of the Tolerant"

THE CHALLENGE OF GRACIOUSNESS:  May we who have standards and convictions not be intolerant of the intolerant!  What a curious situation the public debate this week as those who accept almost everything reject Chic-Fil-A based upon a thought expressed by its founder.

The owner of Chic-Fil-A simply gave his position on the matter of marriage being as the Bible describes it, between one man and one woman.  Someone said that God established marriage between Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve and certainly he would agree with that idea.  Whether one agrees with it or not is not the issue.  How we disagree is in fact the concern.  Not so long ago the right was challenged with its need for graciousness in difference, now the left progressives need to hear the same admonition.

THE CHALLENGE OF BELIEFS EXPRESSED:  At question is that matter of one's right even responsibility to set forth his beliefs.  Certainly no one seems to object with those on the progressive side of the argument impose their notions but let the other side say something as benign as was said and there is an outcry but it does not end there.  Notice that there was to be a "kiss-in" as same sex couples demonstrate their "love" at Chic-Fil-A locations.

Chic-Fil-A being a privately owned company have not great responsibility to allow this sort of thing to go on however, since they seem to be gracious about this whole discourse I suspect that they will not take action.

THE CHALLENGE OF CONVICTIONS:  Such being so there are some things that we need to think about!  We who take a conservative view of the Scriptures must allow nothing to dissuade us from the position we take of the Scriptures.  The more that we are surrounded by the permissive message, the more those of us who hold to the Bible are placed in difficult even untenable positions.  Such is not so in reality only in perception.

The reality is that the same God who designed each of us in our uniqueness, also moved on righteous men of old to author the Bible.  Personally I do not find anywhere that I or anyone else is exempted from any of the Scriptures.  

There are those who would argue that the Christian's shortcomings are license for others to live outside the guidance of the Bible.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Certainly we all make mistakes but that in no way obviates others from their responsibilities.  In fact that is the value of being in a Christian community for in failure there we find support and care.  Then too there is the support to be found in prayer as we pray the Scriptures. 

THE CHALLENGE OF/TO THE CULTURE:  As alluded to earlier, there is a problem.  It is that we are so surrounded by the messages of the media and academia that we either consciously and rationally or without giving it much thought have come to embrace things that are not acceptable to God.  The drift from what is right and correct is so gradual that it is imperceptible.   However, think back a few years to what was acceptable and what was not.  

Of course the Bible is the same as it always has been.  It did not change but we did and in that course of that change we have reinterpreted the Bible to be what we want it to be. The outcome is as one post-modernist writer put it, “…we see the demise of personal definition, reason, authority. . . All intrinsic properties of the human being, along with moral worth and personal commitment, are lost from view...” (Kenneth Gergen, The Saturated Self)

Is it any wonder that people live largely insecure lives, without a sense of direction, a certain fatalism, and an inadequacy in and of themselves.  Perhaps that is why those who have followed along with culture are so threatened by those with conviction.

THE CHALLENGE OF GRACIOUSNESS:  As the business owner who made the statement regarding the family, let us take our stand wherever we are located but let us do so in wisdom.

Let us do so relationally and not with criticism and rejection

Let us do so graciously not returning evil and insult for evil and insult

Let us do so welcoming the person while disallowing the sin

Let us do so with understanding not condemning for that it is God’s to do.

Remember Jude’s command, “save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear…”  In other words, some we confront others we persuade over time but to all we in some form witness.  (Jude 23).

Spiritual Renewal--Stemming the Descent into the Abyss of Chaos

Ever wonder why life can become increasing chaotic and characterized by statements such as, “Things just are not going all that well,” or maybe some variation of same.  The simple yet profound answer is that without Someone to stem our descent, we all will descend into the abyss of chaos.  Descend deep enough and the chances for escape are slim at best.

As discussed in previous postings, man left alone to his own ends without something to stop this descent will continue ever downward.  It may not be obvious to the outsider but deep within it will be so and eventually that which is deep within will become the obvious on the outside.  It is so because that which floods the heart will eventually be reflected in and if not stopped then flood the life.

Said another way when man is left devoid of the that which comes from a saving faith in Jesus Christ, Christian fellowship, prayer, studying and living out the Christian Scriptures, and the practice other Christian disciplines, one's life will unravel as it travels the descending road toward deeper chaos.  The problem is that most may avoid facing this descent because of the busyness of life.  However, in the quiet moments before slipping into the oblivion of sleep, God gives to us those fleeting moments in which we come face to face with our true selves and understand such to be so.

How does one respond?  If the physical descent into chaos caused physical pain, we most often will seek some kind of relief.  If it interferes with some physical function or another we seek therapeutic intervention of some kind.  The same would be true of mental confusion, emotional upset, relational challenges, and other symptoms of this descent not just toward but deeper into chaos—the abyss of chaos.

In pondering these things know that there is another area—a deeper area that underlies all others.  Though it is deeper it may present symptoms that manifest in the previously mentioned areas and thus be glossed over.  It is the descent of one's spirit into spiritual chaos and eventually spiritual hopelessness.  We without saving faith are spiritually broken and too boot, we live in a world of spiritually broken people.  So to excuse one’s self because I am no worse than my neighbor is to suggest that it is okay for me to have some physical malady, say cancer because it is not unlike or maybe even less severe than my neighbors.

Said another way, what most people do is to view their chaotic condition by comparing with others who are in the same condition.  Per chance they do recognize a problem their tendency is to check their descent by seeking answers from among others who are just as spiritually broken and descending into the same abyss of chaos. 
About now some are “shouting” that there must be a better way and there is!  It came 2,000 years ago the God-man Jesus came and lived among the chaos of this world among a people who rejected him (see you are not alone) in order to show that there was a way of healing and health--spiritual health.   The only known way to “check” the descent is spiritual renewal and that is only as a repentance based faith in Jesus Christ is established and made a priority in one’s life.

Yet mankind in general and most people in particular continue to suffer the ravages of sin.  No matter how the sin issue is explained away or avoided, it still remains an issue that requires a genuine spiritual answer.  You cannot drug it out, shop it away, avoid it with obsessive-compulsive behavior, drowned it out with activity, overshadow it with church, or satisfy the need with some kind of pseudo-spiritual activity (e.g. eastern religion, yoga, etc.).

What is the answer?  What is required to stem this descent into chaos, spiritual and otherwise?  It is as already noted, found in establishing and maintaining a growing relationship with Him who is able to put all things right--even those things internal to the individual.  When one comes to faith in Jesus Christ, it is incumbent upon that person to set aside time and dedicating that time to Jesus Christ, removing the distractions of life, quiet one's heart to hear the Lord, choosing to be humble and gentle in those moments, and listening intently for the voice of the Lord in the Scriptures and in the deeper places of the heart.

In the course of doing those things we can hear from God, sense conviction for our sinful attitudes which have led then to sinful behaviors, confess those things to the One who knows all, seek His forgiveness through the cross of the Lord, Jesus Christ and in doing so push gently but ever deeper into relationship with the One who gave his all that we might have His all.

Please join with me in this Lenten Season and pursue a deeper walk with the Lord.  Remember when we draw near to the Lord, it is not He who moves but we who move our lives ever closer to that which lights our way to Him.

Thirsty? Come!

Most of us can relate to the feelings of thirst.  Of course the solution to thirst is to take in generous amounts of water--pure water.

Sometime ago as I watched a television piece on “mud” Marines in a war zone.  It was a very warm, if not hot place.  Their Gunny in no uncertain terms told his Marines to “hydrate!”  If he understood one thing it was that to get the most out of his Marines they had to have plenty of water on board. 

Then there was the story that took place in the days of sail--that time when "Iron men sailed wooden ships."  Such ship was in straitened circumstances in the doldrums near the Equator.  She had no wind in her sails and soon she had no water in her stores.  This went on for a time until the winds returned and she was able to get underway.  The sailors were struggling with thirst.  As they sailed another ship happened by and using semaphore the message went across between the ships, “We need water, can you assist?”

In the same manner the answer came back, “Let down your buckets you are surrounded by fresh water.”  What the ship's captain did not know was that just out of sight over the horizon there was a river that poured so many millions of gallons of fresh water into the ocean they were surrounded by it.  Now to be sure I do not know how true the story was or is but there is a principle present in both of these stories.

When we are thirsty—spiritually thirsty and we realize that we are so, what we may not realize is that we are surrounded by that which satisfies the thirst.  Jesus Christ said, "Let him who thirsty come to Me and drink."  So we know that there is a standing invitation to "Come" and to "Drink."  Although sometimes we tend to place a divide between genuine faith and technology, now like never before this is available to us sources of spiritual fresh water.

However, man being man there are choices to make.  First, we need to decide whether we are going to ignore and even avoid the feelings by getting involved in avoidance behaviors such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, promiscuity, or even noble endeavors and thus seek to obviate the feelings.  However, understand that those feelings are the call of God and such activities will never satisfy the feelings involved.  The other things to know is that although God's call does not change, with a continued refusal to hear, eventually one loses the capacity to hear God's call.

The second option is to acknowledge the feelings--that call to "Come" and to "Drink" and respond to them.  Here again we have a choice to make.  Are we going to respond in our way or God’s way?  If we respond in our own way it will be much like the previous point.  Such a response tends to mold God into our image of what He should be rather than molder our view into His image of who is this God.  Thus, much busyness and activity but little fulfillment and sense of connection with God.

Then there is the third way of response.  It is the way of humility which allows one to hydrate in prayer, the Word of the Lord, and genuine Christian teaching.  We are blessed with much opportunity for same in that we are surrounded by Christian radio, Christian television, and the Internet.  All one has tot do is to let down one's bucket as we are surrounded by those who rightly divide and then teach the Word of the Lord.  Historically the Church has called these and other things such as fasting, spiritual retreats, pondering the Word of God and other things, Spiritual Disciplines. 

For those who have a deeper yet thirst for the things of God, there are many Bible training courses available on the internet.  Some are from major “right on target” Christian ministries who provide such as a free service.  Then too, there are small group Bible studies, Church Sunday Schools classes, and much, much more.

So I say, “Let down your bucket, you are surrounded by those things that can deeply satisfy your spiritual thirst.”  Such activity will then lead to a life of fulfilled service.

"Values Based Decision Making"

A question worth pondering is this.  "What is the basis of making decisions?"  That question could be asked in terms of one's personal life, one's family life, one's employment/business life, and any and all other arenas of one's life.  In most cases the decisions we make or might we say the choices we choose are based upon our values.

The word, "value" or "values" has the following definition available at the site referenced.

Value (n)  c.1300, from O.Fr. value "worth, value" (13c.), noun use of fem. pp. of valoir "be worth," from L. valere "be strong, be well, be of value" (see valiant). The meaning "social principle" is attested from 1918, supposedly borrowed from the language of painting. Value judgment (1892) is a loan-translation of Ger. Werturteil.

 (definition available at http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=v&p=1&allowed_in_frame=0)

As you may now recognize the word gives rise to other words such a valuing, valuate, evaluate, etc., all having to do with the process of assigning importance.

Indeed, valuing is a process that begins with one's presuppositions, processes to opinions and attitudes, continues with one's perceptions (of people, institutions, and situations), and often leads to some kind of an action (either words or deeds).

Such processing is not without challenge.  For example, so very often the message sent is that one is to make decisions in terms of how it will impact a relationship or relationships.  The message goes something along the lines of, "...relationships are the most important thing we do and so you must at any and all cost maintain relationships with all who are in your pathway...."  While this may be so in many cases, there is at least one thing that should take precedents over relationships and that is the values by which one lives!

It is a poor relationship that is maintained based upon the violations of one's deeply held values or may we say convictions.  Such a view of relationships will not long endure the challenges of life and in fact will leave one at the mercy of life.  Such can only be described as chaotic and even enabling as relationships pull one in this direction and then in that. Enabling in that relationships without the responsibilities born of values allow for one to behave in less that profitable ways.

In another blog I wrote of love in terms of how one is to behave.  To understand love on the level of an emotional response is to make it fragile and at the mercy of many of the interactions, events, and circumstances of life. However to view love as humbly living out of closely held ethical values is to make it a durable love.  Thus we might see that the choice to live out of ethical values is the highest form of love for it never imposes but always chooses what is best no matter the cost, even at the cost of the relationship involved.

Then too, "What are one's closely held values?" is another question worth considering.  To not know is to leave one's self vulnerable to the winds and tides of the moment.  Attributed to Abraham Lincoln but found in many other places is the quote, "Following the path of least resistance is what causes men and rivers to run crooked."  Certainly when one does not know what one believes and that for which one is willing to suffer great loss, he is vulnerable and disadvantaged.

However, changing that same river picture a bit, we might note the following.  It is our values--our ethical convictions and our character (volitional capacity to live out those values) that provides the river banks that keep the steams of our lives flowing in the right direction.

One not accustomed to such things might counter with the impossibility of such a change.  The response to that is that all could use a "tune up" in these areas and for each of us, it is a matter of beginning with the small things as we live out the simple values and then, at least in my experience, the big issues will take care of themselves.  Then too keep clearly in mind that correct ethical values have their origin in the Divine and though opposed, one who is in right relationship with Jesus Christ is vested with the power, not to be perfect but to live out these things in greater measure.

"A Western World In Need of Christ"

A Western World in Need of Christ

"The western world has entered a period of decadence and decline, departing far from her Christian roots. With the European Union denying the historical and cultural Christian heritage of her member states, a secular based world view reigns dominant. This, together with the mass immigration of peoples from Islamic countries at a time when the birth rates of indigenous peoples are at an all time record low, threatens the very existence of Western civilization."


Please read the rest of this Facebook article at https://www.facebook.com/pages/All-Merciful-Saviour-Orthodox-Christian-Monastery/104578182913886?sk=wall

ALSO, see follow-up discussions at that same fb address.

"The Truth That Leads To Contrition"

There is a truth that leads to contrition.  There also is a truth that does not.

Imagine that a person is driving and without paying attention drives over the speed limit.  Maybe this has happened to you.  Then it happens, a quick look in the rear view mirror reveals that a police officer is following and he initiates a traffic stop.   He approaches your window and says something like the speed limit is 35 miles per hour and you were observed going 45 miles per hour.

When he tells you that you were breaking the law by speeding you have a choice to make.  The choice is in how you react.  Generally and with most people such an experience will bring forth a sense of contrition.  Another way to put it is that such an experience softens the heart.

The other choice is to respond with a hard heart.  The first kind of reaction is that of receiving the words of the officer.  The second is to reject the words of the officer,  put forth some kind of an excuse, or even argument with the police officer.

Now change the story to the person who while reading the Scriptures, listening to a sermon or a sermon in song, or simply pondering the things of God comes face to face with his failure to live by God's standards--God's truth.

Faced with genuine truth will either bring about conviction which then results in a broken and contrite heart or a heart that hardens against the truth.  The humble and contrite heart receives God's truth and remains soft before it.  On the other hand the hard hearted--the stony hearted person will on some level reject it.

Rejection takes several forms to include seeking to not be responsible with an excuse or two, seeking to rationalize one's way out of responsibility, shifting blame, denying the truth, and so on.  It does nothing more than deceive the hard hearted and such deception further hardens the heart.  There comes a point when the heart becomes so hardened that it neither hears, is convicted, nor cares that it does not conform to genuine truth.

Said again, facing truth will either soften our hearts or harden them.  That is the serious state in which we find many people today, they have traded away the genuine eternal truths of God for those things that are comfortable, acceptable, and temporal.  The consciousness they have of God is not a consciousness of God for it is only of a god that they have created.  Such temporal values masquerade as truth and it is with great danger that some have constructed a whole reality based upon a foundation that at best is subject to failure.

Truth, that is genuine truth can, if allowed soften the human heart.

If allowed it can call us to account, to realize our own failings and sinfulness, call us to conviction, and challenge us to a higher level of behavior that is the living out of our faith.  

If our hearts are soften, we are more likely to hear the voice of the Heavenly Father, more likely to take to heart the written Word of God, more likely to have a God consciousness, to feel the conviction of and communion with the Holy Spirit, and more likely to be in a position to have our hearts further softened, etc. 

If our hearts are soften by genuine truth, it adds a God dimension to life and such a view of life if allowed to germinate and grow, day by day and in greater measure give spiritual understandings to physical realities.  

Such an humble and contrite heart is key and essential for Christian growth.

There is much to be said for the one who seeks genuine and Godly truth in order to be brought to a place of contrition that results in a soft and humble heart.

"Cultural Competence" CT8

Overview:  In considering the terms Sensitivity and Diversity, there is for some a certain imposition involved.  It is not as though one has a choice in the matter of relationships with the members and adherents of other cultures, sub-cultures, religions, and ethnicities.    However, it must be remembered that this is not a matter of relationship between by group and another's group.  It is a matter of relationship!

The relationships in between and within certain groups are complex and one will not easily exhaust all the is necessary for there to be some modicum of reasonable relationship across the varieties of people with which one contacts.  To say that this is impossible is an understatement.

Add to the mix the unspoken pressure to accept and even celebrate the culture of racial minorities the problem of how to function becomes more complex.  In my world alone there are Blacks, Koreans, Mexicans and other Hispanics, Romanians, and others.

In order to function in these various cultures one must develop, not Sensitivity and Diversity but Cultural Competence.    Cultural Competence is based upon four core competencies and yes, cultural, sub-cultural, and ethnic understanding is important.

In fact these four competencies are so essential that one does not even have to like or agree with another's culture etc. for them to work.  For example one can show respect to another, no matter the personal feelings involved.  The same goes for the other elements involved.

The Cultural Competence competencies are,

• Respect--certainly some understanding of the other's culture helps here.
• Honesty--one must not deny one's ethics, what they are and what they believe
• Honor--give honor to the other person
• Permission--seek permission before speaking or acting

The mode necessary to make these work is questioning.  In other words, if one is going to learn to function in the Western brand of a particular culture, a few well placed questions will yield the information necessary for one to do so.  

Therefore the following is offered.

THE SCALE OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Overview:  There those who are so opposed to other cultures.  Such people are termed Culturally Destructive.  Then there are those who are incapable of grasping cultural issues and are thus viewed as Culturally Incapable.  The third group contains those who though capable choose to not recognize cultural differences and this group is named the Cultural Blind.  Beyond these three groups are those who in some degree or another do or do not possess the cross cultural skills and are not opposed to gaining same.

It is not in the purview of this study to discuss the first three categories nor to provide any antithetical argument in hopes of changing such a person or group.  The remaining categories are where the focus is going to be.

Assumptions and Presuppositions


It is out of the purview of this section to discuss the nuances of difference in these words.  That will be reserved for another time.

As in many other areas of life, one's capacity to function is strongly influenced by presuppositions and assumptions.  Of course basic to one's words and actions are things one supposes or takes for grant to be true and thus those things serve as the foundation.  It can often involve conjecture, deduction, and speculation.

Thus the importance of questioning!

THE ROAD TO RELATIONSHIP

Let us be clear!  The discussion is safe when it is kept on the level of relationships of the individual with another's culture or culture to culture.  What is a great deal more challenging and threatening is the relationship between people.

It is possible for a vibrant, affirming, and healthy relationship to exist between people who are polar opposites from one another.  What is necessary is that there be understanding and acceptance which in an age that suffers from a lack of clearly defined boundaries and a fair amount of enabling behavior can be quite difficult.  A common task, a common challenge, or a common foe also helps the process


Cultural Pre-competence:  The beginning of right relationships.

This is the point at which a person who perceives that there are cultural differences seeks understanding of the other person to include the influence and practice of that person's culture.  Though this generally focuses upon one side of the relationship, it may be that both need to understand something of the other's culture.

Included would be some foundational understandings of the other's race, gender, religious belief, ethnicity, referent group, sub-culture, and sensitivities.  This does not mean that one has to agree with,  embrace, or celebrate those things.  It simply means to come to some understanding of what those things mean to the other and thus their effect upon the relationship involved.

Cultural Competence:  Continuing right relationships.


As understanding and skills increase there continues to be greater perception of and understanding of cultural differences.  This persona has developed a greater degree of understanding and with that understanding a greater understanding of how to effectively relate.

With increased understanding there is a danger and that danger is the stereotyping of the other according some knowledge of the culture.  Take for example the case where an Asian child is adopted at birth by a Western family.  The appearance of the child, now adult is Asian but the ethnicity is Western.  To stereotype in this case can be the basis of great difficulty.

Cultural Proficiency:  Maximizing right relationships.

The understanding and skills to operate within the framework they provide are continually being tuned.  This is the point at which one can be both honest about himself and as the same time treat the other with honor and respect.  Knowledge of the other is key and essential.

UPGRADING CULTURAL COMPETENCY SKILLS

Just as culture is ever dynamic (see previous blog) so too is the necessity for a continue honing of skills.  What follows are some of the guides necessary to function with some competency in relationships.  Because they are interrelated, they are presented in no particular order of importance.

Since the following is a continuing process, there is a strategy if employed, which can be of great benefit.  The OODA Loop is the process of Observing, Orienting, Deciding, and Acting.  One might have several OODA Loops in process at the same time as one deals with others.  For example one might be reading body language, then verbiage, and then emotions, etc., all the while reorienting his half of the interactions, deciding what is appropriate, and then taking action.

1. Boundaries:  Relationships are best when the boundaries of those relationships are mutually understood.
2. Values:  Some understanding of the basis of values is necessary and as well the degree of importance placed upon those values.  In particular are the values ethics based or mores based?  If they are mores based then what are those mores and how important are they? However, it is important to keep in mind that to discard one's own values does not allow for the aforementioned honesty.  That leads to the next point.
3. Self Awareness:  Careful examination of one's own cultural values and beliefs is key to how one responds to another's values.  Keep in mind that honor and respect are not necessarily based upon what one values and believes but on how one treats another.  However, such treatment must never violate one's personal values.
4. Cross-cultural knowledge:  Understanding the culture of another may be the basis of understanding the individual member of that culture.  This again is a dynamic activity which requires a certain vigilance.  However, here as already noted is a danger and that danger is assumption.  It is in assuming too much that one can stereotype another.  
5. Cross-cultural skills:  Simply converting one's knowledge to action is a continuing action.   

As previously noted the OODA Loop figures prominently in these processes.  

Most important in all of this is to remember that one's relationship with another is a dynamic entity that must be kept within certain boundaries in order that it not assume a life of its own.  Key is that such boundaries be based upon one's convictions and values.  Even so, there is nothing to suggest that one cannot do his part to establish and maintain a healthy and beneficial relationship even with those who are diametrically different.  Such is only possible when one lives out respect, honor, honesty, and seeks the permission of the other.

"Contemporary Religious Pluralism" CT7

In today's culture, instead of religion in general and Christian religion in particular influencing the culture in which it is to serve, in reality, it is influenced by culture.  The whole notion of contemporary religious pluralism is an example of such influencing.

HISTORICAL RELIGIOUS PLURALISM

Looking back, historic religious pluralism could be roughly defined as "believe" and "cooperate."  Of course there have always been exceptions and those who did not want to "play."  The point was that no one was asked to violate their own belief system and so no common belief was exacted from its members.  Then too there was an emphasis upon cooperation.  Such lead many of the Mainline Denominations to participate in the Ecumenical Movements of the 50's and 60's.  

But there was a change forthcoming.  Just as notions like sensitivity, diversity, tolerance, etc. gained traction in the culture so too they gained traction in the church and there became a certain preoccupation with being non-offensive.  That non-offensive doctrine became so pronounced that it was no long "believe" and "cooperate" but now "what can we all believe together."  

The importance of Historical Religious Pluralism is that it allowed for one to maintain his belief system and even gave room to personal convictions, that is personal theological conviction.  There was no demand for universal truth and one might even embrace subjective truth.  One might sum up the position in the notion of unity not uniformity.

The unity of "believe" and "cooperate" was how historic or classic Religious Pluralism. However, there was a change and it now placed stress on the notion of "unity" but now it is based on "commonly held belief."  

CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS PLURALISM

It is a certain  pseudo-unity in that it can only come as one is completely tolerant of those with divergent doctrinal positions, thus Contemporary Religious Pluralism.  In many ways Contemporary Religious Pluralism is a reflection of the post modern mindset in that it dismisses all that might mitigate against difference and disagreement.

The primary doctrine of the position is contained in the question, "What are the things upon which there is no disagreement?"  Of course there is very little, even among those who claim the title, "Christian."  Add in those of other major religions and the list grows ever shorter with the greater the inclusion.

The outcome is that cardinal doctrinal differences compromised, set aside, negated, etc.It is a certain  pseudo-unity in that it can only come as one is completely tolerant of those with divergent doctrinal positions.
In extreme cases divergent religions are called upon to cooperate.

As with most any position that is largely indefensible, the arguments tendered are not based upon ethical principles but the mores of that particular religious sub-culture.  The likely arguments are

• Reactionary in that they react against those who have an exclusionary doctrine, e.g. the eternal outcomes of the saved differing from those of the unsaved.
• Generalizing in that they move from a specific example to a general belief.
• Discriminating in that it embraces all except those of deep conviction which would include those with ethical truth claims and those with exclusive truth claims, etc.
• Devaluing in that those who hold to ethical truth are often named as uneducated, without compassion, irrelevant, and intolerant.
• Universal in that all religions contain elements of truth
• Inconsistent in that tolerance is one of the mantras, however as already noted, such belief allows for "correct" discrimination.

THE TENSION

The culture including the sub-culture of religion is in a state of tension.  Such tension occasions the opportunity for the individual to choose.  One can choose the Contemporary Religious Pluralism track or one can choose the more traditional approach.  One is untenable unless one is willing to give up almost all of what one believes for the sake of "unity."  Then based upon that foundation of "unity" one's belief system is built back.  The problem is that the outcome of course is some kind of a "group think" theology.

The other choice in terms of religious pluralism is the more tradition approach.  Such says that each believes as he will, each allows the other to believe as he will, but we join together in what we can, accept our differences, and move forward in what we can jointly support.  In this kind of relationship there is no "Mush God" for each serves Him as they understand Him to be!

"Discrimination and Imposition" CT5

Overview:  In this section of material, consideration will be given to the background and processes which underpin Discrimination and Imposition.  Within the following there is a comparison / contrast of the influence of ethics and morals.  If you have not read the comparison in a previous blog, it would be well to do so at this time.

The material covered will be in terms of Background Word, Attitude Words, and Expression Words (the actions that one takes based upon background and attitude).

BACKGROUND WORDS

As in any behavior, be it words or actions, there are antecedent processes which precede and give foundation to those things.  It is not different with words and actions with improperly discriminate and/or impose upon another.  

We begin with a quick look at the very basic elements that begin to set the stage for these actions.  This first section on Background Words is further divided into Unchangeable and Changeable.  That is there are some things over which one has no control and thus one cannot change those things.  They are Unchangeable.  On the other hand, there are those things over which one had control and thus they are Changeable.  There is an additional category which is a combination of both.

The Unchangeable is the category that contains those elements which a person cannot control or change.

Included are such things as one is born with to include race, gender, genetic qualities, etc.  Then too there are those processes over which one has no control such as aging, illness, or injury.

The Combination category contains the Comprehendable which is the category that contains those thing of which one become aware of with aging.

The infant without a great deal of choice gradually becomes aware of the world beyond his mother.   Thus in the infant years there is a low realization and low control over what to do with that realization.  As the child progresses through the various stages to adulthood there is more and more realization and control.  

Though one may have a high "intuitive" and thus realize on a spiritual-intuitive, social-intuitive, rational-intuitive, or some other intuitive level, there yet remains the matter of one's choice.  That is with realization comes the responsibility for making choices as to what one accepts and incorporates into his paradigms of life.  At this point the question of whether one makes those choices based on ethics or morals enters the decision making processes.

The Changeable category contains a two section breakout.  Included is Ethnicity and Culture.

Another way of looking at Ethnicity is that of identity.  The ethnic situation into which one is born is by no means ever unchangeable.  It may so in the early years when one is dependent upon family and/or sub-culture but with maturity comes the power to choose one's ethnic proclivities.  So as life progresses one's ethnicity is a matter of choosing what particular religious, racial, social, or national group one chooses for their identity.  It may include customs, language, idioms, mores, racial views, social views, and other elements of a social group to which one belongs or with which one wishes to identify.

The other element in the changeable category is that of Culture.  Again this category is in the control of the individual as they in the course of life make choices as to which thoughts to think, words and word combinations to use in communication, what actions are acceptable, what customs to observe, what beliefs to hold, what values to embrace and live out, and what social institutions to enter.  

An overall principle to keep inmind is that as a person matures, is educated, and matures the awareness of these things becomes greater and with increasing awareness comes the opportunity to make choices and those choices are the basis of change.  Attendant to that point is that as one matriculates through those processes, one becomes more and more responsible for the choices made.  Thus the importance of an ethical framework.

THE CORRECT OR INCORRECT ATTITUDES, WHY?

Now return to the question, by what values does one judge an attitude and attendant action to be correct or incorrect?  Consider the following chart and look to the central column.  There are two types of correct attitudes.  One is correct positive attitudes, that correctness is then based upon a value.  

The choice one has to make is which item in the right column is foundational to the establishment of the value?  The second question one must ask is how durable is that foundation?  As you by now, assuming you have at the very least perused previous submissions that the only durable foundation for a value is found in ethics.

ATTITUDE WORDS

It is at this level that we encounter words which indicate attitudes.  When those attitudes of the heart are based upon faulty information, less complete information, wrong information, and/or incorrect  values it leaves one in very precarious position as we shall later see.

What then are the attitudes of the heart which one must carefully keep consistent with right ethical values?  Remember, emotionally laden thoughts become emotionally laden attitudes.  Those attitudes then become expressed in the words one speaks and the actions one takes.  Those words spoken are not only heard by others if verbalized but also whether verbal or non-verbal act to keep one in those thought processes.  

It is therefore crucial that ethical standards be the banks within which those processes flow.  As well it is crucial that those same ethics function within those processes.  In other words, there must be an ethical underpinning, an ethical restraint, and an ethical content in the processes associated with attitudes.  

Remembering the question, What determines the standard for correct or incorrect? consider three words germane to the attitudes under study.  Also keep clearly in mind that these words are changeable and throughout one's life they do change!  Hopefully the change will always be guided by and toward an ethical foundation and process.

Conviction:  A firm belief held as proven.  Conviction can be rational but often there is emotion involved.


Ethical convictions are those convictions held based upon ethical truth.  Though they may be out of syn with the surrounding culture, sub-culture, and social situation, etc. they are those things that have stood the tests of universality, objectiveness, and transcendency and thus are considered to be durable.   These are those truths which are found to be revealed in the writings of Moses and elucidated throughout the remainder of Judeo-Christian Scriptures.

Moral convictions are those convictions held based upon one's understanding of the mores of the particular culture, sub-culture, and social situation, etc.  These are those things that may be but do not have to be held to be universal, objective, or transcendent.  This position holds that truth is not durable but ever in flux since social mores are always in flux.  It is the kind of truth that flexes with the addition of change.

What divides the two positions is found in the question, Just what assumptions or presuppositions does one bring to the discussion?  The implications of that question will be seen in some of the discussion that follows.  Another area of concern would be the validity of the information that one takes to be true.  As well there could be a question of the completeness of such information of which one is in possession.


Bias:  A bent or inclination to a direction of thinking.  Again there is a rational content but bias may contain more and greater emotional content.

The previous development of Ethical convictions versus Moral convictions would also apply here except that since this is a great deal less firm than a conviction, those things when applied to bias serve to guide as one processes and moves forward toward conviction.

Here again there is a dividing line.  Those beliefs and attitude--those biases that are being held and processed based upon ethics, would be more durable than those biases that are held and processed based upon morals.  Thus they would share some of the characteristics of and some of the durability of an ethical conviction.


Prejudice:  A premature and preconceived attitude or opinion usually negative based upon wrong assumptions, false information, or before all information is collected.  Since there tends to be less rational involvement, prejudices tend to possess a high emotional content.

Note that prejudice as is being discussed here is not possible if viewed from an ethical position.  That is to say that ethical truth deals a death blow to the whole notion of prejudice!  Not so moral truth.  Take for example the racial discrimination that was so prevalent in the 50s and 60s.  In particular take the South.  Such prejudice was correct according to the mores of that time and culture.  However, such was and continues to be ethically wrong and those of strong ethical character have always considered it to be so.

Should one have a prejudice that survives the ethical process it would then at the very least move that prejudice to being a bias.  As one processes bias based upon ethical truth then that which survives the process moves to become an ethical conviction.

EXPRESSION WORDS

While the outcome of unethical conviction, bias, and prejudice may be expressed in words, thus the title, the reality is that these things can be expressed in behaviors.  Consider the following.

Discrimination:  Any action that hinders equal access equal access to economic resources, educational systems, and/or leisure opportunities.

Each person every day makes decisions and those decisions call upon the decision-maker to make choices.  Most of those choices are rooted in some kind of discrimination.  The problem comes when such discrimination is based upon the unchangeable elements of one's life.  For example if one makes choices about another based upon that person's race, skin color, gender, or some other physical quality that is out of that person's span of control such discrimination is not acceptable.

On the other hand, if one makes choices that discriminate based upon an ethical position then, if you accept that ethical standards are durable and apply equally to all, such a decision though it discriminates and hardly be labeled, "discrimination."

That being the case discrimination founded upon universal objective ethical truth is a discrimination that is based upon truth and as long as it is applied equally and fairly in reality cannot be labelled discrimination.  However, should that same ethical truth be applied unfairly, applied based not upon behavior but according to race and gender, etc., such application would be discrimination.

The real problem for the moralist is using mores as the basis for discrimination.  This is so because of the non-universality of mores and thus the difficulty in objectivity.  Another problem in what has been termed reverse discrimination, that is making choices in favor of one person based upon that persons unchangeable elements, when such a choice excludes others.  Again, such may be morally correct but in fact is ethically wrong.

Imposition: Any word or action that thrusts one's will, opinion, etc. upon another without invitation to do so.

The question must be asked, what is the basis of one's assuming a right or even a responsibility to impose upon another.  For example, if one does so for ethical reason such as requiring honesty in the work place, such an imposition would be based upon durable truth.  However, that same imposition upon moral grounds could in fact create difficulties.

THE PROCESS

To this point consideration has been given to the basis and process that lead to discrimination and imposition.  From the diagram below, one can see that when the foundation and actions involved in these processes are based upon a foundation of ethical truth, there is a validity of such actions as result.  At times the term durable truth has been included in the discussion.

Also included in the discussion has been those trues which are based upon cultural or societal mores.  Since such can be unique to the social situation and has not stood the test of time, these values are much less likely to survive over the long-term.  As well, since ethical truth transcends the uncertainties of man's existence, such truth if properly understood, embraced, and practiced can provide a certain sense of confidence and hope in the uncertain moral environment of today's moral confusion.