Moral Issues

Newsletter article for September 2001

© 2001 by Rev. Paul A. Wolff

There has been much discussion this past summer about morality and what is life all about, specifically the morality of certain medical research. President Bush did much to bring this issue to prominence with his nationally televised speech about new rules for embryo and stem-cell research.

Issues of morality and moral discussions are often equated with religion, but very often these moral discussions have little, or nothing, to do with religion, faith, or God. The trouble with this is that whenever a discussion on morality excludes God, it is inherently immoral. Morality and ethics deal with what is right and what is wrong. Since the ultimate authority on right and wrong is God, you can’t talk about what is ethical or moral without talking about what God says is right or wrong.

God’s authority to determine right and wrong is undisputed in all cases (except by people who wish to deny the truth). God created and is still in control of everything that exists, and He is Holy, so God can do no wrong.

The main issue being debated and discussed recently deals with the Fifth Commandment where God tells us, “You shall not murder.” This commandment tells us that God values human life and forbids us from treating life with contempt. In most cases this is pretty clear cut, but not all cases are easy to determine what is good, right and proper to do. We all know that it is wrong to kill innocent people, and it is right to try to save the life of innocent people. The difficulty comes when these two truths conflict and people cannot agree on what is murder and who is a person.

I cannot say whether or not what President Bush did was ethical or right. I probably would have done things differently, but I am not President (yet). I do believe that he did the best he could to prevent the murder of innocent people (embryos) while trying to further the research which may (or may not) extend the lives of people with serious diseases, although sometimes doing your best is not the same as doing what is right.

Holy Scripture is quite clear that human life begins at conception. In Psalm 51:5 David says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Here David was not just using hyperbole, or exaggeration, to express his guilt over his sins, he was using a truth about life to express the extent of human sinfulness. Also the time when John worshipped Jesus before they both were born (Luke 1:44) shows that a person’s individuality begins long before birth. Science, too, teaches this because it is at conception that a person becomes a distinct individual, and genetically unique. Although some scientists ignore this fact, that doesn’t mean much in this debate because science and morality are very different disciplines and scientists are generally not known for their depth of thinking on ethics or morality.

It is good that our nation is having this discussion about ethics and what is the right way to deal with life issues. As Christians we should make the most of this opportunity to tell others about what God says about such things. We should join in the discussion whenever we can, not to argue, but to witness God’s love, and share God’s Word. We can use this as an opportunity to share our faith and tell people how great and wonderful our God is, while encouraging others to respect the life that God gives and try to be a nation of people who live and work by high moral and ethical standards in all we do. We should want to do this because it pleases God and He surely will bless us if we do what is right by Him.