Commentary on AgapePress ... scared of moral absolutes?

I 'review' the 'articles' and 'commentary' on the religious right websites (my interest, as a law student, is church and state issues). Occasionally, there is something there that I have to save - it makes me laugh so much. This is up there, along with the 'deliberate childnessness' piece by Mohler of the Southern Baptist Convention (which has been mentioned on the site, and which I will link if there is a request). But here is the other one:

By the way, I believe that Agape Press has some association with the Traditional Values Coalition, or am I wrong? Anyway, the link is ...

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/12/23a2004gst.asp

"So I ask what I think is a good question: Why do so many liberals fear Christianity? I think it's because they are afraid of moral authority.

In the "progressive" world of Darwinism, evolution, absence of moral absolutes, and no relationship with a personal God, we become our own gods. If we do not believe in moral absolutes, we cannot be judged or restricted in our behavior and are free to do what we will -- "as long as we don't hurt anybody." (Although, then, who judges whether we hurt someone by our behavior?)

The Judeo-Christian belief system teaches that there is good and evil in the world, and that we have to choose each day which to follow. It teaches that even if no one is watching, an omniscient God is, and therefore is continually watching and, yes, judging our actions. The Judeo-Christian belief system teaches the concept of rewarding good and punishing evil.

I am convinced that the hard left cannot deal with moral absolutes because they are afraid such a system of belief would overly restrict their behavior. Liberals are so afraid of judgment that many of them are afraid to enforce the death penalty on even the most heinous serial killer. They are afraid of the subject of life after death involving heaven and hell because that too involves Divine judgment."

There are so many places to go with this. I'll start ... a) I'm not afraid of any God, any Goddess, any moral absolute, or that recognizing some truth will get in the way of either my life or my curent beliefs, ... or whatever.

I thought about it, and I guess I am a moral relativist, and proud of it.

I'm certainly not afraid of judgment. I don't believe in either a punishing god, nor do I believe that their brand of religious extremism has anything to do with either progressive Christianity or the 'Judeo-Christian belief system.' They are getting kind of cocky, aren't they?

I'm a religious scientist. That means I believe that religion and science are compatible. I believe that each one of us is equally divine, and that the Great Spirit is an energy within us that we can access and utilize to achieve our goals. I believe that God/Goddess/One-Energy is non-judgmental, and certainly does not seek to punish. I have a personal relationship with God, and yet, I am not a Fundie who believes that the concept of evolution (the study of a certain kind of change) should be struck from the Earth.

Thanks for 'listening.' EOR.

because it is anything but traditional Christiantiy.

From another article:

"How can one exhibit a Christian life today in a hostile society that has virtually made Christianity illegal?"

Carrying on with the ridiculous "poor, persecuted Christians" theme, these people have absolutely no idea what persecution is. Nor do they have any idea of the 2,000 years of ethical and moral thought throughout Church history. Have they never heard of Augustine, or Barth?

Acquinas taught us that true Christianity is a reasonably well marked path with many forks in it. As we travel it and seek the light, we have many choices to make, and none are entirely good or bad, they are simply choices.

Anyone who sees everything in terms of black and white only cannot be trusted to act properly when a genuine crisis arises. Real problems are always in shades of gray.

I liked the Acquinas' teaching that you mentioned - wise words - and they were incorporated into our beliefs when my belief-system/religion was founded in the 1920's or thereabouts.

And I so agree with your opinion about the site. I read, also, because I had some relatives that became Southern Baptists, and they are taught this extreme religious right stuff. The Southern Baptist Convention news and/or Agape Press theme of the day - it seems like they coordinate the talking points just like right wing radio - always gets parroted back to us.

Very scary stuff indeed. I call them on it. Tell them that I have no interest in that baloney.

but our Quaker history is full of moral dilemmas. Stories about how German Quakers dealt with the Nazis are legion, and the debates are extraordinary. Although Quakers don't think much in terms of good and evil, the times demanded that the simple statements of belief in nonviolence be put to the test in the face of what was as close to pure evil as anyone would see.

Lutherans and Catholics also had their dilemmas back then, and with all of them, it was a firm grounding in their deepest beliefs and lifelong questions that gave them guidance, not all of which was good guidance. The thin veneers of belief and catch phrases just don't cut it when the jackboots are at the door.

The blindly dogmatic often simply do not have the deep experience of questioning themselves to guide them when the real test comes, and as much as they piss and moan now when it is safe for them, I truly fear what they will do if the time comes when we are all tested.

who said there is never a choice between moral and immoral, only between more immoral and less immoral.