Here, we find the growing problem of atheism in our culture. The more our culture turns to atheism, the less able leaders and individuals are able to make good decisions.
You have probably heard of the presidents of MIT, Harvard, and Penn State universities who answered a question before Congress last week and the problems their answers created.
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill on Saturday voluntarily stepped down from her role after facing intense blowback following a House Education committee hearing this week. Source She had faced intense criticism since the hearing.
Magill, along with Harvard President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth, participated in the hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 5th, 2023, over their response to antisemitism on their campuses. Their answers to a specific question by ep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) asked about pro-Palestinian student protestors’ calls for “intifada” or “the genocide of Jews.”
In an exchange with Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Magill said that such rhetoric would violate the school’s code of conduct “if it is directed and severe, pervasive, it is harassment” and added that it’s a “context-dependent decision.” Stefanik responded, “That’s your testimony today? Calling for the genocide of Jews is depending on the context?” Source
The answer involved a moral concept she described as “depending on the context.” In other words, the question of whether the protest calling for the genocide of Jews was a violation of the university’s code of conduct or not depended on the context. The emphasis is mine.
The answer revealed her understanding of morality as being relative. Relativism is the belief that there is no absolute truth; instead, there are only the truths that a particular individual or culture happens to believe or believe at the moment. This is similar to what is called situational ethics, where the rightness or wrongness of something depends on the situation. The problem with this concept is that it allows individuals to be their own moral authority. Under these conditions, a person may deem anything moral or not based on the situation as they define it.
How does this relate to atheism? In Christian culture, God determines right and wrong, serving as the supreme authority in matters of morality. Believers look to Him and His Word, the Bible, for guidance. In contrast, atheists only have themselves or some other code of conduct they may have adopted.
In a world desperately needing truth, knowledge, and adherence to the truth, we observe some leaders of our most elite educational institutions turning to vague statements that isolate them from moral reality. The question of what is true and what is not true, and how to determine it, is a pivotal issue in our culture today.
When God dies, the more convoluted the quest for truth becomes.
I recommend this article for further thought. America’s Elites Are Not Fit for Purpose
One response to “Do Moral Decisions Depend on the Context?”
For atheists and humanists and the other “ists”, there are no moral truths and that belief serves them well. It allows them to “work” what was truth and the right moral stance yesterday to be changed to fit their circumstance today. Yesterday I believed it was wrong to steal. Today, it’s OK to still because I lost my job and don’t have enough money to pay my rent and buy groceries. Yesterday it was wrong to slander a coworker but it’s OK today because my coworker got the promotion I thought was mine. Since there is no God that establishes moral absolutes and there is no heaven it hell, man has no obligation to adhere to moral absolutes.