Postmodernism and You: Ethics
Listen to Dennis'
RealMedia teaching on this subject
 WTC
Disaster Exposes Ethical Bankruptcy
(Reprinted with permission by The Columbus Dispatch)
Dennis
McCallum
When Americans looked on with horror at the willful slaughter
of thousands of innocents on 9/11, most felt moral outrage. Regardless
of the reasons for this atrocity, the sheer evil of such an act
was undeniable in the minds of most.
But those of us involved in ministry, especially on college campuses,
were immediately struck by an amazing contradiction. Today, our
culture lies in the grip of a philosophical consensus unlike any
during my lifetime.
According to contemporary American culture (particularly the
under-40 crowd), all world views and all religious views must
be respected; not in the sense that people should be free to hold
their views, but in the sense that they are all equally valid.
In postmodern America, we believe we have no basis for judging
that one view is better than any other. To the contrary, people
are arrogant when they think they know "the truth."
According to the overwhelming consensus in America, the only
basis for peaceful relations is respecting all views as equally
valid in their own right. Pollster George Barna says that since
9/11 Americans see no more need for universal moral norms. In
fact, they see less. Barna explains,
Given the nature of the terrorist attack, one might have expected
Americans to become more convinced of the presence of good and
evil, and that there are absolute moral principles that exist
regardless of cultural realities and personal preferences. However,
our research showed exactly the opposite outcome.
Prior to the attacks the most recent inquiry concerning truth
views was in January 2000, some 20 months prior to the terrorist
activity. At that time… almost four out of 10 adults (38percent)
said that there are absolute moral truths that do not change
according to the circumstances. When the same question was asked
in the just-completed survey, the result was that just two out
of 10 adults (22percent) claimed to believe in the existence
of absolute moral truth.
He goes on to show that among young adults, the percentage rejecting
the notion of either universal moral norms or truth is very close
to 90percent.
Our own experience with college students suggests the percentage
in our area is substantially higher than 90percent. Shortly after
9/11, we went out on the street to ask students two question for
a video.
First, we asked, "Do you think all religious views should
be respected as equally valid?" We talked to dozens of students,
without finding a single dissenting view. All agreed adamantly
that all religious views must be considered equally valid, and
that anyone who failed to do so was guilty of arrogance and bigotry,
etc.
Then, we asked them, "What about the guys who flew the planes
into the World Trade Center?" being careful to point out
that, from their perspective, this was a religious act.
The reactions we got were funny to watch on video. Most would
stop and stare blankly, or moan softly. A number said, "That's
a hard one," or "You got me there." Others flatly
declared, "No, that should not be respected as valid, and
I know that totally contradicts what I just said. But that's the
way I feel."
Two things about the current consensus on campus are suspicious.
One is that more than 90percent of any generation would agree
on a point never seen in intellectual history before modern times.
This relativistic view has nothing to support it by definition,
since to do so would be to favor one view over another.
Also, students have not arrived at these conclusions independently.
Instead, we find that most students have no idea why they believe
what they do, but simply "feel that way." In fact, we
suspect that this is a tawdry intellectual fad, sweeping up all
in its embrace, and punishing all who refuse it.
The second problem with postmodern relativism is that it leaves
people with no ability to make even the most basic moral judgments.
These students were left in the appalling position where they
could not condemn even the wanton slaughter of thousands in the
WTC disaster. Some even went as far as admitting that, as far
as they knew, it might have been justified for those raised in
Near Eastern cultures.
For those of us who are Christians, who believe that the Bible
is a basis for knowing divine revelation, these are important
days. An event like 9/11 gives Biblical Christians the opportunity
to plead for the necessity of authoritative moral norms.
We should speak into the vacuum of moral knowledge with two clear
pleas: On one hand, the knowledge that such a thing as evil exists;
while on the other, stressing the grace of God for forgiving and
accepting people who are guilty of moral wrongdoing. We shouldn't
claim to be superior to others, or that one culture is better
than another. But without any basis for moral thinking, even the
worst atrocities are no different than the kindest acts of love.
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