Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Presuppositions

“If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster” (Stephen Covey)

"If you board the wrong train it is no use run­ning along the cor­ri­dor in the oppo­site direction". Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Pre-suppositions, pre-suppositions....On reading a recent Time Magagzine article, I was startled by the Professors’ finds on how some people go about "solving" their ethical dilemmas.

How very much in contrast to the path the God of the Bible sets before His children in their struggle with moral directions.

OPTION ONE:  Business Professors at Harvard and Duke Universities* research showed that:
"Ethical dilemmas often require people to weigh two opposing forces:
  1. the desire to maximize self-interest and
  2. the desire to maintain a positive view of oneself,"
"Recent research has suggested that individuals tend to resolve this tension through self-serving rationalizations:
  1. They behave dishonestly enough to profit from their unethical behaviour but
  2. honestly enough to maintain a positive self-concept as honest human beings."
OPTION TWO: The Bible says: ((Please, please don’t read into this comparison a  polarization between Professors and God!)  It's about suppositions.
Those who
  1. live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh— (The mind set on the flesh is death)
  2. but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. , (the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. )
(Romans 8:5-6)
So here are the opposing draws for the Christian (Galatians 6:16)
Galatians 6:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other…
Of course, it will be no surprise to discover many other variants and sets of choices driven by people that exclude God – including the spiritual and the religious.   And how easy for Christians to get sucked in!
So, prior to tackling a moral dilemna, against which wall is your ladder leaning and where is your train heading?

Ps (ssssssssssssst)

Bible terms like flesh…Spirit are not as abstract as they sound.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.Galatains 5:19