 In this series, we have surveyed some general trends in the history of ethics, beginning with the lex talionis (an eye for an eye), moving on to three versions of the Golden Rule, noting subtle shifts in these principles throughout the Renaissance, and recognizing the end of both secular reason and morality in the late Enlightenment. In surveying these trends, three lessons become apparent. The first is that humans are inherently moral beings. Since the beginning, man has pondered what God meant when he said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26 NKJV). At least one aspect of this is that, like him, we have a capacity for reasoning on things moral and spiritual that is unique among his creatures. As Elihu well knew, “But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding” (Job 32:8). Paul, however, probably says it most clearly: though it was the Jews who had received direct revelation on true morality, by their good behavior even the Gentiles were able to “show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness” (Romans 2:15, emphasis added). As C.S. Lewis wrote, then, human morality is not only universal; it also implies a higher source for such a capacity: If we are to continue to make moral judgements (and whatever we say we shall in fact continue) then we must believe that the conscience of man is not a product of Nature. It can be valid only if it is an offshoot of some absolute moral wisdom, a moral wisdom which exists absolutely ‘on its own’ and is not a product of non-moral, non-rational Nature. (Lewis, Miracles 60) The second lesson is that while understanding the humanities is essential for a true Christian engagement of the world, they are not sufficient in defining this worldview. That such works are useful for Christian witness is evident in the fact that Paul himself quotes pagan poets three times in his works, twice in his sermon in Acts 17:28 and once writing to Titus in 1:12. Jude did the same by pointing out valid truths from the popular religious literature of his day (see Jude 1:9, 14-15). Human thought, then, is not inherently wrong, but must be redeemed in order to be effective for theoretical and practical use. In other words, human wisdom must be judged as true or false by the wisdom of God, not the other way around. And even then, it can only be accepted tentatively, lest we too closely associate such human thoughts with “the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). As Paul reminded Timothy, it is “the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus;” a reminder well heeded in our post-modern (or any!) age (2 Timothy 3:15, emphasis added). Finally, the culmination of human morality is the Christ-like ideal of the Golden Rule. Man is not inherently a sex-driven and violent animal, though we often fall prey to such temptations (see Ecclesiastes 7:29; Isaiah 59:1-2). Lewis must have been thinking of the likes of Freud and Nietzsche while writing the radio talks that later became Mere Christianity: I said in a previous chapter that chastity was the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. But I am not sure I was right. I believe there is one even more unpopular. It is laid down in the Christian rule, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ Because in Christian morals ‘thy neighbour’ includes ‘thy enemy’, and so we come up against this terrible duty of forgiving our enemies. (Lewis, Mere Christianity 115) We have, of course, heard this before. But as Lewis goes on to say, loving our enemies does not mean loving or even tolerating “cruelty and treachery,” as many seem to believe (MC 117). It merely means that we should hate such evil traits “in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is possible, that . . . he can be cured and made human again” (MC 117). Love, then, is more than a mere emotion, much less the satisfaction of carnal appetites; it is “that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about” another person, “wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying that he is nice when he is not” (MC 129, 120).
The principles of Christian ethics have never fully disappeared from the Western Canon. The Golden Rule (though often misunderstood) at least remains a part of our moral discourse. But such acceptance is not universal. By looking to the critics of virtuous love we begin to see the cold consistency and selfishness of the alternative. The scars of human aggression are borne by every age of human history, but such aggression is neither natural to man nor essential to human society. And though many have tried to explain it, virtue and love are better demonstrated than defended. As the Apostle John once wrote, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). The true end of human morality, then, is to understand the vicarious suffering and death of Christ our Lord and Savior, and to lovingly die to self each day. As Christ himself stated, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). Works Cited
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