Declining Morals in Society

[CX Champ]

I am Christian, and have realized, our morals as a society have greatly declined. Look at the ten commandments for example, do we even try to follow those anymore? Husbands cheating on wives, people stealing, killing, and even I lie alot. Back in the bible days were we this bad, I think not. What does this mean for us? Are we going to be damned to hell, except for the few good, or does the man upstairs need to start over with us again, or make revisions or new, more slack commandments? I just feel we have got our morals and flushed em down the spiritual toilet.

[Duke1985]

I think that is a matter of opinion, its not readily easy to buy people anymore.
I think the problems have always been there, people just didn't openly talk about these things, but they happened all the time.

[Osborn F Enready]

CX Champ said: I am Christian, and have realized, our morals as a society have greatly declined.

So you are saying, when looking at society from the Christian filter, you see it as though society has a different perspective of morals than you hold?

You see this as a "decline", because it declines below your opinion, rather than excelling above it?

CX Champ said: Look at the ten commandments for example, do we even try to follow those anymore?

I don't, as I am not Christian. Do you mean "we" as Christians, or "we" as people?

CX Champ said: Husbands cheating on wives, people stealing, killing, and even I lie alot. Back in the bible days were we this bad, I think not.

Well, why do you hold that opinion?

CX Champ said: What does this mean for us? Are we going to be damned to hell, except for the few good, or does the man upstairs need to start over with us again, or make revisions or new, more slack commandments?

Which man upstairs, and where is upstairs? Do you mean "us" speaking ONLY to other Christians? If so, why do you so easily condemn so many to silence?

CX Champ said: I just feel we have got our morals and flushed em down the spiritual toilet.

Perhaps it is those using blind faith, encouraging blind faith in religion, who are distorting the lens through which you are looking?

[CX Champ]

Your righ my wording is bad, yes I do mean christians. And even without Christian morals, is our society not getting progressivly worse, and as a world this time. Bombs made to only destroy and cause death, with excuses for their use like " we saved more lives then we would have lost." Look at how dumb our public is. We don't speak out, we don't even really hold an opinion. More people voted for American Idol than our president for god sakes. And look at Rwanda and Darfur. Genocide has happened and is happening, and we do nothing, pretend its not there. We shoudn't be fighting a war for oil, in a nearly hopeless country, we should be fighting a war to save innocent lives, not take them away. Right?

[Gods_Mercenary]

I really think it's not getting much worse, every generation has thought that they're morals were far worse than the prior generation, but we forget that it was often just as bad. Immorality wasn't something invented in the 60's.

Not to mention that morality is subjective, your morals are far different than even other christians. Often the decline is simply a change, they never chgange that far, either.

[Duke1985]

Quote by: Gods_Mercenary I really think it's not getting much worse, every generation has thought that they're morals were far worse than the prior generation, but we forget that it was often just as bad. Immorality wasn't something invented in the 60's. Not to mention that morality is subjective, your morals are far different than even other christians. Often the decline is simply a change, they never chgange that far, either.

Well said.

[Jachin]

Go rent a pre-Hayes Code movie and watch it. Or do some research on the Black Dahlia, or William Desmond Taylor, or Fatty Arbuckle, or pretty much any subject relating to Hollywood in the 1920s. You'll discover pretty quickly that societal morality swings on a pendulum.

[phoenix_fire]

Well, it depends on how you look at it. For example, someone from the Victorian era would look at my lifestyle as vastly immoral, while people from this time find me somewhat prudish. The difference? Pants. I think that the treatment of women and minorities has improved. Other things have, however, definitely gone down the tubes. Each generation thinks that its morals were worse than the previous, probably, because each generation IS getting worse. It is not so much that immoral acts are increasing as that we have come to accept them more and sometimes even justify them. We live in a culture that glorifies individuality and self-interest, and so calling one man's actions wrong is deemed against the higher religion erected of the self. And because of this, we let the troubles of others fall by the wayside because we have enough problems of our own. Selfishness in this culture is readily apparent and we all suffer.
But as to your last part, it's a little more complicated than that. That discussion would require a discourse into the nature of salvation and the condition of the churches, viz the appalling lack of discipleship, among many other things. That could take a while.

[Jachin]

Quote by: phoenix_fire Well, it depends on how you look at it. For example, someone from the Victorian era would look at my lifestyle as vastly immoral, while people from this time find me somewhat prudish. The difference? Pants.

You wear pants? *gasp!* You godless heathen!!

[Zhavric]

The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place
of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties
at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

-Socrates. 470-399 bce

American society (unfortunately) has it's roots in puritanism. Our moral stances have been like a pendulum. Whenever we become too decadent, we swing bag to conservatism. When become too conservative, we swing back to decadence. The roaring 20's gave way to the 30's. The 50's gave way to the 60's.

Every generation has people who thinks things are going to hell in a handbasket.

Consider that Socrates wrote the above quote over 2400 years ago and consider for a moment what would happen if someone wearing a toga crossed their legs...

... while our youth and young adults can be promiscuous and make bad decisions, they haven't started casually flashing their genitals at one another as casually as they mouth off to a teacher.

[belverron]

The rules wouldn't be in the Bible if no one had broken them then.

[Jagged]

Hahaha yeah, everybody is always inclined to think their society is terrible and all humanity is doomed to hell. Think of every single old person youve ever thought of: "Kids these days...."

You also defined morals by citing the 10 commandments. Morality is much, much more complex than those oversimplified tables.

[Compugasm]

I've never understood why people wax poetically about times that weren't all that great.

[Osborn F Enready]

Compugasm said: I've never understood why people wax poetically about times that weren't all that great.

Disinformation? Propaganda? Blind faith? All three?

[sdbest]

First, of the ten commandments only 5 have anything to do with morals. One "honor your father and mother" is not a moral point but one of familial subservience. The other 4 deal with dogmatic Christian religious duties which have nothing to do with morality.

Second, people are no different today morally, based on the historical record, than they were 5,000 years ago. Read Homer. Observe George Bush.

Third, Christianity, Jesus dying for our sins, etc, had no effect on the level of human morality. This is perhaps Jesus's and God's greatest failure. Imagine abandoning your son to a horrific death, on one of the most heinous torture devices ever conceived my man for no good reason and no net benefit.

Regards
S.

[phoenix_fire]

That was not exactly the point...

I reference my sig.

[Lullaby Chainer]

Quote by: CX Champ I am Christian, and have realized, our morals as a society have greatly declined. Look at the ten commandments for example, do we even try to follow those anymore? Husbands cheating on wives, people stealing, killing, and even I lie alot. Back in the bible days were we this bad, I think not. What does this mean for us? Are we going to be damned to hell, except for the few good, or does the man upstairs need to start over with us again, or make revisions or new, more slack commandments? I just feel we have got our morals and flushed em down the spiritual toilet.

Yeah.. what? Ten commandments? Would we be more moral killing everyone that works on Sunday?

[CX Champ]

I think out of all of your comments the pendulum theory is definitly the best. I see now, and the 1920's were pretty bad, but does each swing of the pendulum get bigger, is it gonna be worse next "bad" swing?

And no Chainer, it's not moral to kill people who work on sundays, besides if the bible said to kill people who worked on Sundays, we prob wouldn't be working on Sundays as much.

[Lullaby Chainer]

Quote by: CX Champ I think out of all of your comments the pendulum theory is definitly the best. I see now, and the 1920's were pretty bad, but does each swing of the pendulum get bigger, is it gonna be worse next "bad" swing? And no Chainer, it's not moral to kill people who work on sundays, besides if the bible said to kill people who worked on Sundays, we prob wouldn't be working on Sundays as much.

"For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death." Exodus 31 verse 15

[Osborn F Enready]

CX, I think as technology increases, our lives become less private, and information is transferred faster.

I don't think our morals have gotten worse, per se, but I am sure coverage and information about it has become more prevalent, as well as with population increase, law increase, has agitation increased and disrespect for the law increased.

Thats my opinion of course, but I want to express I have no issue at all with people who practice religion on their own, individually.

Morals however, are subjective, and I don't think it could be said our morals have declined, as much as our morals are evolving with our population and individual values.