Chapter 3. Christian Rules Violate Jesus’ Lessons
Can a true Christian comply with modern Christian rules and still follow the teachings of Jesus? This is the controversy of Christian ethics. Doing the right things based upon the right knowledge for the right reasons should be the goal of every Christian. But what are the right things, right knowledge, and right reasons? This understanding should begin outside the Church since Christian ethics has a strong foundation in the writings of ancient and renaissance philosophers such as Aristotle, Kant, Descartes, Epicurus, Cicero, Epictetus, and Seneca. This includes evolutionary development over two millennia starting with the teachings of Jesus together with analyses by key intellectuals such as Augustine. Preventing another recurrence of Christian-sanctioned cruelty, especially against those who questioned Christian authority, the resulting ancient rules should be modified for a modern world characterized by terrorism, drugs, environmental pollution, corruption, and human trafficking.
Being wise is good. But, being wise about the right knowledge is even better. So, what is the right knowledge, especially about Christianity? Where do I find it? How do we know it is the right knowledge? Can the right knowledge today be the wrong knowledge tomorrow, such as the Christian faith advocating slavery a few centuries ago while opposing it today? Was historical right knowledge, such as support of slavery, really the right knowledge back then? We should be asking ourselves these and many more similar questions. Having the right knowledge is only part of this. Doing the right thing based upon the right knowledge for the right reason is the best a Christian should do. So, what is the essence of Christian ethics? Georgia Harkness, professor of applied theology, stated a good definition of this.
Christian ethics means a “systematic study of the way of life exemplified and taught by Jesus, applied to the manifold problems and decisions of human existence”71.
Secular Ethics.
Today, many think about ethics as institutional rules of behavior, moral philosophy and consider little about the development of their own personal character and consideration about their environment. However, it’s best to consider ethics with a larger emphasis upon philosophy that permits one to become fully a self-conscious moral person committed to maintaining traditions that are essential to fulfilling one’s Christian responsibilities with integrity72. Many Americans were taught to live a secular life using the Western value system of right and wrong, as described by Major General Buckingham in 1985:
“Our Western value system of right and wrong is based primarily on what Jesus taught concerning the origin and value of human life, augmented by the Old Testament lawgivers and prophets. This is what we commonly call the Judeo-Christian tradition. Although these teachings have been eroded and in some cases prostituted radically through the centuries, they still strongly influence the attitudes of Americans and other Westerners and form the core of our ethical concepts. In the Judeo-Christian view, man was created by God in His image; that is, with awareness, with purpose, with personality, and with inherent worth. All forms of human life are equally endowed by God with worth and dignity. There is no distinction between male and female, between black or white, rich or poor, aristocrat or peasant, Americans or Cambodians, Jews or Arabs, old or young, born or unborn, smart or dumb, with regard to inherent worth and dignity. All are created with equal worth, with equal dignity, with equal status, and with equal rights within the human race”.
One can further define secular ethics differently depending upon one’s desired philosophical outlook on life. The following are six popular ones. The philosophies of Aristotle’s eudaemonism described a practical life of moderation with each person performing the duties for which equipped to ensure happiness73. The hedonistic ethics of Epicurus described the maximum pleasure-seeking life of “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”74. The formal rational duty ethics of Kant required people to act according to an inherent sense of duty, as portrayed by Mr. Spock, the logical half-human in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek 75. Ethics of Bentham and Mill’s utilitarianism was a pursuit for the greatest amount of happiness for the maximum number of people76. The “Social Adjustment” philosophy of John Dewey emphasized the process of improving virtuous conduct by valuing one as a good citizen in an ordered democratic society77. Finally, the stoic life was the pursuit of virtue78.
Although there are both positive and negative aspects with each of these six philosophies, Christianity is more closely related to the Stoic ethic; as such, the remainder of this secular ethics section will involve a stoic frame of reference. Additionally, I learned much of my ethical values while serving as a military officer. During most of my life, I was held to the standard of minimizing the risks to my Soldiers, acting carefully, avoiding waste of lives, not fighting battles that can’t be won, and not seeking victories where the costs exceed the value79. I fully understood that Soldiers were trained to kill. They may be ordered to, or they may order others to break the Sixth Commandment, the ultimate moral predicament.
To understand the foundation of this, we must understand the stoic school of philosophy, which is embedded in much of Western civilization80. This is contained in the writings of René Descartes, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Michel de Montaigne, Blaise Pascal, and Baruch Spinoza. Although secular in nature, it does include some of the ancient Christian theology, including Augustine, Thomas à Kempis, and Justus Lipsius81. In fact, Lipsius developed a Christianized form of Stoicism, referred to as neo-Stoicism, in the sixteenth century. His work influenced the evolution of Catholicism, Calvinism, and Lutheranism82. Furthermore, Stoicism was symbolized by the famous Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”83. It really was about what we can control, in essence, a cultivation of the “inner citadel” of our soul84.
Stoicism’s four great teachings in the quest for virtue are: willing to endure pain for human good [courage]; pursuing right intentions over that of right results [wisdom]; understanding that fortune doesn’t create human happiness [moderation]; and using self-control to prevent harming others and property [justice]85.
Furthermore, Stoicism states that life is unfair and that there is no worldly benefit for living a moral life in the world. For example, martyrs and honest men may die poor; while dishonest men may die rich. Stoicism is also evident in both the Old Testament’s (OT’s) Job about God’s good servant, and in Shakespeare’s King Lear about an exemplary father. This philosophy reminds us that there’s an unyielding struggle for right actions in an unfair world. Aeschylus, founder of the Greek tragedy, understood this philosophy and wrote about it in his Agamemnon, and which Robert F. Kennedy quoted in his Indianapolis speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., “He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop on the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God”86.
Character, then, is really formed by free choice, a gift from God, and isn’t something forced upon by others. A good character is accomplished by pursuing virtue and avoiding vice, which is shaped through times of both poverty and wealth. According to Epictetus, absolute virtue is comprised of righteousness, honor, and decency, and doesn’t include health, wealth, or even life87. Regrettably, many Christian groups use shame and guilt to persuade others to act. Yet, the Stoic believes that guilt is an individual free choice. This Stoic philosophy doesn’t recognize social guilt in shaping one’s character since it considers guilt involves individual choice and even individual misconduct88. Everything that we do is based upon our own decisions. These choices are based upon either internal or external values. Epictetus further states, “of things some are in our power and others are not. In our power, are opinion, movement towards a thing [aim], desire, aversion [turning from a thing]; and in a word, whatever are our own acts; not in our power are the body, property, reputation, offices [magisterial power] and, in a word, whatever are not our own acts”89. He further cautions us that if we focus upon external things, especially those that we can’t control, we’ll neglect our inner self. These external things are, “weak, slavish, subject to restraint and in the power of others”. In most circumstances, external things in life don’t necessarily hurt us, but our views of them could.
But, how do we know what is moral and what is immoral? Some believe that all moral purpose should be based upon reason and not the emotions of desire, pleasure, and fear. According to Admiral Stockdale, everything in life should be based upon “decisions of the will”90. This is difficult since emotions are just as important as reason for decisions, according to recent scientific studies91. If happiness is what we want, then we shouldn’t let emotionally based fears about our body, relationships and worldly possessions govern our decisions92. Returning to the ancient philosophers, we can learn much about life today. Not much has changed regarding morality during the past several millennia. For example, Africanus, conqueror of Hannibal, stated that virtue can’t be found in selfish interests but through service to others. We should, “know that for all who shall have preserved, succored, enlarged their country, there is a certain and determined place in Heaven where they enjoy eternal happiness”93.
In addition to life, business follows secular ethics. In my experience working in corporate America, I’ve found that very often businesses aren’t bound by any ethics other than abiding by the law. Supporting this position is Milton Friedman, who held that corporations have the obligation to make a profit within the framework of the legal system, nothing more. He explicitly states that the duty of the business leaders is, "to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in the law and those embodied in ethical custom94. Ethics in business for Friedman is nothing more than abiding by customs and laws. The reduction of business ethics to abidance to laws and customs, however, has drawn serious criticisms. Counter to Friedman's logic, the legal procedures are technocratic, bureaucratic, rigid and obligatory whereas an ethical act is a conscientious, voluntary choice95. Nevertheless, business ethics reflects the philosophy of business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. If a company's purpose is to maximize shareholder returns, then sacrificing profits to other concerns is a violation of its fiduciary responsibility. Many churches today operate primarily as a business, focused upon fiduciary responsibilities only.
Individuals and businesses make numerous decisions each day. The real ethical concern is whether they can determine if their decisions are moral or immoral? We should also understand the popular paraphrase of Seneca Epistle 77.20, “life's like a play; it's not the length but the excellence of the acting that matters”96. Meanwhile, Epictetus reminds us that “to select the part belongs to another”97. Our character, the excellence of our life, should mean more to us than our reputation since it’s best to have a good character than a false reputation. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor from 161 until 180 and another ancient Stoic philosopher, believed that we, “must stand erect, not be kept erect by others”98.
An example of this can be found in the novel, Fame Is the Spur, about an idealist British political leader becoming more corrupt in pursuit of higher office by gradually renouncing his virtues. His soul withered in his unrelenting pursuit of personal ambition99. That’s the risk that all have when pursuing advancements in life. Rather than seeking fame, fortune, and power, which are popular lifetime goals, we should first conquer our own desires by altering our desires instead of changing our environment100.
There are some situations in which violating secular or religious laws is the moral course of action. That is because these laws are inflexible by requiring violation as the right thing to do. Modern Americans are losing sight of the values that benefit others along with losing confidence in understanding those values as a whole101. As such, we should avoid subscribing to the popular “ethics without morality” in which the moral aspects of ethics are increasingly becoming obsolescent102.
One of my favorite books, Once an Eagle, is about two military officers and their advancements through the military hierarchy103. The first officer, Courtney Massengale, was a cynical careerist with social connections and corrupt morality portraying the Epicurean philosophy of materialism104. The other officer, Sam Damon, exemplified the stoic philosophy by pursuing real achievement instead of a quest for status. Both officers achieved similar achievements, but Massengale’s was service to self, while Damon’s was service to others.
Aside from this fictional story, let me provide you a real example. Air Force Colonel James Burton, a senior military officer, fully understood secular ethics using the stoic philosophy. He was best known for his “to be or to do, that is the question” speech in June 1974 to his colleagues and subordinates at the Pentagon105:
“You have to make a choice about what kind of person you are going to be. There are two [military] career paths in front of you, and you have to choose which path you will follow. One path leads to promotions, titles and positions of distinctions. To achieve success down that path, you have to conduct yourself a certain way. You must go along with the system. . . . The other path leads to doing things that are truly significant for the Air Force, but you may have to cross swords with the party line on occasion. You can’t go down both paths, you have to choose. Do you want to be a man of distinction or do you want to do things that really influence the shape of the Air Force? To be or to do, that is the question”.
In another real, but personal, example from the Spring of 1985, I was a platoon leader in a chemical company stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. My battalion commander was within his first year of command and was a full-bird colonel, which was unusual since command of a battalion is normally for lieutenant colonels, a lower-ranking officer. I believed that he pulled strings at the Pentagon for this command for self-interest reasons since the experience of commanding of a battalion or higher-level unit is required for promotion to brigadier general. Without it, he wouldn’t receive any more promotions.
On one of several occasions in which he didn’t support his troops happened during weapons qualifications within my company. I had the misfortunate of serving as the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the range at the time. Being fully prepared to run the range safely, I had previously taken the range safety class and taught our Soldiers marksmanship techniques as required. On the day of the range firing, everything was completed, along with having the requisite safety support in place. After about an hour into weapons firing, my battalion commander visited the range to see how things were going. After giving him an update, I noticed a jeep with a red placard displaying three stars on it enter the range. My battalion commander also noticed the jeep and quickly moved to hide behind the range tower, leaving me alone to greet Lieutenant General Walter F. Ulmer, Jr., commanding general of III Corps and Fort Hood. I was in disbelief that my battalion commander quickly escaped to leave me alone with this powerful person. General Ulmer served as Commandant of Cadets at West Point in 1976, where he was responsible for the first admission of female cadets and the cheating scandal involving several hundred of the junior classmen106. After I provided him a quick overview of the range operations, he quickly followed me to talk to several Soldiers. These Soldiers were nervous talking to a three-star general. I know this, because they couldn’t remember the marksmanship training that they took earlier in the morning. After talking to a few of the Soldiers, General Ulmer was convinced that none received any training as required and ordered me to halt range operations and immediately conduct the training. “Yes Sir!” I complied and quickly told my range safety officer to order a “cease fire” and stop range firing. Then, General Ulmer returned to his jeep and drove off. Afterwards, out of nowhere, my battalion commander magically appeared. He knew I had conducted the training, but refused to appear and defend me. My battalion commander never did get his star though. I guess the other generals knew about this character and his lack of support for his troops. I, on the other hand, later commanded a battalion successfully enough to command a brigade, a higher level position.
My other personal example involved my relationship with my company commander, a captain and another Epicurean officer, that same year. Early one evening, just before I was to leave for home, my company commander called me to tell me that he was at the motor pool and discovered that one of my jeeps there had a fire extinguisher that needed to be secured. He ordered me to recall my entire platoon back into work and secure that extinguisher. I told him that I’d get that extinguisher secured and hung up the phone. What I didn’t tell him was that I wasn’t going to recall my platoon back to work since I’d personally drive to the motor pool and secure the extinguisher as ordered. It didn’t make sense to me to order everyone back to work after they had spent a long twelve-hour day of training and they were already at homes with their families. I’d take care of the person or persons responsible for the unsecured extinguisher the following day. And, I was willing to take responsibility for any consequences of my decision to not recall them back to work for this petty thing. I didn’t realize that the consequence involved the commander removing me as a platoon leader for insubordination a few days later. This devastated me and my hopes for a long productive military career. After over a year in the unit, I was just about to become the executive officer, or second in command, of the company. Now, I was no longer in the company and was sent to be a staff officer in another battalion. But, I felt that I did the right thing by not making all of my Soldiers and their families suffer for the mistake of one careless individual. I was the one who was punished, and punished for doing what I believed was the right thing to do. On an interesting note of delayed justice, this company commander was relieved from command a few months later, which is the military way of saying that he was fired too. Unlike my long successful military career, I heard that he never received another promotion and left the Army at his rank of captain. With this and many other examples during my entire military career, I demonstrated the Stoic philosophy of Damon, making me feel good about my soul.
So, from a secular point of view, ethics to me in a very general sense is about doing the right things for the right reasons. Doing the rights things, even though no one knows about it, is much better to me than being known as a person who does the right things, especially if done for the wrong reasons. There are even some situations in which violating inflexible secular or religious laws is the right moral course of action. For example, killing everyone with a different religion even though the Bible commands it is morally wrong today107. Unfortunately, this lack of clear guidance causes us today to lose sight of the values that benefit others, in addition to lose confidence in understanding those values as a whole108. The resultant subscription to the popular “ethics without morality” is making the moral aspects of ethics increasingly obsolescent109. It’s probably best that we realize that we today don’t live in a Hobbesian world, one in a pure state of nature110. Ethics in the real world involves real people in real situations.
Ethics of Jesus.
Next, the ethics of Christianity includes the ethics of Jesus, as understood through His actions and teachings. To assess this part of the Christian ethics, we should ask “What Would Jesus Do” (WWJD) ethically. However, most people today don’t ask themselves this ethical question. And, if they did, the answer wouldn’t be based upon a logical analysis of the available facts. Instead, they assume His ethics was the same as their idea of Christian ethics, two thousand years later. This modern view is based upon the combination of democracy, nationalism, and capitalism, all blended together with scientific and technological achievements. This is then mixed with the Western world’s way of life, patriotism, along with humanitarian concern for the weak, the helpless, and the suffering. In addition, this includes complete respect for law, especially involving kindness, generosity, and citizenship. The combination of all of that is what many regard as “acting like a Christian”111. But, the ethics of Jesus isn’t this complex. Let me begin this with a brief story about my personal experience as a teenager involving the legend of Santa, you know, the one about the jolly ole man who brings everyone gifts in celebration of Jesus’ birthday. As a young child, I once viewed Santa as the sure-fire magical self-interest way to receive toys, lots of them. Maybe, this is how many people view Jesus, a magical way to get into Heaven. Just believe in him, and He will welcome us with open arms, no matter what. No matter how evil we are and no matter how hateful we are of others, popular Christian belief is faith is enough. For me, this belief isn’t enough.
There was a time when I was a nonbeliever in Santa. Maybe, I was even a nonbeliever in Jesus at that time too, even though I attended Catholic mass religiously every week. But, my belief in Santa changed in the basement of the Herpolsheimer's Department store, commonly known as Herp's, during the late 1970’s. This store was located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Most Americans may remember that this was mentioned several times in the recent Polar Express movie112. Portrayed in the movie, many Grand Rapids’ children visited the Herp's Santa each Christmas Season, some like me having their picture taken with him.
I spent my pre-school days growing up in Grand Rapids, living near both of my grandparents. My childhood memories were magical in which anything was possible. My parents and grandparents helped me live in this magical period by supporting the Santa legend every year. Why would I doubt this? Santa was a popular topic of discussion at my elementary schools by not only the students, but by the teachers as well. There were Christmas songs too, both on the radio and sung at school. Also during the Christmas season, Christmas shows populated the television airwaves. These included Charlie Brown's concern about the commercialism of the season. Rudolph had a message on diversity. And, the Drummer Boy was part of the real Christmas Story. Finally on Christmas morning, I would awaken to see the stockings filled with goodies and additional presents under the tree. As a Christian child, I believed that Santa was the gift from God to celebrate the birth of His son, Jesus. I even thought that God used Santa, the real one from Herp's, to give every good child gifts on Jesus’ birthday.
As I was growing up, I soon became a disbeliever. I couldn’t understand how one person, with flying reindeer, could deliver presents to every child in every town on our planet Earth. It seemed impossible. So, too, the story of Jesus seemed impossible. I later had a shocking discovery that my parents had bought the Santa gifts several days prior to Christmas, and that this Santa myth was probably a parental trick to convince children to behave, at least once every year. Maybe, Jesus, too, was a religious trick to convince everyone to behave. While attending Creston High School in Grand Rapids, my grandmother asked me to do something. She was a sales representative for Herp's; and, she asked me if I wanted to be one of the Herp's Santa's that year. I couldn’t believe this, since I was just a teenager, both tall and thin. I also needed the money, so of course I said, “yes”.
My first day playing Santa was very memorable. I learned some of the key phrases that I needed to say, such as “Ho Ho Ho,” and “What would you want Santa to bring you?” I also learned some key facts, such as the nine reindeer names. However, the most humiliating event of this day was putting on make-up, such as grey chalk for my eyebrows and red blush for my cheeks. Teenage boys didn’t wear make-up, at least none that I knew. Then, it was time for me to walk out of the dressing room and begin my official duties as Santa. To say that I was nervous would be an understatement. There were several kids waiting to see me and were shouting that “Santa is coming”. So, I began to populate a myth that I didn’t believe in. How hypocritical of me? But, then again, there are many hypocritical religious leaders who populate the myth of Jesus that they don’t believe.
During my two years of playing Santa, I experienced the power of commercials. Most kids wanted the items that they saw on TV, such as the Hungry Hungry Hippos game. Also, some very young children were scared of me and didn’t want to get anywhere near me - I guess that they were told never to trust strange old men. Jesus can be scary to many people too. Several times, I saw the sparkle in a child's face when he was talking to me. I, as Santa, made him happy. During the evenings when I wasn’t Santa, I would operate the monorail in the basement, otherwise known as the Santa Train. I wonder if this train was the inspiration for the train in the Polar Express movie. Finally, I conducted research into the Santa legend for an English term paper, learning more about the Turkish Bishop, known as Saint Nick, and about the “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa”, newspaper article114. I began to see Santa not as the jolly old elf from the North Pole, but as the symbol of the Christmas season.
Being the Herp's Santa for two years, from 1978 through 1979, was a very memorable experience for me. Herp's no longer exists today, giving way to the malls on the outskirts of the city. But, Santa still exists to millions of children throughout the world today. For them, Christmas without Santa is like peanut butter without jelly. Today, I can truly relate to the Santa from the Polar Express, especially from his statement that the true spirit of Christmas lies in the heart. This is like believing that wind exists even though we can’t see the wind. But, we can see what the wind does to others. This is the same with Jesus. We know that the spirit of Santa exists, just look at the face of young children during the Christmas season. Since the time I was Santa and became a member of the “Long Red Line”, I passed on the Santa experience to my daughters and look forward to doing the same to my grandchildren. I wonder if I can hear the Polar Express bell that only rings for those who truly believe in Santa. They should also have a bell that only rings for true followers of Jesus. I doubt many people would hear the Jesus bell.
Believing in Jesus is similar to the belief in Santa. Even though stories about both are impossible by today’s mortal understandings, the legends and stories of both exists to millions throughout the world. And, the true spirit of both lies in the heart. But, belief in Jesus is just not enough. Even Lucifer, the mythical chief of the fallen angels, believes in Jesus; but, Lucifer isn’t going to spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus, despite his belief in Him115. So, what does it really mean being a Christian?
Being a Christian isn’t about the rules but about the relationship we have with Jesus. This relationship provides an objective reference for determining the difference between right and wrong, regardless of the situation. Without this reference, we can become captive in our own subjectivity, defining ethics based upon what we think we can keep. Unfortunately, modern Christians only find a patchwork today of homilies and sermon dictates, some of which are unclear and others of which are contradictory. Furthermore, the modern culture focuses upon individuality, competition, and consumerism, all which provide obstacles to following Jesus116.
The foundation of information about Jesus and His actual words originated from the Bible. During my readings of this Book and analyzing its information, I can tell you that Jesus didn’t provide His followers with any such manual of Christian membership or church rules, at least not in the Bible. Furthermore, it would be presumptuous for any mortal human to attempt what Jesus was too wise to do. Yet, one continues to hear many preachers and read many theological books about the dictates of Jesus and His rules for Christian behavior. People should realize that there exists no perfect record of the life and teachings of Jesus, not even in the Bible. As such, I fully understand that no fallible human mind, including mine, can fully understand the div