morality

During the Sermon on the Mount, immediately after delivering the Beatitudes, Jesus began his ministry of “new law” – a different and expanded perspective of Old Testament teachings. He told those listening: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, it becomes useless, no longer good for anything, and must be thrown away. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden nor does a person light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put the lamp in a stand so it can give light to everyone in the room. In this same way, let your light shine before others so they see your good deeds and know you are led by

Seeing the large crowds, Jesus moved to the side of a mountain and sat down. His disciples followed and gathered around him. Jesus began to teach them while the crowd listened. Popularly known as “The Sermon on the Mount”, he began with “The Beatitudes”, and said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because

Gallup has just released the astonishing results of a survey designed to measure how American's ideas about immorality have changed over the past dozen years. Not surprisingly, the poll revealed that the moral standard has declined significantly as evidenced by the acceptance in the media of once questionable moral standards such as same-sex marriage and marital affairs. The chart below reports the change over time in “moral acceptability of 20 issues”.  The numbers in the 2001 and 2013 columns represent the percentage of people who feel the issue is “morally acceptable”.  The issues are ordered according to how much opinion of the morality changed with issues that are now much more acceptable located at the top of the chart.   2001 2013 % Change % % % points Gay or lesbian relations 40 59 19 Having a baby

How citizens fail to recognize a decline in society's moral standard Absolute consensus on societal issues will likely never exist.  There will always be disagreement and dissension over what constitutes right and wrong.  But general consensus, acceptable by the majority, can be manufactured by Man.  Laws, leaders, and societal groups assert great influence on citizens and can promote an issue to the point that the majority of the population will eventually embrace it.  In general, the promotion of an agenda, and acceptance by a civilization, occurs gradually, over time, and in small increments - barely recognizable by the citizens until the issue at hand has been fully integrated into the society. In the early 16th century, sodomy was punishable by death, a measure of punishment that continued until the late