that is, in my fl esh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Romans 7:18-19). T at statement doesn’t deny that
most human beings have some ideas of what is good and evil. It simply says that in one’s fl esh, in unchanged nature, a human being does not do what is right—cannot do what is moral. Paul was speaking about needing conversion by the Spirit of God. By our mind and
SHUTTERSTOCK Only one way to become righteous A By Allan Hart Jahsmann
neurologist, Gerhard Roth at the University of Bre- men in Germany, discovered a dark patch in the brain scans of some killers and rapists. In reporting this to
the London Daily Mail, he said, “When you look at the brain scans of hardened criminals, there are almost always severe shortcomings in the lower foreheads of the brain.”
T is research may not be fool-
proof, but it has raised great interest in what is now called the psychology of morality. It has renewed interest in what’s right and wrong in human life. T e subject of morality is a little
touchy. For various reasons it makes some people uneasy. But since morality and immorality are ques- tions of human life, they deserve whatever attention we give them. Who or what determines ideas of
38
www.thelutheran.org
right and wrong? Are we born good or sinful? Is our behavior genetic or does human behavior depend entirely on what we are taught? T e Bible says that in the begin-
ning the fi rst human beings were created by God “in his image,” holy as God is holy. But they “fell” into imperfection and became sinful. T is led the apostle Paul to say
in his letter to the Romans: “I know that nothing good dwells within me,
reasoning, all of us can discern some things that are moral. We have some sense of what is right and good. Christians call this the natu- ral knowledge of God. A test of a
person’s ability to
distinguish wrong from right decides whether the person in a criminal case qualifi es to be judged in a U.S. criminal court. Another question is, “What
makes a human be good or evil?” A good person has some virtues of good character. She or he can be fair and loving to others and kind and helpful. We could easily make a list of qualities that characterize a good person. Most people also have some stan-
dards of what makes a culture good. T ere is general agreement that fraud and murder and adultery are wrong and immoral. And there are many other human
behaviors besides unfairness that are wrong. Jonathan Haidt, author of T e Righteous Mind (Pantheon, 2012), identifi ed several types of actions that many people today don’t even
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
