The Moral Minority - Gleaner Let's Talk Section

The following is from the North Pacific Union Conference Gleaner's Let's Talk where they post your responses to the issues that Steve Vistaunet raises.

Could it be that the time is ripe for individuals that go beyond the rhetoric to follow the practical good sense in a profound set of 10 principles some people call the Moral Code? Could Adventists be well known in their communities and in their places of work for those kinds of values?

What do you think? Are we mentoring our children to be moral leaders in their churches, communities and corporations? As a church, are we modeling anything that America wants or needs? How do we stand for the right without becoming moral bigots? Let's talk at www.gleaneronline.org .

My response follows:

Contrary to Marx, the idea of capitalism is cooperation for the best interests of those concerned. I offer something you want and you offer me something I want in exchange. As the Bible says the workman is worth his wage that is capitalism. As with everything greed and selfishness, jealously can destroy the cooperation.

Do I want to see the 10 moral principles of the 10 commandments followed? No Those commandments are contrary to the principles which this nation was founded. Freedom of choice means that I should allow someone to have another god before the Jewish or Christian God. To make their own idols and worship what they want, to work on the day they choose or even to tell their parents to take a flying leap. Those parts of the 10 Commandments were used in a Theocracy and we all know what happened to that Theocracy.

The first section of the 10 commandments can only be kept by freedom of choice and no other method will do. The last half can be legislated against and forced to some extent by society, though again freedom of choice can easily still violate all of those commandments as well. You described the 10 commandments are a moral code, as such it is only upon our consciences that they have an effect. We must choose to accept them as wise and order our life by them. This is why for so long they have been placed in public places, we are a country of freedom and upon that freedom voluntary acts of cooperation must be preformed for the good of society. As in Iraq one of the goals is to effect the hearts and minds of the people so too are the 10 commandments meant to effect our hearts and minds. We have duties to our fellow man and we have duties to our God should we accept that God as our God. Even in the 10 Commandments the first was to acknowledge God from that source all other commands derive authority and meaning.

Freedom of choice with the principles and power of Christ do not however inevitably lead to right. They lead to a restored relationship with God and that is at least on this old world as close to right as we can get.