Just A Thought ~ IS GOD CONFUSED?

Dan Barker, an American ex-Evangelical Pastor and Critic, wrote:

"Here is another argument based on ignorance. Ethical systems are based on the worth humans have assigned to life; 'good' is that which enhances life, and 'evil' is that which threatens it. We do not need a deity to tell us it is wrong to kill, lie or steal. Humans have always had the potential to use their minds to determine what is kind and reasonable. There is no 'universal moral urge', and not all ethical systems agree. Polygamy, human-sacrifice, cannibalism (Eucharist), wife-beating, self-mutilation, war, circumcision, castration, and incest are perfectly 'moral' actions in certain cultures. Is God confused?"

Morality should have a firmer base than belief and superstition. It should come from seeing how things are, from understanding The Golden Rule: "Do to others as you’d like others to do to you." Others are just like us in their hopes, fears and aspirations; everyone wants to be happy; no-one wants to suffer or be sad. When we put ourselves into others’ shoes and feel what they feel, we will know better how to treat them.

But there are always exceptions to any rule, and the Golden Rule is no exception. What is good for us might not always be good for others, and the converse is equally so. Right may be wrong and wrong may be right, depending upon the point-ofview. Vegetarians would not be happy if offered meat. Meat-eaters might not be happy if served vegetarian food. So, "Do to others as you would like others to do to you" doesn't always work. It would be better phrased negatively, as Confucius did: "What you don't like others to do to you, don't do that to others."

One of Aesop's Fables tells of a friendship ~ or a kind of friendship, a tenuous one ~ between a Fox and a Stork. One day, the Fox invited the Stork to dinner, and served soup on flat plates, which the Stork could not eat, of course, but which the Fox lapped up, happy over its trick.

Not long after, the Stork repaid the 'courtesy' by inviting the Fox to dinner, and served soup in a long-necked pitcher, which the Fox was unable to get its nose and tongue into. The Stork then showed the Fox how it was to be done, smiling all over its beak.

It is a mistake to suppose that because we ourselves like something, other people will like it, too, as that doesn't always follow. To avoid confusion, we might ask people what they prefer, and try to compromise.