Im agine that you are a Jew — perhaps one of the millions dis placed by World War II.
Your past is a nightmare of physical suffering and mental anguish at the hands of Europe's Jew-haters. Your present is a bitter struggle for a new life, with the humiliation and torment of the past still vivid in your memory. Your future is at best uncertain. And the hope of a coming Messiah which sustained your ancestors through wso many centuries is a fast-fading dream. W you were this Jew, how thankful would |ryou be? The American Association for Jewish Evangelism takes the glad news and bright hope of the gospel to Jews all over the world. At this Thanksgiving season help us give Jewish people something to be really thankful for. Send for a free booklet describing our work Write to Dept K Rev. A. B. Machlin, Field Secretary THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH EVANGELISM, Inc. Winona Lake, Indiana
Paul M. Aijian, Ph.D. Prof, of Apologetics, Talbot Theological Seminary
Ethical Considerations
A fter the mind has satisfied itself concerning the fundamental con stitution and structure of the uni verse in which man lives, it raises questions relative to the meaning and. purpose of human life. In a sense it is as though a man builds his home and then endeavors to find out how to live in the house most comfortably and profitably. In previous columns the question of “Where do we come from?” was examined. Beginning in this issue the second basic question will be asked— “What are we sup posed to do while we are here?” Cer tainly, no one who accepts the re sponsibilities of “ living critically”— that is, as aware of fundamental eth ica l considerations—w ill deny the seriousness of the problem. Lest the continuity of the discus sion be obscured by its length, it is wise to observe that the question of origin, and the question of attitude and b. navior are intimately connect ed. In the final analysis an ethical principle determining a specific atti tude or mode of behavior can be es tablished as essential to human life and development on ly when this principle implements the nature of man within the context of the uni- verse. No system of philosophy or religion, however uplifting it may appear, will long endure the light of sound critical/ evaluation unless that which it advocates as the valu able is determined by the basic na ture of things; and this is another way of talking about why-things-are- the-way-they-ccre, or of origins. This notion of the unity of meta physical and eth ica l considerations may be illustrated by the simple mechanism of asking anytime some thing is assessed a value (either good or bad) why it is so adjudged. The end of this regressing series of whys brings the inquirer into the realm of the fundamental nature and origin of
that which is under discussion. Why, for example, is stealing bad? One may reply that stealing is bad be cause it means that a person takes that which is owned by another. But why, the inquiry continues, is it bad to take what is owned by another? The answer here may be that such a course of action violates the in tegrity of personality. Then, why is it bad to violate the integrity of personality? In answering this ques tion one comes face to face with the meaning of personality to discover that it is unique by virtue of its di vine origin. This is to say, that steal ing is bad, finally, because the di vinely created nature of man is vio lated. There have been monumental attempts to establish the intrinsic val ue of personality without reference to its origin. However, the history of the last decade bears witness to the near impossibility of maintaining re spect for human values without a di vine reference. Perhaps more signifi cantly than has been thought in pre vious years the events of today’s his tory are making clear to men that practical politics and considerations of human rights are not to be di vorced from the fundamental notion of what the nature of man makes ab so lu te ly necessary in the area of ethics. From the earliest times in the de velopment of Western thought men have endeavored to establish the ob jectivity- of their value judgments. It is not enough for the mind of man simply to accept something as good; man must also determine to the best of his ability whether or not this something actually is good. To this end elaborate ethical systems have been built. Each has purported to establish the metaphysical “ clue” by which human behavior is to be di rected. The Platonist found his an swer in an eternal Form of the Good
W rite fo r FREE E X A M I N A T I O N C O P Y
Songst H YMN S OF THE LIVING FAITH LIGHT AND LIFE PRESS L E A R N AT H O M E TO HELP THE SICK There's always a demand— at high pay— for those skilled in caring for the sick. You can learn in spare time to be a nurse's aide, practical nurse or infant nurse. Men and women, 18-60. High school not required 1, Physi cians endorse course; graduates get jobs' quickly. Easy payments; earn as you learn. Trial plan. 54th year. - i -CHICAGO SCHOOL OF NURSING »epf. a OI I ( 4 | gast pearson Street, Chicago II, III. Please send me free booklet and 16 sample lesson pages. Name ___________ ' ____________ . .. City ___________________________ State ________ Age . which all human value embodied to some degree. The Stoic called his “ clue” the Rationality by which all human behavior must ultimately be directed. The Neo-platonist rendered the underlying ethical principle as a divine energy by which all things come to be and to attain a status in the scale, of values. The Christian seeks to know the meaning of God’s will as the ultimate standard of his life and thought. In every case the question “What are we supposed to do while we are here?” cannot be answered without striking through the changing pattern of social life and its expediencies to something which appeals to the human mind as unchanging and therefore norma tive. END. 29 N O V E M B E R 1 9 5 3
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online