Morals are the prevailing standards of behavior that enable people to live cooperatively in groups. Moral refers to what societies sanction as right and acceptable. Most people tend to act morally and follow societal guidelines. Morality describes the particular values of a specific group at a specific point in time.

Accepting this moral wrong because of moral relativism based on culture is dangerous as it leads to indifference. If we cannot judge and moral rightness depends on certain cultures, then “anything goes”. Moral relativism leads to moral paralysis and indifference.

Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of one’s culture. That is, whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another.

James Rachels’ article, Morality is Not Relative, discusses Cultural Relativism and its fallacy along with the Cultural Differences Argument, which according to ourhappyschool.com is “Different cultures have different moral codes. Therefore, there is no objective “truth” in morality.

Humans have a moral sense because their biological makeup determines the presence of three necessary conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one’s own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgments; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action.

God approves of right actions because they are right and disapproves of wrong actions because they are wrong (moral theological objectivism, or objectivism). So, morality is independent of God’s will; however, since God is omniscient He knows the moral laws, and because He’s moral, He follows them.

“Morality does not rely on religion” “A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. “Some theists say that ethics cannot do without religion because the very meaning of ‘good’ is nothing other than ‘what God approves’.

Morality does not necessarily depend upon religion, despite some making “an almost automatic assumption” to this effect. According to The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics, religion and morality “are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other.

The Bible’s Old Testament is very similar to the Hebrew Bible, which has origins in the ancient religion of Judaism. The exact beginnings of the Jewish religion are unknown, but the first known mention of Israel is an Egyptian inscription from the 13th century B.C.

Jesus ( c. 4 BC – AD 30 / 33), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world’s largest religion.

Dispensations

• Innocence – Adam under probation prior to the Fall.
• Conscience – From the Fall to the Great Flood.
• Human Government – After the Great Flood, humanity is responsible to enact the death penalty.
• Promise – From Abraham to Moses.
• Law – From Moses to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity or god responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator.

Muhammad

But nobody really knows exactly when Jesus was born. Some scholars think that he was born between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C., based partly on the biblical story of Herod the Great.

An Earth god is a deification of the Earth. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra. Egyptian mythology has a sky goddess, Nut and an Earth god, Geb.

The ancient Greeks personified the sun as a handsome god named Helios. His astronomical pedigree was impeccable: He was the son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia. Helios was also the brother of Selene, the goddess of the Moon, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn.

What makes the Earth habitable? It is the right distance from the Sun, it is protected from harmful solar radiation by its magnetic field, it is kept warm by an insulating atmosphere, and it has the right chemical ingredients for life, including water and carbon.

Aeolus

The problem with individual moral relativism is that it lacks a concept of guiding principles of right or wrong. “One of the points of morality is to guide our lives, tell us what to do, what to desire, what to object to, what character qualities to develop and which ones not to develop,” said Jensen.

Ethical relativism reminds us that different societies have different moral beliefs and that our beliefs are deeply influenced by culture. It also encourages us to explore the reasons underlying beliefs that differ from our own, while challenging us to examine our reasons for the beliefs and values we hold.

The idea of Cultural Relativism, as stated above, is appealing and a good scapegoat for the idea of what is moral. Based off of each individual society, certain acts are considered good while others are considered evil. If one abnormal travels to another culture, they could be considered moral.

The disadvantage of ethical relativism is that truth, right and wrong, and justice are all relative. Just because a group of people think that something is right does not make it so. Slavery is a good example of this. In this, relativism would be inconsistent, since it would deny beliefs of absolute values.

Relativism and Absolutism – Strengths and Weaknesses

• Relativists believe in tolerance and respect for other people’s societies.
• Relativism rejects moral imperialism (one culture/society forcing their “superior” morals on another culture/society).
• Language isn’t neutral – culture determines language.
• Truth lies in the ideas of the masses.

Opponents of moral relativism often argue that there is a universal morality, a code of right and wrong that unites all of existence. They also claim that moral relativism allows for actions that are immoral, like slavery or genocide, simply by framing them as a cultural value.

Moral relativism holds that morals are not absolute but are shaped by social customs and beliefs. Moral objectivism maintains there’s a single set of moral standards that should be adhered to. There are rights and wrongs which are universal. Morals are not defined simply by society or the individual.

Relativism, roughly put, is the view that truth and falsity, right and wrong, standards of reasoning, and procedures of justification are products of differing conventions and frameworks of assessment and that their authority is confined to the context giving rise to them.

The difference between individualistic moral relativism and cultural moral relativism is that: there are no objective moral values. While for cultural moral relativism what is right or wrong varies from society/culture to society/culture or traditions.

Cultural relativism refers to not judging a culture to our own standards of what is right or wrong, strange or normal. For example, instead of thinking, “Fried crickets are disgusting! ” one should instead ask, “Why do some cultures eat fried insects?”.

Would that suffice? If you think the answer to either question is yes, then chances are you are a moral relativist. You may hold that generally, as Hamlet put it, “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Moral relativism has as bad a reputation as any view about morality could.

Cultural relativism wrongly claims that each culture has its own distinct but equally valid mode of perception, thought, and choice. Cultural relativism, the opposite of the idea that moral truth is universal and objective, contends there is no such thing as absolute right and wrong.

What Are the Disadvantages of Cultural Relativism?

• It creates a system that is fueled by personal bias.
• It would create chaos.
• It is an idea that is based on the perfection of humanity.
• It could promote a lack of diversity.
• It draws people away from one another.
• It could limit moral progress.

Cultural Relativism says, in effect, that there is no such thing as universal truth in ethics; there are only the various cultural codes, and nothing more. Cultural Relativism challenges our belief in the objectivity and universality of moral truth.

Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. The goal of this is promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one’s own culture.

Cultural Relativism, as it has been called, challenges our ordinary belief in the objectivity and universality of moral truth. It says, in effect, that there is not such thing as universal truth in ethics; there are only the various cultural codes, and nothing more. Different societies have different moral codes.

Someone doesn’t need to be moral to be ethical. Someone without a moral compass may follows ethical codes to be in good standing with society. On the other hand, someone can violate ethics all the time because they believe something is morally right.

According to this understanding, “ethics” leans towards decisions based upon individual character, and the more subjective understanding of right and wrong by individuals – whereas “morals” emphasises the widely-shared communal or societal norms about right and wrong.

Moral rules or principles differ from normative ones of other kinds (such as rules or principles of law, etiquette, or clubs) in that moral rules or principles indicate what agents morally ought to do or are morally allowed to do, or what deserves moral praise and admiration. …

Moral law is a system of guidelines for behavior. For example, murder, theft, prostitution, and other behaviors labeled immoral are also illegal. Moral turpitude is a legal term used to describe a crime that demonstrates depravity in one’s public and private life, contrary to what is accepted and customary.

Third, are God’s moral laws. These relate to justice and judgment. They are based on God’s own holy nature. As such, these ordinates are holy, just and unchanging. Moral laws encompass regulations on justice, respect and sexual conduct.

While morals tend to be driven by personal beliefs and values, there are certainly some common morals that most people agree on, such as:

• Always tell the truth.
• Do not destroy property.
• Have courage.
• Keep your promises.
• Do not cheat.
• Treat others as you want to be treated.
• Do not judge.
• Be dependable.

What three moral rules must never be violated when making conscience decisions? Never do evil so good may result from it, Do others whatever you would have the do to you, Love your neighbor as yourself.

what is the first rule of moral law? do good and avoid evil. what do the rules of moral behavior tell us? what we ought to do, and tells us what things to do.