The Washington critic., 1890-02-09
MORALITY.


belief In a Supreme Being aud emotions OF
fear or love toward Him2 This IS the most
important question that eonfronts the
Nationalist, aud upon the answer depends
the acceptance or rejection OF free |
thoughtn by the masses; for II is not the
true but the apparently useful that attracts
men. The Christian lady who said. 81 like
my religion, and would believe 1t even II
] knew IT. wasn't true.n expressed an
absurdity which few would dare to
avow, but which mulutudes act upon.
The same attitude OF mind was evidenced
by the man who said: ~ never allow my
self to read anything that would disturb
my simple faith.n IL Is what is agreeable
rather than what Is verified that secures ad-
hesion. Before Rationalism can gain ae-
ceptance beyond the limited circle Of logi-
cal thinkers II must demonstrate its utility
and pleasantness. II has long stood on the
defensive, and with many apologies and
explanations has labored to prove that 1t Is
not as bad In its results as is charged by its
opponents, but the time has come for it to
be aggressive, and not only to declare that
men can be good without God, but to
boldly maintain that no one can be truly
good who believes in God.
WHAT IS TT TO BE GooDP
Is to renounce the world, fast. pray,
do penance, mediate on holy thingsg Is
IL to be charitable, giving away little of
the millions gained by commercial usages
Of doubtful morality? Isit to be q pillar
of the church,a expounder at prayer meet
ings, promoter OF benevolent societies?
| is it to keep the "ten commandments and
conform to all the moral requirements Of
| church and society? Reference to the
| dictionary shows forty definitions OF the
word good; but the primary sense is said to
! be-strong. Its most general usage is per-
| haps IN the sense of useful or suitable, and
the noun is defined as ''that which creates
happiness" Spencer regards good as
meaning adaptibility TO an end. To be
| good, one must be just and kind,
and to do good one must act for the gen
eral advantage. The good man is he who, by
his conduct, adds to the happiness Of man
kind. The standard of good in the past
has been what was supposed to be the re-
vealed win of God-which VIC now know to
be merely the opinions of the ancients as to
what constituted goodness. They personi-
fed these attributes to Yahweh, and put
into his mouth their own conceptions Of
right conduct. The world has gained better
ideas Of what is good, but Christians make
the mistake of still demanding respect for
this creation of God by the ancient Hebrew
mind Good has advanced, but their God
has remained stationary; and be, who con-
forms his conduct to the pattern of the
thousand or more years ago as his guide.
THE MUTABILITY OF MORALITY.
Morality changes from age to age with
the opinion of society as to what usages
are most beneficial. With regard to mar
riage, polyandry, polygamy, promiscuity
and monogamy are at varied times ac-
counted moral. Concerning dress, degrees
of clothing from the fig-leaf TO the com
plete covering serve the ideas of morality
in different lands. Christians conceal the
ankle and bare the bosom, while Moham-
medans cover the face and display the
feet. Slavery, feudalism, wages, CO.
operation express prevailing ideas OF
what was right industrially during
the past. We see, IN every drec-
tion, that there is no fixed standard OF moral
usage, but that the experience of so :iety
determines what is considered useful aud
this becomes the current morality But
one element runs through all varied usage
and constitutes the essence of morality
it is goodwill to man. lie who keeps this
sentiment supreme is good, but he whose
aspiration is the glory of an imagined
Deity in the skies may be good or bad in
his conduct and his motive is a lower one
than that of the man who lives for his fell
bowman. Man is the highest development
OF nature of which we possess any knowl-
edge. and any attention lavished upon fan
cled 1ntelligences superior to mad is wasted.
AN OBSOLETE STANDARD OF GOOD.
1t is clear that the Hebrew and Christian
God represents an obsolete standard of
good. The worshipof ''the God of Bat
ties" ard of the Heavenly Father who
damns his children, can only degrade the
worshiper. 1t is apparent that one cannot
be truly good who believes in the Bible
Cn1 n,,N I'LL. g r..
God produces q lower type of morality
than that attained to by the pure RATIONAL
list. A well established teaching of Evolu
tion is that development repeats descent
The unfolding of the embryo shows the
growth Of the race. So the development
of the mind of the individual may be con
sidered to prove the manner in which
, that in early childhood the most potent
influence is fear; in youth it is au
, thority; in manhood it is reason. The
child Is governed by dread of consequences
the youth is controlled by respect or low,
1 for those who command, and the adult act
as reasonable Judgment dictates. Observa
tion of races OF men shows the same dis
tinction according to the grade of civiliza
tion; and an examination of religions give
evidence of these distinctive motives o
: control corresponding to the culture OF th
Q devotee. The savage heathen and the ig
3 norant Christian are IN the mental condi
: tion of childhood; fear of evil spirits ant
S of hell control their conduct. The
: advanced Christian is influenced b.
a the authority of the Church, or of what h
is told is Gods Word Respect for til
priest or minister and love for God deter
Y mine his action. He is in the youthful
( stage of mental development. The Rational
ist considers the effect of his action upo
!, himself and others, and has become
n n mental adult. 1t is certainly the highes
). !. stage of development, and bears witness t,
u the justice OF the claim that til
Nationalist is the only truly moral mar
y Three boys are asked to drink liquor. The
d refuse; one because his father would bea
q him: the second because he love
his mother, who has forbidden it, tn
'. third because he has studied tn
evil. The first is heathen, the second
4 Christian, the third Nationalist. He VIII
9 does right because it is right is a highe
;. man than he who acts from love of God q
u from fear of the devil.
q WHAT is RIGHT CONDUCT?
u But, If we do not recognize the authent
y of Church or Bible, it may be asked, Wha
rules can we find to guide us In determinin
what is right conduct The ethical writing
l. of mankind through all ages have recog
q nized one foundation principle for morf
Z conduct. 1t is expressed by the Golde
Rule, "Do unto others as you would hay
a Others do unto your "Do as you would
done by" or as expressed by Confucir
IS in one word, Reciprocity. This, whe
acted upon intelligently, in the sense of d.
% ing as you ought to wish Others to do, a
g fords the best guide that the mind OF ma
e has yet formulated. An expression of I'll
d same sentiment in negative form, which
!, from its condemnation OF value may
IT termed the Diamond Rule, is, Do no harm
- This covers all the ''shall notsn of Mos,