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Wondering What to Believe?

  1. Does Nature Give Proof of God?
    8 Digging Deeper
  2. Can I Hear God's Voice?
    8 Digging Deeper
  3. Who is God?
    8 Digging Deeper
  4. Who Wrote the Bible?
    8 Digging Deeper
  5. Can I Trust the Bible?
    7 Digging Deeper
  6. Is there a Right and Wrong?
    7 Digging Deeper
  7. Why Does God Allow Evil?
    9 Digging Deeper
  8. Who Am I?
    7 Digging Deeper
  9. What is the Meaning of Life?
    7 Digging Deeper
  10. Does God Love Me?
    5 Digging Deeper
Lesson 6, Digging Deeper 1
In Progress

The different standards for determining what is right and what is wrong.

Would it be because they have different standards of determining right and wrong? What one person by his standard says is right, another person by his standard says is wrong. The root problem is that they have different standards. A business that sells fabric by a yard of 36 inches would measure a different cut of cloth than a business that sells fabric by a yard of 30 inches. Or, in the metric system, if a business used a measurement of 100 centimeters to a meter to sell fabric that would differ from a business that used a measurement of 70 centimeters per meter. The problem is not with a merchant’s honesty and sincerity, or feelings or conscience, but with the standards used for a yard or a meter.

Our conscience can be compared to an alarm clock that is set to alarm at a certain time. The feeling or sense of “good and right” or “bad and wrong” is determined by the time the clock is set to alarm. When the alarm sounds, the conscience is pricked telling the person that a certain behavior is bad. As long as the clock runs and the alarm doesn’t sound, the person feels good about what he does. The settings of our “conscience clock” can be changed by teaching or experience.

Why do people have different answers or standards on what is right and wrong? Consider some of the reasons.

a. They want to justify what they do and not be criticized or condemned for it.

b. They reject all forms of authority and do not want anyone telling them what to do.

c. They think that the views of the majority determine morality.

d. They trust the judicial system. Whatever is legal is moral.

e. They trust their own conscience and feelings to tell them what is right and wrong. Their mantra is, “If I feel good after it, it is moral; if I feel bad after it, it is immoral.”

f. They follow the teachings of whatever their religion says is right or wrong.

g. They believe in a personal God who has given revelation that says some things are right and some things are wrong.

h. They search the stars for astrological signs or believe in horoscopes or karma to determine right and wrong.

i. They believe that “whatever is the loving thing to do in any circumstance” is right and that whatever is unloving is wrong.

Can you think of other reasons why people have different answers of right and wrong?