Ask Bil Anything

José asks,

Does being religious make people moral?

My immediate answer is no! Being religious doesn’t automatically make people moral. It’s a difficult question, though, so let’s look at some different thoughts.

For starters, I thought I was a Christian for years. Then along came the Evangelicals (Fundamentalists) who today operate so far from what I consider Christian that I no longer want to be a Christian due to their idolization of the forty-fifth president and Project 2025. They have lost their moral compass, so the answer is no! They’re religious but void of a moral system.

My father was an Episcopal priest. At three weeks old, I was baptized a Christian. Later, as a young adult I realized I was baptized an Episcopal Christian. (There are 41,000 different versions of Christianity.) My baptism vows said nothing about an ethical system. My godmother said that she was going to make certain that I renounced evil, Satan, and all sinful desires and follow Jesus Christ, whatever that meant. But I never heard from her.

I have always considered myself religious but had no idea about a Christian system of ethics. It never came up. Had I been asked, I would probably have said, “The Ten Commandments are my morality system.”

Why?

Jesus was always Jewish. The early church was Jewish. Jews wrote the New Testament. In 88 CE the Followers of the Way (the Way referring to Jesus) were expelled from Judaism (they disagreed over who the Messiah was) but were still Jewish. So along with them came the Ten Commandments and the 613 laws as their moral and ethical system.

For years, I thought Christian ethics were based on the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule. Most Christians feel the same. That presents a couple of huge problems.

Since seminary in 1960, I thought the Jews had a code of morality. It seemed to be the glue that made them survive over five thousand years. Wrong! These laws seem to be there just when they are convenient. For example, what Israel, a Jewish nation, is doing to the Palestinians violates not only so many of the laws of Judaism but all the laws of humanity. It’s genocide! A Holocaust in reverse. Much of the world agrees. Their history says that this isn’t the first time. A convenient code of ethics still means no! I’m now accused of being anti-Semitic, but I’d rather be called anti-Semitic than pro-genocide.

My moral compass came from my parents and was reinforced by the many environments in which I lived. Then, about forty years ago, I realized the power of the Great Commandment.

One of Christianity’s best-kept secrets is found in the New Testament (see Matthew 22:34–49 and Mark 12:28–44), coming from the Old Testament, when Jesus combined Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, resulting in the Great Commandment or Summary of the Law. Let me paraphrase: You shall love (agape) Creation (my concept of God), your neighbor (humanity), and yourself. No one told me that, even in seminary. That’s my moral compass, and it delivers on a daily basis by utilizing situation ethics (basically the idea that right and wrong depend on the situation at hand).

It reminds me daily that I must practice unconditional love to Creation, my neighbor, and myself. This love includes lots of forgiveness and a life dedicated to caring for my fellow human beings.

So, José, I think it’s impossible for religion to have a moral compass. But it’s up to each of us to work it out for ourselves.

PeaceLoveJoyHopeKindness

Bil

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P.S. People often ask me provocative questions about current events, both religious and secular. I have found that some of these questions are being asked universally. I’ll be periodically alternating regular articles with one of those questions and my answer. I invite you to send me your question to bilaulenbach@yahoo.com.