Politics and moral relativism
From PhiloWiki
Is it possible to build a modern political system based upon moral relativism? Or is there a dictatorship of moral relativism?
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Christian views
- "Several years ago Cardinal Ratzinger and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith brought a firestorm of relativist criticism on their heads with a document reaffirming the unique role of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church in God's redemptive plan. This was news? In an age of relativism, it apparently was.
- As a frontal assault on the very possibility of objective truth, relativism is by far the most destructive intellectual current of our times. It turns both private and public life into moral swamps. Pope Benedict has battled relativism for many years. As he continues the struggle now as leader of the Church, he deserves encouragement and support."
- "For the late John Paul II, the issue was Eastern Europe. For the new Pope Benedict XVI, the issue is Western Europe. History may find it difficult to judge who had the more difficult task.
- I visited Poland in the early 1980s, not long after John Paul II had lit the spark that marked the beginning of the end of communism. It was clear, in Warsaw and other major cities, that Poland's strong Catholic tradition had become a major rallying point in the battle for freedom. Inside, the churches were packed; outside, fields of votive candles burned brightly in testimony to the desire for freedom.
- Over the years, I have much more often visited Western Europe, where the churches are virtually empty -- only 20 percent of Europeans say religion plays "an important role" in their lives, compared with 60 percent of Americans, according to one poll -- and the cathedrals serve as little more than tourist sites.
- Shortly before his election as pope, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger identified the problem as a "dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as definitive and has as its highest value one's own ego and one's own desires." While his election reflected loyalty to the legacy of John Paul II, it also underlined the Catholic Church's recognition that its first order of business is to shore up its base at the historic center of Christianity.
- Much of the secular press immediately jumped on the choice of Cardinal Ratzinger. The word most used to describe the new pope has been "unbending" -- as if a priest shouldn't hold strong views about morality. Or, as Times of London columnist Gerard Baker noted acidly last week, the mainstream media headline might have read: "Cardinals Elect Catholic Pope. World in Shock."
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Secular views
- Resources are needed. Feel free to find and add resources.
