(I first posted this in my Blog section. As per Buzz's request, I am posting this here, as well. By "morals," I am referring to Christian values.)
What has happened to morality in our culture? What has happened to morality in our entertainment? Why do some of our heroes act more like villains? And why are villains and monsters in entertainment treated like the good-guys?
While teaching Sequential Art, the art of making comics, to college students, I often start a conversation about these very topics. I ask the question: “What has happened to our morals?” Not too long ago, one student replied: “We have none.”
How scary is that; especially coming from a young person who stated it in such a matter-of-fact way?
I address a bunch of this stuff in my comic, AN ACT OF FAITH. I’m drawing the second-half of AN ACT OF FAITH #7, the third part of “The Return of the Green Knight” story.
My next issue, AN ACT OF FAITH #4, will go on sale at the beginning of July.
Here’s three pages from AN ACT OF FAITH #7 which focuses a bit on some of the things that I addressed above. (Nemish-Man is not having a good day.) Also, on the second page, you can really see a couple of comics’ great creators’ influences on my storytelling.
Replies
Alika: A testament to your brilliance!
Cool, here's a submission:
Panel 1: [later that day, Eden] Landscape shot, two stand on a hill one's back to us pointing at the other.
Panel 2: "<Dogs, 'Bark'.>" Adam points out Jesus holding up a dog.
Panel 3: "<Ducks, 'Quack'.>" Adam says pointing at Jesus holding up a duck.
Panel 4: "<Evolutionists, 'Chimp'.>" Jesus laughs holding a chimpanzee, "<Bwahaha.>" "<What's so funny?>" Adam asks and Jesus replies, "<Remember, what I told you to call me.>"
Panel 5: "<Yeah but what's so funny, Flying Spaghetti Monster?>" w/ the Chimp running on all fours(mouth open canines showing) out of the panel, only Jesus' hands and feet up in the air are seen in the background reeling w/ laughter.
Panel 6: Credits
Panel 7: "<Wait till I grow out some dreads.>" Jesus says as they walk away down the hill. "<Is that what we call black Jews?>" Adam asks as Jesus replies, "<Jesus.>" [<translated from Hebrew.>]
Alika: You and I should do a few comic strips together. I've decided that from this point on, I will ask you to make a strip with me every time I read one of your posts and every time I am reminded of your existence. WHAT SAY YOU PARSONS?!
Alcoholics Anonymous is a state-backed(not necessarily funded) cult made by alcoholics for alcoholics, where the one's at the top make six figures while everyone else's all for charity.
Everyone outside of Christ is a sinner(sinful): atheists, jains, buddhists, and pagans are not moral being full of sin. Otherwise you're saying it's moral to sin, and it's not.
Moral
mor·al [/ˈmôrəl/, mawr-uh
l, mor-]
adjective
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Deuteronomy 6:5 - And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Leviticus 19:18 - Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:34 - But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Matthew 7:12 - Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Luke 6:27-31
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Galatians 6:10 - As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
1 Thessalonians 5:15 - See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
Cultures all over the world other than Christian adhere to the golden rule in some form or another because:
1) Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
and 2)
Genesis 2:17 - But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 3:6 - And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
All descendants of Adam have the knowledge of good and evil, most just choose not to use it, which leads to:
Prohibition
Ignorantly, Christians had a hand in prohibition and still pat themselves on the back for what happened. Unbeknownst to them tho they just created a win-win situation for the politicians who profited greatly from the lobbyists who pushed thru the agenda while still keeping favor with the public.
Amendment XVIII of the United States Constitution
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
They crushed the market, the industry, any form of competition, and authorized the Revenue Service to enforce/solidify it. They funded/organized the underground-market, organized the crime families, and compartmentalized the bureau investigating/leading the war on crime. They single-handedly took away any ability/chance for Americans to be self-sufficient energy producers for health, wealth and transportation of their person. And set the stage for another world war. Christians take/get the credit/blame for the Constitution's 18th amendment. But woodrow and his 66th congress&senate are the whores partial to the creators of industry who deserve all the responsibility for what happened. Even though they covered their backs, coming out squeaky clean, all thanks go to Christians who made it so much more easier.
Hosea 4:6 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Morals are on the decline because people reject God, by rejecting His Word. When the Bible's no longer true. When we start believing we came from animals. When we no longer have a standard to live by and allow nature(sin) to take over we reject("there is no") good and evil -it's all naturalé.
Why is that? Has contemporary society changed all that much from the ancient & medieval worlds? Or have we as stewards of the Word gone adrift, and what we present to the world is not what Christ taught?
I suppose I would argue that just as many people centuries ago had gone astray, and did what was right in their own sight, but that what was right often took on the trappings of Christianity - because its dominance was assumed in America. People aren't becoming more corrupt - they were always corrupt. What was no doubt keeping the reprobate in check before was militant social ostracism and good old fashioned Puritan derision.
If I wanted to have sex with everyone in my high school class, and my parents and friends were all like, "That makes Jesus cry but He still loves you anyway, just saying, not trying to judge, come to our Youth Group though we sing songs that are fun, etc.," I probably wouldn't take Christianity very seriously myself. Why should we expect anyone else to?
Buzz, values can still be called Christian values even if they are accepted by other groups, even if in part; Al's beliefs, for instance, are still his own even I share some of them. Al is talking about why the values that Christians share have digressed in our current culture. That is the topic he's addressing - not whether Christian values are exclusively Christian values or whether the Golden Rule is universal.
Buzz- I really don’t have the time to be dragged into an extensive online theological debate. I think it’s pretty clear what I’ve previously stated. We all have free will. We all can choose to sin, or not. As Christians, we should choose to follow Jesus.
>I understand, Al, but as I pointed out, it's possible for an atheist or a Jain or a Buddhist or a pagan to sincerely say & follow the Golden Rule which means even though Christ taught it, it isn't uniquely Christian.
Jesus taught on more than just that we should treat others the way that we would want to be treated.
>You cite drunkenness, fornication (which I presume to mean sexual relations outside of marriage), abortion, and homosexuality as things that are supported by secular people. Do you mean they actually support those things specifically, or or do they support an individual's freedom of choice to engage in those things?
Both. My secular friends think that people should be able to do these things, and if they themselves feel inclined to do so, as well, then they will.
I’m going to see if I can answer your questions, Buzz…
Are secular “values” really values? Many secular people that I know support things like drunkenness, fornication, abortion, and homosexuality. And, clearly, these are not things that the God of the Bible supports.
So, really, I am referring to the way we should act as accordingly to what Jesus taught during His earthly ministry. As Christians, we should use Jesus, the Messiah, as our example.