[Matt Adams]

Ken-

I’ll openly admit that I haven’t had a lot of discussions with you on these boards, nor have I had the chance to meet you in person, so we’re obviously not that close of friends. However, as I read the several question you posed… I thought for a while, and I realize that I believe the answers are somewhat straightforward in my mind.

I think that FIRST, because it works so often within public schools, often limits talks of deep philosophy, simply due to do things like the separation of church and state. You can’t really talk any sort of deep life philosophy, unless it has all elements of God removed it.

However, as Christian, I see these questions and can’t help but try to answer them. As a disclaimer, I’m not going to argue about God’s existence or the validity of my beliefs in this or any other thread, though if anyone would like to write me an email, send a private message, or IM me, I’d be more than happy to talk with you. Please don't reply to this post to try to rebuke my beliefs and take this thread off topic.

I answer these questions based on what I believe to be true. I’ve rearranged the order so that they flow a little bit better with my thought process.

Originally Posted by Ken Leung

If we make that decision based on the values we learned when we were growing up, and if all values in a society are all cultural relative, who can say what is the absolute right or wrong decision?

I think that all of your questions actually stem from this one. I think that sometimes people use the ideas of moral values and moral practices interchangably. I don’t believe that moral values are relative; rather, I believe that they are absolute. However, it’s very obvious that moral practices do indeed differ. One of my favorite apologists, Dr. William Craig, put it best:

Originally Posted by Dr. William Lane Craig

One may say, for instance, that some action, say, rape, may not be socially advantageous and so in the course of human development has become taboo; but that does absolutely nothing to prove that rape is really wrong. Without absolute values, there's nothing really wrong with your raping someone.

But the problem is that objective values do exist, and deep down we all know it. There's no more reason to deny the objective reality of moral values than the objective reality of the physical world. Actions like rape, cruelty, and child abuse aren't just socially unacceptable behavior--they're moral abominations. Some things are really wrong. Similarly love, equality, and self-sacrifice are really good.

You can read some more about this in a debate he particpated in.

I think people sometimes decide that because some cultures and individuals differ in certain moral practices, there must not be any objective moral values. However, I just don't see this to be true. I’ve summarized briefly some part of a paper by Francis J. Beckwith, titled Philosophical Problems With Moral Relativism, which support this belief.

Originally Posted by Francis Beckwith

The fact that people disagree about something does not mean there is no objective truth. If you and I disagree about whether or not the earth is round, for example, this is not proof that the earth has no shape. In moral discussion, the fact that a Neo-Nazi and I may disagree about whether we should treat people equally and fairly is not sufficient evidence to say that equality and fairness have no objective value. Even if individuals and cultures held no values in common, it does not follow from this that nobody is right or wrong about the correct values. That is, there could be a morally erring individual or culture, such as Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.

One can’t conclude that because cultures and individuals differ in moral practices that they do not share common values. For example, the fact that some female islanders who live in the South Seas do not cover their chests and British women do doesn't mean that the former do not value modesty. Due to the climate, environmental conditions, and certain religious beliefs, the people of the South Seas have developed certain practices by which to manifest the transcultural value of modesty. Although cultures may differ about how they manifest such values as honesty, courage, and the preserving of life, they do not promote dishonesty, cowardice, or arbitrary killing.

Sometimes, apparent moral differences are not moral differences at all but factual differences. For example, many people who live in India do not eat cows because they believe in reincarnation — that these cows may possess the souls of deceased human beings. In the United States we do not believe cows have human souls. For this reason, we eat cows — but we do not eat Grandma. It appears on the surface, therefore, that there is a fundamental value difference between Indians and Americans. This is a hasty conclusion, however, for both cultures do believe it is wrong to eat Grandma; the Indians, however, believe the cow may be Grandma. Thus it is a factual and not a value difference that divides our culinary habits.

In short, Ken, the answer to your question is that I believe there are indeed objective moral values. I personally find this to be evidence of God. If God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist. However, objective values do exist. Therefore, God exists.

This leads into the next set of questions:

Who am I to say I am qualified to decide what’s good for the future?

How do I know I am doing the right thing?

And for that matter, how can anyone say they are qualified to decide what’s good for the future?

I think what you’re asking here is along the lines of ultimate life philosophy. I’ll share my beliefs; perhaps they can give you some perspective while you try to answer these questions for yourself.

I believe that God is mysterious. I also believe that God can sometimes be subtle. However, I believe that God has also made many things extremely clear so that we can know what He wants us to do with our lives. I think that the foremost on God’s desires is that God wants us to know Him, trust Him, and obey Him. For me, I believe the Bible has provided me with the inspired word of God so that I can get a chance to know God, have good reasons to trust Him, and know what God has told me to do, so I can obey Him.

Originally Posted by Mark 12:28-31

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

I know that a lot of people find a deep amount of satisfaction from participation in FIRST. I do too. However, I know in my heart, that I have never found engineering, science, or even inspiring that knowledge in other people to be ultimately rewarding. I don’t base who I am, or my lifelong accomplishments on how many people I’ve taught to drill holes, weld, or pick gear ratios. Personally, I believe that even if our country falls to the bottom of worldwide lists of technological innovation, that’s okay. I believe there is much more to life than things like FIRST, and I also share the opinion that people who try to commit their entire life to something like participation in FIRST this will have a difficult time finding ultimate lifelong satisfaction.

So Ken, that’s what I believe. I hope that you’re successful on your endeavors to find your purpose in life, and that you can find the answer those questions for yourself.

Again, I’ll close with this disclaimer.
I’m not going to argue about God’s existence or the validity of my beliefs in this or any other thread. If anyone would like to write me an email, send a private message, or IM me, I’d be more than happy to talk with you. Please don't reply to this post to try to rebuke my beliefs and take this thread off topic. Please feel free to share your own.

I hope this helps,

Matt