Nuance
Posted by: ba <ba@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Understanding the Times
Nuance
by Emmett Smith
According to Friday's issue of "The Bruin", the
UCLA International Institute hosted Peter Singer
recently as a guest lecturer. The lecture was
derived from his new book, "The President of Good
& Evil: The Ethics of George W. Bush". Speaking
critically of the President, Singer addressed what
he considers, "ethical contradictions", in
President Bush's policies.
What business does Singer have discussing Ethics?
Well, he's the DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at
Princeton University. His "ethics", however, are
far from the mainstream, and when one notes that
the mainstream these days is far removed from the
Biblical worldview, that's saying a lot. During
his criticism of the President's opposition to
stem cell research funding, Singer said, "I don't
deny that embryos are human, and I don't deny that
they're living, but I don't think it makes them,
(in Bush's words) 'something precious to be
protected'".
Singer's comment on Bush's "simplistic" morality
was, "I think he has a ... very literalist reading
of what (being) an ethicist requires; it requires
a lot more nuance, not just the black-and-white
terms of 'good' and 'evil'." The very definition
of nuance includes the term subtle. Which brings
to mind that Genesis 3:1 refers to the serpent as,
"more subtle than any beast of the field".
Yes, the evil one loves nuance. It's of
inestimable value in the process of
rationalization. Pretty soon, one learns to, "call
evil good and good evil" and to "put darkness for
light and light for darkness" (Isa. 5:20). Ethics
is, by definition, the study of morality. It's too
bad Mr. Singer hasn't spent more time studying the
Master Text.
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