November 7, 2004

Mindekirken, Nov. 7, 2004
Pastor Jens Arne Dale

Today I’ll deliver some reflections on the last verse of the text, the golden rule: Do to others as you would have them to do to you.

Are there universal ethics? Do the Indians of the Amazon jungle have the same concept of right and wrong as farmers on the prairie in Minnesota? Are Chinese morals similar to good Norwegian manners?

The answer to this question is YES. There is a universal ethic. When Pharaoh built the Keops pyramid more than 4000 years ago, the moral standard was to a large extent the same as when George W Bush was re-elected as president in the USA.

Having said this, I feel I can hear the protests coming. Don’t we put Mother Theresa and Adolph Hitler in the same boat now? What kind of ethics do Jesus Christ and Osama bin Laden share? At this point we need to make a bit more of a distinction.

On the basis of the Bible, we’ll say that all people are created by God. They are created in his image, and in that respect we’re all God’s children. And God has given each of us a conscience. It’s an inner voice which either accuses or defends us. God may speak through our conscience, but it would be wrong to say that one’s conscience is the voice of the Lord.

Along with that, some people might have a good conscience about the strangest things. It’s not God who whispers in your ear that it’s OK to cheat on taxes as long as not you’re not caught. A man became a Christian and sent $100 to the tax authorities with the following letter: I can’t sleep at night. I’m sending you $100 that I have cheated on my taxes. If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the rest. Our conscience accuses us, depending on our culture and upbringing and the faith and values we have.

Even so, Paul says: When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts… [Rom 2.14] Why is it that people all over the world and at all times have regarded it as wrong to kill, steal, lie and commit adultery?

That’s because the requirement of the law is written in their hearts. Now right away, we have to admit that in this fallen world, God’s writing on people’s hearts is somewhat erased. To some extent, humans are morally corrupt. But even so, the thought of being good, the requirement of the law, is written upon the hearts of people. When people don’t live up to the moral standard they have, it becomes a conflict in their conscience and in the relationship with people around them, and the with the laws of society.

I think the golden rule is a good expression of a universal ethic: Do to others as you would have them to do to you. This shows that the requirement of the law is written on the hearts of people. Humans have, to some extent, "a moral sense". That’s confirmed by the fact that the golden rule in one or another form is found all over the world.

Hillel, one of the great Jewish Rabbis, was once asked if he could teach the whole law while standing on one leg. He answered: What is hateful to thee, do not to another. This is the whole law and all else is explanation.

In Islam it is said: Don’t treat someone unjustly, and you yourself will not be treated unjustly. Koran 2.279

The paser religion expresses it this way: Only that human is good who rejects doing to others what he doesn’t find good for himself. Zarathustra: Dadistan-i-dinik, 94:5

Hindus says: This is the sum of the obligations: Don’t do anything towards others that would have caused pain if it had been done to you. Mahabharata 5.1517

Confucius says: Do your best to treat others in the same way as you would like to be treated yourself. Meniscus VII A.4

It has often been remarked that in religions other than Christianity, the golden rule has been expressed by a negative statement: Don’t do to others as you wouldn’t have them to do to you. It has been said that Jesus is the first to express this positively: Do to others as you would have them to do to you. This might be true. But it’s first when we consider the commandment about loving your enemies that Jesus really is unique. The commandment to love your neighbor is found in some version in several religions.

Apparently man is a moral being who wants what is good for others. There may be a bit of variation when it comes to what we consider good for others, and we lack the ability to quite fulfill our moral obligations. But even so, we trust good things to happen in the world because the creator has given us an awareness of what is good, and to a large extent the ability to do it.

God acts in this world with his right and his left hand, Luther says. In the spiritual realm, God has given his church the task to proclaim his grace through Jesus Christ. Mission is about the growth of the kingdom of God. People must be saved. That can’t happen by any earthly power. Crusades, mission by sword and religious wars are contradictions of the gospel. Those things have been among the darkest chapters in the life of the church.

God acts in this world through the earthly realm, too, through the governing authorities who bear the sword, as Paul says in Romans 13. Rulers are instituted by God, not to be a terror to good conduct, but to bad. In a democracy, the citizens ultimately are the rulers. And when Paul says we shall be subject to the governing authorities, it has to do with respect for the law and for the democratic process.

The recognition of this is expressed for instance by the shared power in a modern democratic society. We have a legislative, a judicial and a executive branch. When we say that God does his work in this world, it happens among other things through the freedom and responsibility that he has given us. God wants us to use our common sense and at the same time have respect for the moral values he has revealed to us through the Bible.

Governing authorities have to be demonic to a certain extent before we can say they’re no longer from God. Were the authorities in Iraq under Saddam Hussein demonic to the extent that they were no longer God’s servants? The question can hardly be answered with a simple yes or no. But one must have very good causes to justify war against another country.

Talking about authorities from God in today’s world, it’s important not to limit them to the national states. The perspective has to be global. In spite of all its weak sides, I believe God makes good things happen in this world also through international organizations like the UN.

The golden rule gives us reason to have general confidence in people of all nations and religions. In a way, the world has become a smaller place in the 21^st century. The population on the planet increases, technology develops rapidly, and the communication networks get tighter and tighter.

More than ever, we face common challenges. I think of the problems of poverty and the unjust disbursement of the goods of the world. Discrimination, violence, terror and war are common challenges.

Pollution and damage of nature are not confined by national borders.

Therefore it’s important that we have a common platform for cooperation with all people of good will. The Bible teaches us that this is our responsibility, and it gives us reason to be optimistic. We shouldn’t meet people from different cultures and religions with suspicion, but with respect and understanding.

The Declaration of Human Rights got it right when it states some truths as self-evident: That all humans are born free and equal. We are supposed to meet all people with good, to seek solutions based on mutual respect: Do to others as you would have them to do to you. The golden rule is an ideal on a personal level, but also for communities and nations.

Glory be to God, the Father, Son and The Holy Spirit, one true God, now and for ever. Amen.

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