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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: August 5th, 2023

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  • I’m gonna be a pedant here. I understand (I think) what you’re trying to express and differentiate. It’s just the words aren’t perfectly accurate.

    “Personal” ethics are morals. Ethics are community based standards or principles, morals are personal standards. Some people equate morals to religious guidelines or principles, but morals don’t have to be religious (nor do distinctions of good and evil, right and wrong). Personal understanding of what is right or wrong is a moral standing. It is possible to have morals (personal belief) based on ethics (community standard), but they are still morals.

    IMO, anyway.

    Morals can be principally driven, and often are even in people that don’t understand the principle that underlies an ethical standard. For instance, a conscientious objector might still defend themselves or others from personal violence. In this case the underlying principle is one of, say, political neutrality, or perhaps political opposition, not pacifism. And yet the person themselves might not be able to put into words why is okay to use violence one on one, but not militarily. I’m rambling

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  • The same way I feel about Nebuchadnezzar saying he was the greatest and most accomplished (Daniel 4:28-30). The same way I feel about Herod Agrippa I accepting adoration intended for God (Acts 12:21-23). Jesus said lots of people would say they were the Christ (Matthew 24:4,5). It’s not surprising, it is shameful, and the Creator of all things will resolve it in their own time and way.

    My only worry is that I try to live my life by the instruction and guidance I find from the Creator. For me a lot of that is in the Bible. It’s a personal decision, and a personal devotion. I don’t expect anyone else to abide by these understandings, and I work really hard not to judge others for their personal decisions. This takes work because it’s not how I was raised, but it is what I’ve learned from the Bible (Matthew 7:1).

    The only moral decisions I need concern myself with are my own. I didn’t always succeed in that endeavor. It’s a work in progress.