The Poison of Subjectivism

I think that subjectivism as Lewis defined it is very common in our society. Our country highly values its personal freedoms, and I think that lots of people think that they have the freedom to decide what is right and what is wrong. There is a growing trend in which people do things that are traditionally viewed as immoral and then defend themselves by saying that they don't think that what they are doing is wrong. I think that this is the subjectivism that Lewis is referring to.

One common trend that I see in moral subjectivism is that people generally use it in order to benefit themselves. People change their morals in order to allow things like extramarital sex, abortion, stem cell research, and other things that are convenient to them. Now, I am not saying that every one of these things is wrong, but that we need to look to the Bible and make an objective decision on whether each of them is right or wrong. Morals are not always convenient to us, and when we make moral decisions, we should not be considering which side is better for us, but which side is right.

Often, when someone is criticized for doing something immoral, he or she says that the person who is criticizing is judgmental. This is one of the most common criticisms that people put on Christians. In one sense, I can see this accusation of judgmentalism as a poor excuse for someone who is doing something wrong. On the other hand, the Bible tells us not to be quick to judge, because however we judge others, we will be judged. I think that while we should not be particularly fierce in judging people, we need to at some point make people accountable for their decisions.