As a person with free will, what should I do when my own morals contradict what's written in the Bible?

Question

Carol M's answer truly fascinates me.

For the others who asked for more detail, I don't know... I didn't necessarily have anything in mind. I just meant as a general idea.

Answer 1

There is a reason Paul advises to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

We are warned that the heart is deceitful above all things, and that it is possible to believe a strong delusion. I am honestly baffled at people who accuse Christians of just wanting someone to tell them what to do and make decisions for them. From my perspective, being a Christian gives me more factors to consider when making a decision - all the while knowing that I am responsible for the choices I make.

When my morals contradict a Biblical principle, I have a few options. The first is to determine whether it is my conscience, my pride, or my desires that the passage contridicts. If it's honestly that it offends my conscience and not that I just really don't want to do something, I need to research the passage in question. Who was it written specifically to? What did it mean for the person it was written to?

Jesus tells us to do good and not to hide our lights under a bushel and He said when you do good works not to let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. Knowing who He was talking to and what attitude of heart He was confronting helps me to know how to apply each principle to my own heart.

Christianity is a process of conforming one's will to the will of God. I understand those who say, I must do God's will if it contradicts my own. I don't disrespect that answer. I can appreciate situations where that would be appropriate and admirable.

I can also imagine situations when it would be horrific. In those cases the person would be carrying out what they undoubtedly honestly believed a passage to command, but I wouldn't agree was the point or teaching of the passage. Like those who bomb abortion clinics. I don't see that as a Biblical teaching. To my way of thinking it goes against the Bible completely.

If I were the person in question, I would follow Paul's example. In the heat of the moment, if I had to choose, I would go with my conscience. I make a commitment to properly train my conscience according to God's word, and while the conscience is not the most accurate guide, it should not be violated lightly.

If I had time beforehand (or in the aftermath of having gone with my conscience), I would study the scripture in question more fully to see if my conscience or my understanding of the passage is out of line - and change accordingly.

Answer 2

Assuming you pay any attention to the Bible:
Unless you're more specific the answers would be hollow. But, for example, if you have misgivings about the morality of slaughtering a neighboring tribe, as the Bible's God commands on occasion, then the answer on this particular is: YOU'RE RIGHT AND THE BIBLE IS PRIMITIVELY, BARBAROUSLY WRONG!

On the other hand, if you're considering theft, murder or big-time lies, then I'd say go with the book.

For my part, I'm convinced human morality arises out of the human condition. So-called "prophets" and others merely make noises about what we already know is right and wrong - whether we believe in 0, 1, or 15,667 gods.

Answer 3

First off, so many people are incorrect when they put ideas about believing in God and religion in the same sentence. You DO NOT have to go to church and preach the teachings of Holy Bible to believe in God and live by his rules (to an extent).

I believe in God. I have my own relationship with Him and I am a very spiritual person, however, not necessarily religious. I believe that I am a good, decent, honest & hardworking person, who, yes has made mistakes. I beleive that God sees what's inside and I will be judged by that on my judgement day. He has always stood beside me and lifted me up when I have fallen. If how I lived my life offended him as the Bible says I would, then why does he pick me up everytime?

Remember, it was NOT God himself that wrote the Bible, it was man AFTER God that wrote it as an interpretation of His words and thoughts. Live your life in a decent manner. Love the Lord and believe in his Grace. I bet he'll surprise you in the end.

Answer 4

I guess 'To Thine Own Self Be True' just about covers it. After all, Christians tend to regard free will as a gift from God, rather than an inalienable birthright of humanity. This being so, how grateful would we be to any putative creator were we not to use that gift within our own lives?

However, one word of caution - Follow our own morals over the Bible's in every case except where Biblical teaching is underlined by the law of man. Flouting 'thou shalt not kill' might get you a severe telling off from God, but it'll get you shot, or arrested, or fried, by man. The law of man - not so hot on absolute free will, just one of the penalties of having to govern a society...

Answer 5

One should go with what makes the most sense and in most cases admittedly that is not found in theology but in society and from your own conscience. Human beings have a great penchant for feelings of guilt and if you didn't follow what you'd believe to be right then you would constantly wonder, second guess and perhaps feel guilty about the decision you've made.

Answer 6

When you say you are a person with a free will , it means you are used to go against accepted norms of people around you. If you drift with the lot you don't care or need to talk about free will. So you are used to finding justifications for your actions. Why do you want advise in the case of bible? You are a person of free will right??

Answer 7

The bible was written by a bunch of Camel Jockeys in the deserts of the Middle East over Two Thousand Years Ago.
Don't you think that the world might have changed at all in that time?
Make up your own mind.

Answer 8

You were given free will in order for you to make the right choice..
But I'm puzzled, do you think that your morals could actually be better than the bible's? Or the bible would direct you to do something that was not morally right?

Answer 9

Since you have free will, you can do whatever you want to do and feel fine, because you are not Christian.

Now, for Christians, it's the same case, but the difference is that if they go against God's commandments, they sin and (hopefully) they would feel remorse. I mean, they can do things against what is written in the Bible, because they have free will, but they would sin.

It's up to each person.

To sin or not to sin, that is the struggle that we have each day.

Answer 10

IF what you are feeling contradicts what is written in the bible. Then you have no morals. You are following satan and not God. We are not to have God conform to our sinful lifestyle, but we are to conform to His word and His laws. You aren't a Christian if you can't accept God's word 100%. This is what God says about that.

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;