Does your personal "stage" of morality affect how you enterpret the bible?

Question

Kohlberg's model
Six Stages of Moral Development
Stage 1 : Punishment and Obedience orientation. A person obeys rules and laws because of the possible negative consequences of disobeying."I do not steal bc I might get caught and go to jail."
Stage 2 : Hedonistic Orientation : Anything that satisfies your own needs or interests is considered "right" "If you help your grandmother she will remember you in her will"
Stage 3 : Interpersonal Concordance. Behavior is moral if it helps, pleases, or is expected by others (role fulfillment)
Stage 4 : Law and Order Orientation : Moral behavior consists of respecting authority, doing one's duty, and perpetuating the existing social order. "I obey laws for the good of society"

Stage 5 : Legalistic Orientation : The person recognizes the differences in stated laws and what they believe to be moral, and can try to have laws changed in the traditional manner to reflect their own sense of morality. The person tries to change society from within, utilizing the existing policies for enacting societal change.
Stage 6 : The orientation of universal ethical principles. "Morally right" is defined by the individuals conscience, and not the written rules of society.
Universal principles of justice, principles of reciprocity and equality of human rights,and respect for all humans are some of the abstract guiding principles of behavior.

People can progress from stage 1 to stage 6 by being exposed to "moral reasoning" of a higher level than their own.

Answer 1

The problem with Kohlberg is that his stages were not self-assessed. Basically, you can make these decisions about someone based on their response to things like the Heinz Dilemna, but not rate yourself.

Answer 2

I think that life is a bit too complicated to divide into 6 stages of morality.

I think that the Bible offers many reasons in favor of using moral behavior, and can address anyone at any stage of their moral development. It can also be used to justify amoral behavior. It is a cliche, but asking ones self, "What would Jesus do?' can be useful...would you prefer to work for a Believer who has been instructed to treat their employees fairly, (Jewish/Christian law) or one who believes that there is no higher law, and does not base his actions on a Judeo/Christian code of ethics?

Answer 3

Not quite sure that I totally agree with this model as it mixes moral systems with the stages, and it does not appear to model reality well.

My interpretation of the is affected somewhat by my moral system as I view claiming to have done something and not having done it or hiding the evidence after as being deceitful. I also take a dim view on the poor parenting that God displays in the Bible.

Answer 4

Absolutely.

There are messages in the Bible and in the world at large that a person on level 2 or 3 isn't ready to hear. So it goes in one ear and out the other and doesn't take root. Its basic message is too out of kilter with the person's stage of development for it to make sense.

That has happened to me a lot. Something in the Bible I read a thousand times suddenly makes infinite sense to me and hits me as something that I've needed to hear for a long time.

The words on the page haven't changed from the last dozen or so times I read them. I have.

Answer 5

No! Your personal stage of morality has nothing to do with God's choice. God does not make a choice because you are good or because you are evil. God makes a choice because it is his will to do so.

How you interpret the Bible is orchestrated by the spirit of God. Once you are saved we are sealed by the spirit. The spirit teaches us all things. Including God's will and purpose for our lives. Jesus said if you only knew I would give you living water,that you will never thirst again. That woman had 5 husbands and the one she was with was not her husband. Jesus knew that even before she said it. She ran leaving behind her water pots and told everyone in town. "Come see a man that knew everything I did." The Samaritan woman. She said we worship on this mountain. Jesus said there will come a time when true worshipers will worship wherever they choose. For God will choose them to worship him. John chapter 4.

Answer 6

Who is to say who is capable of providing "moral reasoning" higher than my own ? Certainly not the Bible ! The term "reasoning" means to figure out , to find the logical answer . Therefore what we need to seek out is help in being logical , objective ( as opposed to following someone else's conclusions ) . And we need to seek out knowledge and different points of view in order to reason as best we are capable of . It is when we feel so inferior to another entity that we are willing to say "I'll do whatever you say because I am relatively uneducated in this particular matter .

Answer 7

I am sure that anyone's perspective or morality will effect various interpretations of the Biblical text. Also, the Bible itself can aide in such a progression.

Answer 8

I'm a Level-2 Mean MF.....why?