The Death of Right and Wrong
There is more than one political leader in our country who blindly calls evil good and good evil and plenty of other people who willingly agree with them...
This past week, the head of the Minneapolis Democratic Party doubled down on his claim that the burning of a police station during the George Floyd riots last summer “was an act of pure righteousness". In an Aug. 2, 2021 opinion piece for The Southside Pride Newspaper, The Cops Started It, Devin Hogan argued that the burning of the Third Police Precinct after George Floyd’s death was a "proportional response" to the treatment of black people by police. He went on to write that "The call from the streets was genuine liberation, truly and finally. The work continues until that day comes… Eyes on the prize. Remember the demand of the streets. The blood and treasure spent. This is our job. Minneapolis must answer the call. For real this time. For real for real. Do it for the kids."
His words, not mine…
This brings me to the sad fact that there is more than one political leader in our country who blindly calls evil good and good evil and plenty of other people who willingly agree with them. What has happened to the concept of right and wrong? What has led to this? Is the idea of right and wrong now dead?
We live in a culture where the very idea of right and wrong has come under attack. Moral absolutes have been replaced with situational ethics. Calling good “evil” and evil “good” is a sign of the spiritual blindness of our age. We are living in a world that is in full out rebellion against God and embraces a perverted sense of right and wrong… approving of homosexuality, not punishing certain lawbreakers, supporting abortion on demand, and endorsing violence against law enforcement officers.
But dear reader, there should be no confusion over what is right and what is wrong. Morality is not about the “demand of the streets” or “genuine liberation”, but about responsibility for knowing the difference. God has given us a clear answer in scripture as to what has always been right and what is has always been wrong… not only the Ten Commandments but in the entirety of the Bible.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16 NASB)
Scripture also warns us…
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20 NASB)
Since the fire, four men have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution. In fairness, not every Minnesota Democrat shares Hogan’s views. Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin commented that Hogan’s views "do not reflect the views of the Minnesota DFL Party or the Minneapolis DFL Party, and they certainly do not reflect the views of any elected officials in our party with whom I have spoken. I condemn Hogan’s dangerous, violent, and inflammatory rhetoric."
Sadly, not everyone in Minneapolis feels that way…
Update:
On November 2, 2021, voters in Minneapolis rejected a measure that would have transformed the city’s police 18 months after the killing of George Floyd thrust the city into the forefront of the police reform debate. By a 56% to 44% margin, voters said “no” to a charter amendment that would have replaced the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety focused on public health solutions.