The New Morality

An excerpt from a fine piece written by the Rev. Peter Mullen, an Anglican priest, from the Telegraph:

The significant development in public morality which has taken place in our time is the profound shift in the understanding of our human nature. We no longer admit to being imperfect. We do not believe in Original Sin. We find such a concept offensive, demeaning, an insult to our much-vaunted “self-esteem” – a thing that has replaced “self-respect.” And what were once regarded as mortal sins are now only lifestyle choices.

How did this profound shift come about? It is implicit in the Enlightenment teaching about human perfectibility and all the airy waffle about Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. A warning: whenever you hear those slogans, the next sound you will hear is the mob and the rattle of the tumbrels.

But the greatest influence on our redefinition of human nature was the theory of evolution. Towards the end of the 19th century people, led by the likes of Herbert Spencer, came to imagine that just as the species was developing physically, so we are also developing morally. ...

Read on.