Chapter 7 – New Day Dawning
Global Ethic
Given the state of our society, both in our country and in the global view, we need a spiritual foundation for interactions of all types. So many lives are wasted because of our immoral society, our society driven by greed and materialism; these wasted lives could be of great assistance to us but their possible contributions have been snuffed out by their living conditions, their unbelievable living conditions. Our global society needs a spiritual foundation to become inclusive, sustainable, ethical, and peaceful.
We discussed in Chapter 3 the consequences of an idealistic campaign not having a strong moral foundation. For example both communism and radical Islam degenerated into violent disrespect for anyone having differing opinions.
This spiritual foundation needs to be broad enough to include all peoples throughout the world; this certainly means all faiths and all conditions. Anyone who is left out of the global system becomes disenfranchised, left out of society. Only a social system including everyone can be successful in the long term. We need a global ethic in addition to a global government; indeed both are founded on the same truth that everyone is created equal; they have the same moral foundation.
There is an organization that is actively working toward a global ethic; this is the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Their mission statement declares they were “created to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.”[1]
The author attended their Parliament in Salt Lake City in 2015 and Toronto Canada in 2018, each was a thrilling experience. There were people from many religious traditions from all over the world interacting and sharing. There were countless presentations from widely different religions, displays and booths that offered information about many faiths; it was an inspiring and impressive experience.
The Parliament has issued a document outlining a global ethic, “Declaration Toward a Global Ethic.”[2] The introduction states “We are interdependent. Each of us depends on the well-being of the whole, and so we have respect for the community of live beings, for people, animals, and plants, and for the preservation of Earth, the air, water, and soil.”[3] The following discussion is based partially on this declaration.
All the world’s religions have an ethic for proper behavior; they recognize what is right and what is wrong; they have a set of moral values they affirm, such as thou shall not kill.[4] To follow any faith these moral values must be adhered to; believers are urged abide by them. These core values are similar for faiths around the world. If these values were followed by all people, our world would be in much better shape.
Based upon these moral traditions, our global society needs an ethical system that is followed to form a spiritual underpinning for our lives. Nothing can take the place of God in human society.[5] It is written that a house built on sand will not withstand the winds, but a house built on the rock will stand strong.[6] As we discussed in Chapter 3, any society without a moral foundation will be like that house on the sand; it will crumble to rubble. A functioning global order needs to have a common system of ethics so that it can be stable and able to grow and prosper.
What would this global ethic look like? First of all it must recognize the presence of God in every person on the planet. God is with even the poorest and lowest human being and this truth must form the foundation of any global ethic.
Building on such a foundation, this ethic must include a commitment to four aspects of culture: non-violence, solidarity and respect for all life, tolerance and a life of truthfulness, equal rights and partnership between men and women. With this foundation and such a structure, an equitable global ethic can be built and maintained; when this happens, not before, our planet will enjoy peace and harmony.
A vital part of this ethic is for each individual to incorporate these elements into their belief system and into their daily living; this is especially important for those with some standing in society, they must lead the rest into this new ethic. As an individual they need to personify these characteristics. Groups need to show respect for the lives and property of others. In our global system there should be respect for all nations and our entire planet.
“In conclusion, we appeal to all the inhabitants of this planet. Earth cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness of individuals is changed. We pledge to work for such transformation in individual and collective consciousness, for the awakening of our spiritual powers…. Together we can move mountains! Without a willingness to take risks and a readiness to sacrifice there can be no fundamental change in our situation! Therefore we commit ourselves to a common global ethic, to better mutual understanding, as well as to socially beneficial, peace-fostering, and Earth-friendly ways of life.“[7]
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Mission statement, Parliament of the World’s Religions, parliamentofreligions.org, retrieved 11/22/17 ↑
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“Declaration Toward a Global Ethic,” Parliament of the World’s Religions, 1993, can be downloaded from parliamentofreligions.org. ↑
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Declaration p 1 ↑
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Bible, Exodus 20:13 ↑
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The Urantia Book; the number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph, 2081.6 ↑
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Bible, Matthew 7:24-27 ↑
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Declaration p 14-15 ↑