On Morality (Fourth Article), Whether we Owe the Same Duty of Morality to All Men?

FOURTH ARTICLE

Whether we Owe the Same Duty of Morality to All Men?

Objection 1. Moses says (Deuteronomy 23:20), You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite. Morality need not be given equally to all men. We do not owe the same duty of morality to members of other nations as we owe to our countrymen.

Objection 2. Moses says (Deuteronomy 9:23), be assured today that the LORD your God is the one. God is the source of all morality and justice. God is one and unchanging. Therefore we owe the exact same duty of morality to all men.

Objection 3. Before Christ a godly man could say (Psalm 3:7) Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. A man did not owe the same duty of morality to his enemies as his friends. But Christ says (Mathew 5:46), if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? In the church age we have a equal duty to all. We may not treat friends or family better than we treat strangers or enemies.

On the contrary, Jesus said to the Pharisees (Mark 7:9-13), You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER'; and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH'; but you say, 'If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),' you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that. We have a duty to give charity and be generous to all; this is a part of morality. But though this morality is owed to all, it is owed in a greater degree to one’s parents. One may must take care of his parents before he gives charity to the strangers.

I answer that, A man asked Christ to whom the duty of morality extended. Christ replied to his neighbor. In response to this reply the man asked (Luke 10:29) who is my neighbor? Christ replied in the Parable of the Good Samaritan that every man is our neighbor. The stranger, the man who is most different and distant to us is our neighbor and it is to him that we owe the same duty of morality that we owe to our friends and family. However, though we owe the same duty of morality to every man, we owe it to a greater degree to our family, friends, and countrymen.

God has placed with in us greater degrees of affection corresponding another’s closeness to us. We feel a greater degree of affection for our countrymen than the foreigner, a greater degree for a friend than an unknown countryman, and still yet a greater degree of affection for a spouse, child, sibling or parent than we feel for the closest friend. As David Hume explains, this is natural and to be expected. We would call a mother wicked or insane if she did not prefer her child and love him more than she loved the stranger. If every parent looked after their children and every child took care of their parents, and every friend was loyal, and every citizen patriotic and every government served on behalf of its citizens, the world would be a utopia.

The truth lies in the middle way. One can prefer their family and friends to the point that they do harm to strangers in order to promote the well being of those they love. This is the morality of Thrasymachus and the Sopranos. Others, in their desire to love all mankind equally, abandon their family and friends. This is an equal and opposite error. As with many things, the truth lies in a balance between two extremes. For example, though we should be generous to all men, we must be sure we take care of our family first and foremost. We owe the same duty to morality to all men, we must never be immoral or unjust to any man, but we owe a greater degree of this morality to our family, friends, and countrymen.

Reply Obj. 1. To only be moral to one’s countrymen is the error of nationalism. Hitler believed that men ought to be generous and kind and that they ought to refrain from harm. All moral men agree with this. But said this morality only applied to the German people (Volk) and that it need not be extended to non-Aryans. We may judge the error of this philosophy by its ill outcome.

Reply Obj 2. The fifth commandment is to honor thy father and thy mother. One is not to honor all men equally, but rather to give greater honor to his parents. The standard of morality to be given to one’s family is higher than that which is owed to a stranger; the duty of morality differs in degree.

Reply Obj. 3. But Paul says (I Timothy 5:3-4) Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The church age did not end familial duties. Though the moral code is one and we must obey it always, no matter who we deal with, we have a greater duty of morality, even within the church, to family and kin.