‘Burn Down the Stadium!’

“One should act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can, at the same time, will that it becomes a universal law.”

– Immanuel Kant

“I will show you a still more excellent way.”

– I Cor. 12:13

Many years ago, I and three other undergraduate friends would meet for discussions over pizza and beer nearly every Sunday evening at one of our parents’ homes. The father of one of my friends once characterized these “bull sessions” as “vain attempts to solve the problems of the world.”

Two of my friends were majoring in psychology, another in philosophy, and I in biology. Since none of my three friends were interested in biology, most of our discussions centered around philosophical and psychological issues.

One evening the discussion centered around the question of whether there is such a thing as absolute moral truth. My two psychology friends were very skeptical of absolute claims about anything, because, as fallible, subjective humans, who would judge between competing claims of moral absolutism?

I stated my belief that the Bible contains many absolute moral principles, amongst them the Ten Commandments. My philosophy friend was open to this possibility in view of Immanuel Kant’s insistence that there are such things as “categorical moral imperatives”; that is, ethical rules that do not depend on personal circumstances or desires but on universal moral principles. An example would be telling the truth.

Bold claims

“What about the fourth commandment?” asked my psychologist friend. “That’s the one about keeping the Sabbath holy, isn’t it, Bob? It’s why you have to go to church twice on Sunday and can’t watch the Eskimos play football on Sunday because those players are working on the Sabbath rather than resting as required. Am I right about that?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s right,” I responded.

“Well, if it’s a moral categorical imperative,” said my Kantian friend, “then it should apply to everyone, right? And, if so, then all those football fans are transgressing a moral categorical imperative.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I said.

“Then let’s burn down the stadium with all those sinful fans who are breaking God’s categorical fourth imperative!” yelled my two other friends in mock anger.

After that, whenever one or another of us would make some bold and ill-considered moral claim, the rest of us would yell, “Burn down the stadium!”

I am saddened about how many contemporary moral debates are often conducted with about the same lack of nuance and consideration as our Sabbath observance one about 60 years ago. Whether it’s Israel vs. Palestine, gay vs. straight, traditional vs. woke, conservative vs. progressive, pro- vs anti-oil – the positions taken by either side in these debates often sound like ill-considered shouts of “burn down the stadium” to me. There is a “more excellent way.”