UTILITARISMO, EL OSCURO MOTOR DE LAS GUERRAS

 UTILITARISMO, EL OSCURO MOTOR DE LAS GUERRAS

EL UTILITARISMO UN DEMONIO DISFRAZADO

En una ocasión un niño preguntó a su padre respecto a las guerras. El dijo: Papá ¿Porqué, si Dios es todopoderoso no interfiere y pone un alto a las guerras donde muere mucha gente inocente?- A lo que el padre le respondió: Hijo, si Dios no es el que ha iniciado las guerras, ¿Por qué tendría Él que ponerle fin a las mismas?.  guerras

La respuesta a la pregunta del niño es una a la que pudiéramos identificar como una respuesta cargada de lógica. En el tema que nos compete en esta ocasión, hablaremos ampliamente respecto a las guerras mundiales y las repercusiones que estas tienen en materia de derechos humanos. En este breve tratado, estudiaremos cómo fueron atropellados los derechos humanos en las previas 2 guerras mundiales, también daremos respuesta a la pregunta ¿Por qué se forman las guerras mundiales? Y por último hemos de abordar la postura de la Biblia en todo esto.

Como último aspecto introductorio, necesitamos de forma breve abordar la definición de guerra. Existen varios tipos de guerra; iniciando con guerras frías, guerras internas o civiles), también existen las guerras cibernéticas y por último las guerras mundiales. Se les denomina guerra mundial a todas aquellas en donde más de 2 naciones son participantes. Quizás en la mente de muchos está el cuestionamiento del porqué se denominan guerra mundial, cuando en realidad no todas las naciones están presentes. La razón de esto es porque aunque no todas las naciones del mundo están presentes, las consecuencias impactan a todo el globo terráqueo por la magnitud de la misma. Nosotros aquí hemos de abordar concisamente la cuestión ética y que dice Dios al respecto.

 UTILITARISMO, EL OSCURO MOTOR DE LAS GUERRAS.

Jeremy Bentham ha pasado a la historia del pensamiento como el Padre del utilitarismo. Su filosofía se basaba principalmente en buscar el bien para la mayoría de personas sin importar la manera de cómo se logre ese objetivo aquí es donde nace el concepto de “el fin justifica los medios”. La felicidad para Bentham es la ausencia del dolor y la presencia del placer. De cierta forma aquí hay rasgos de la filosofía griega llamada Epicureísmo. El apóstol Pablo lidia con esta filosofía de forma lógica en Corintios 15. El utilitarismo como  tal es una forma de consecuencialismo. Está claro que estamos tratando con ideas filosóficas pero también cuestiones éticas.  Algunos la definen de formas muy precisas por ejemplo un sitio web relacionado a “the university of Texas” en Austin, lo define de la siguiente manera: “El utilitarismo determina que la opción más ética es la que produce el mayor beneficio para el mayor número de personas. Es el único marco moral que puede ser usado para justificar el uso de fuerza militar y hasta la guerra. También es una perspectiva de las cuestiones éticas mucho más común en el mundo empresarial ya que toma en cuenta los costos y beneficios”.[1]

La verdad del asunto es que no es el marco ético más adecuado. El utilitarismo es amigo íntimo de otras dos corrientes de pensamiento como lo son; el ateísmo y el comunismo. Este trio perverso le han regalado al mundo, muerte, destrucción pobreza, guerra y violación a todo derecho humano fundamental.

El utilitarismo también tiene dificultades con valores como la justicia y los derechos individuales, valores los cuales la Biblia defiende con vehemencia. Algunos escépticos han cuestionado a la Biblia por pasajes como 1 Samuel 15:3 donde Dios manda a Saul a destruir a Amalec incluyendo los bebés. La verdad es que la muerte de los infantes puede verse como un acto de amor por parte del creador, ya que antes del uso de la razón ellos están salvos mientras que dejarlos crecer en esa perversa nación sin duda se convertirían en enemigos de Israel y actuarían en rebelión al Señor.

Observamos más de cerca la verdadera cara del motor oculto de las guerras; el utilitarismo que es amigo del ateísmo y el comunismo:

A.   Joseph Stalin, dejó morir cerca de 41 Millones de personas,  de hambre basado en sus ideas utilitaristas.  John Stewar lo apoya en el libro llamado Libertad p.6 el dice “el despotismo, es un modo legítimo de gobierno, para lidiar con los bárbaros acabando con ellos, pues al final los medios justifican el resultado”.

B.    Sam Harris quien por cierto es Ateo (no cree en la existencia de Dios) dice  “algunas proposiciones son tan peligrosas que de hecho podría ser ético matar a la gente que cree en ellas”. (El final de fe pág.52,53). Note cómo está persona está dispuesta a iniciar una guerra, violando el derecho humano a la vida, a la libertad y a la libre expresión gracias a el utilitarismo y ateísmo que le domina.

C.    Richard Dawkins.  No existe una moral o ética absoluta como estándar, nosotros al igual que el resto de los animales, solo danzamos al son de la música del ADN. (River out of Eden,traducción HLM, Pág. 133). Este famoso biólogo considera que no existe un estándar absoluto y considera a la raza humana como “el resto de los animales”. Esta es la misma forma de Ateísmo y utilitarismo que siguieron los alemanes para exterminar a más de 6 millones de judios, no eran considerados seres humanos sino una plaga. Y en palabras de Dr. Dawkins  no existe una forma de moral absoluta a la cual debamos de ser responsables y someternos.

En lo más profundo de la oscuridad, estas ideas se han forjado y fueron el motor principal para las dos guerras mundiales. No logro entender como tan abiertamente profesores como Dawkins enseñan estas ideas sin que el mundo las considere como un verdadero peligro. Peor aún, que personas como él tengan tanta influencia en nuevas generaciones.

EL NAZISMO, EL UTILITARISMO PERSONIFICADO.

En este punto en especial  de todas las guerras que se han librado, el mundo le ha colocado una cara a la peor violación de los derechos humanos que jamás haya existido, en palabras de Winston Churchill  Adolfo Hitler era una “bestia” y con él la espantosa gestapo y el horrible aparato Nazi en general. Ellos adoptaron  ideas utilitaristas para cometer las atrocidades que la historia ahora reconoce como el peor atropello de humanos contra humanos de  la historia. En los juicios de Nuremberg, Alemania fue juzgada por los crímenes perpetrados a la humanidad. En su defensa y como acción desesperada para escapar de la sentencia los Nazis argumentaron el principio de “nullum crimen, nullum poena sine lege”  El fiscal Jackson resumió su creencia en las normas legales universales aplicables a todo el mundo, sin hacer referencia explícita a los crímenes contra la humanidad: “El único refugio de los acusados será su esperanza de que el derecho internacional esté tan rezagado respecto del sentido moral de la humanidad como para que una conducta que sea criminal en el sentido moral deba ser considerada inocente en el derecho[2]. Considero que este Juicio es uno para recordar, no solamente en este escrito que tiene que ver con el derecho, sino por la excelente labor que se hizo por parte de los fiscales logrando la condena a quienes fueron la “encarnación viva del utilitarismo” en la violacion de los derechos humanos jamás antes cometida.

CONCLUSIÓN

Las intervenciones del fiscal estadounidense Robert Jackson son tan buenas, que se me hace demasiado simplista solamente mencionar extractos de su magnífica apología a la vida y los derechos humanos que últimamente  sus raíces y nociones más fundamentales en la ideología teísta. Por lo que siempre diré que creer en Dios y en su hijo Jesucristo es la cosa más racional, más lógica y lo único que realmente puede proveer vida (Juan 8:24).  Casi al final de su discurso el fiscal Jackson exclamó con vehemencia:

Estos veinte años de este siglo XX serán registrados en el libro de los años como algunos de los más sangrientos de todos los anales. Dos guerras mundiales han dejado un legado de muertos que suman más que todos los ejércitos involucrados en cualquier guerra que hizo historia antigua o medieval. Ningún medio siglo ha sido testigo de una matanza a tal escala, de tales crueldades e inhumanidades, de deportaciones masivas de pueblos a la esclavitud, de aniquilaciones de minorías.”   (Énfasis mío añadido).

El mundo entero debería condenar estas filosofías destructivas para garantizar los derechos humanos, y garantizar al menos una vida decente en esta tierra. Por otro lado considero que los principios teístas y en especial el cristianismo son la respuesta a todas las dificultades éticas, pues vivir bajo la palabra de Dios es vivir en la verdad (Jn.17:17), estos principios deberían de ser impulsados, financiados, y exaltados en instituciones públicas, escuelas, colegios y demás pues, como garantía de traer a Dios a la sociedad siempre tendremos los más altos valores morales como base y una vida enfocada en ayudar a otros en vez de una vida enfocada en mí.

REFERENCIAS BIOGRÁFICAS

1.     https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/utilitarianism?lang=es

2.     http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0124-05792011000200003#17

Posted in Heiner Montealto | Tagged , , | Comments Off on  UTILITARISMO, EL OSCURO MOTOR DE LAS GUERRAS

Much Will Be Required

Much Will Be Required

There is an amazing truth which can so easily be overlooked. Jesus said, “For everyone to whom much is given, from Him much will be required” (Matt. 12:48) We understand the fairness and the logic behind these words but can so easily fail to see the application in our spiritual lives.

In Matthew chapter eleven, we read of that time when Jesus so sternly upbraids several of the towns where He and His apostles had preached. “Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent” (v. 20). Notice the importance of the word “most.” It was not that He had done many works in those cities; He had done the majority of them. Yet, they rejected him and would not repent.

Look at the verses which follow. “Woe to you, Chorazin!…Bethsaida!…And to you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day” (vs. 21-23).

Consider the eternal fire of judgment which came on Sodom and Gomorrah in the opening chapters of the history of mankind. God’s wrath was poured out on them because of their sexual immorality and their pursuit of unnatural desires.  They are…“set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7). Yet, had they seen and heard what these Galilean cities had seen and heard there would have been enough individuals to repent to have spared these cities.

First-century cities which were worse than Sodom! Is it possible that there are twenty-first century towns, cities and nations worse than Sodom? It is not that we have literally seen and heard Jesus and His apostles, but do we know about them? Who in our land does not know about Him turning water to wine, parts of the Sermon on the Mount, the “Passion of Christ,” the empty tomb early on “Easter” morning? As a nation we know these events, but how have we responded?

The heavens proclaimed to Sodom the glory of God and the firmament showed His handiwork. They still do in our land. He gave those nations evidence of His existence, “in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:16-17). He still does. What land has been blessed more than ours!

Brethren, make a personal application in our lives. We understand it when applied to others, what about ourselves? Think of where we live. Think of what we have seen and seen from Him. We know about Him, but have we fully known Him? “To whom much is given from him (us) much will be required.”

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , | Comments Off on Much Will Be Required

“Wars and Rumors of Wars”

“Wars and Rumors of Wars”

While perusing the news today, I ran across this article: “10 Plagues Hitting Planet Simultaneously!” One of them was the coronavirus. Such headlines are designed as “click-bait” to capture the reader’s attention. Rumor mongering has been going on since time began. Jesus warns about such things in Matthew 24:4-8:

“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”rumor war

Some join this passage with the news and say, “Aha! The end times are here!” Jesus point was different. In Matthew 24:2, Jesus said, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Jesus was talking about the destruction of the temple. These events were not signs of the apocalypse, but normal events that would occur before the temple was destroyed. He was warning His disciples not to be surprised when these things happen because they are not signs for the end. “Take heed that no one deceives you.”

When will the end happen? Jesus answered, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). So many have sought to predict the end of the world, but no one knows. Not even Jesus claimed that knowledge. This is why we must be prepared at all times for Jesus return.

Posted in Kevin Cauley | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on “Wars and Rumors of Wars”

Covid & Congregations without Elders #2

Covid & Congregations without Elders #2

Where there are no elders to provide leadership, congregations are often directed simply by having the men of the church to “oversee” the church. The problem is that in such meetings there are many men who have not reached spiritual maturity and often do not have the church foremost in their lives. As matters are discussed, these men can speak and keep the church from going where the spiritually mature know it should go. The “vote” and influences of the immature rule the church.

This can so easily happen now as Covid seems to be behind us. It is time, or soon will be, that we all remember what it was like two years ago and return to what we once did to develop the church—meeting twice on Sundays, midweek Bible studies, VBS, church dinners, gospel meetings, singings and so many other activities. Let me urge every male member in congregations without elders to take these matters very seriously.

We may think that until these decisions are made there is little we can do. The rest of this article will seek to address what every member—young and old, male and female—can do right now to help the church recover. We can all focus on those who have not yet returned and ask God to help us.

I am not talking about programs to make it happen. I am calling on each of us to help those who once came to come back to the church. Think of those who once worshiped, even if only one time each month, who no longer are there. What can we do? What influence can we have on them?

Remember the words of Paul as you deal with them. “You who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). Put yourself in their place and use words of kindness and concern, not words of shame and guilt, in all you say. Each one will be different so there is not one unchanging way to bring them back. Pray that God will give you wisdom—and divine wisdom speaks of gentleness and kindness.

Why not go to their house, or when you see them elsewhere, and invite them to come to your house to share a meal? Let them be reminded by this association of what they may not even know they had missed. Invite just a few of their closest friends to be there. The major topic of the evening is not their coming back. Listen carefully to what they say about how they dealt with Covid, and let them know they are being missed and how deeply you feel about them. Jesus was compassionate and put Himself in our place to bring us to the Father. This is only the beginning place, but every one of us can do this, compassionately. Can you think of the next steps that would get them back?

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Covid & Congregations without Elders #2

Covid and Congregations without Elders

Covid and Churches without Elders #1

For more than two years, congregations have had to deal with Covid and the restrictions on public gatherings. It has been such a difficult time worldwide as it was increasingly difficult to maintain assembling to worship like the Lord wants. In far too many places, making decisions about how to deal with Covid created an emotional division as every member had strong convictions as to how it should be handled.congregation covid

It was difficult in congregations where there were elders, as they immediately realized that whatever decision was made would likely upset several members of the various congregation where they served as overseers. In those congregations where there were no elders, it was far more difficult. The attendance at most congregations is not what it once was. If the attendance where you worship is more than 60-70% of what it was “pre-Covid,” you are so blessed.

The reality is that our society is returning to the way it was two years ago. One  truth that seems fairly obvious is that far too many may never return. The habit of regular attendance is no longer their lifestyle. Some have become “virtual” worshipers, if they worship at all, and are satisfied to use their Sundays in far different ways. All of us are struggling. We are wondering what we might do to get back to where we were.

Let’s consider the tremendous impact about how to get individuals who once came regularly to return to congregations without elders. At some point, we must decide we will return to what we once did—meeting twice on Sundays, midweek Bible studies, Vacation Bible Schools, church dinners, gospel meetings, singings and so many other activities.

It may even be difficult for those congregations who have no elders to make the decisions about resuming what helped the church grow spiritually. As congregations are impacted, remember that the Lord commanded us to come together in one place to eat the Lord’s Supper. There is no “virtual worship” option about never resuming meeting together.

In those meetings to deal with recovering from Covid in all aspects of the work of the church, especially where decisions are usually made in a men’s meeting, the words of Paul to the Corinthians seem so appropriate: “Let all things be done for edification…let all things be done decently and in order…let all that you do be done with love” (14:26, 40; 16:14).

We will discuss this more next article, but let me assure you I have worshiped and preached in congregations with elders and in those without elders and I understand how difficult returning to worship we once had will be, especially where there are no elders. I am praying for you. More next time.

Covid & Congregations without Elders #2

Posted in Dan Jenkins | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Covid and Congregations without Elders