by Melissa Jerez

Created on: May 16, 2009   Last Updated: May 19, 2009

Despite the sometimes lewd content on TV and movies, as well as what some people might label "controversial behavior" in people, I personally believe that personal morals are not decaying. In fact, I believe that it is because of the content that people are being exposed to, that we see more people establishing new morals which they set for themselves. There are some people who believe that morals come from the bible and if we do not follow the moral code of the bible, then we as a society are doomed to become savages. However, there are people who do not follow the bible but still follow what some of society will call moral lives. If these people can still be "morally good" without the bible, then what does that establish about morality?

The problem here is that if we take morals from the bible, we are taking what was justified as good back in the day. We don't live in the time of Jesus or of Moses anymore. We live in the 21st century. Our understanding of the natural world has expanded. People and society have changed drastically. If we were to take at least one biblical moral, it would be what Jesus mentioned: "Do unto others as you would have them done unto you." However, it seems like most people have a problem doing so. We are quick to judge and be intolerable of other people just because they are different. We are quick to dismiss anything that does not have to do with the Bible or what God said. I thought Jesus was a man who respected and accepted those who were different than him. How come there are those who defy his word but still preach it? Morality should not come from text that is old. What we believe as morality changes as the time goes by. There is homosexuality, there is interracial dating, and there is sex outside of marriage. There are people who grow up thinking that all these things are immoral, whereas there are people who grow up thinking that these things are social norms. What becomes normal in society comes with age, and in our age, these are social norms and should not be a problem. We should be more accepting of people, instead of bashing them because they are different. That's where morality comes from.

With the current day, more and more people are adapting to their standards of morality. Personal morality is not decaying. It is being enriched with new found knowledge and experiences. Being a good person does not have to come from the bible or religion. Being a good person should come from common sense.

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