Francis J. Beckwith > Quotes

“If morality is reducible to culture, then there can be no real moral progress. For the only way one can say that a culture is getting better, or progressing, is if there are objective moral norms that are not dependent on culture to which a society may draw closer.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case against Abortion Choice

“When morality is reduced to personal tastes, people exchange the moral question, What is good? for the pleasure question, What feels
good?”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“PC advocates appear to defend the absurd because they see history as a series of unprosecuted crimes that can only be redeemed if we are appropriately sensitive to the legacy of the victims.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“PC advocates deny the existence of objective knowledge and morality, and thus see no point in employing moral suasion and logical argument to convince their fellow citizens that their viewpoint is correct. Their only means available is therefore using the instruments of political power, such as coercion, intimidation, marginalization, and name-calling. To put it philosophically: Ideas are not the power by which to change the world, but rather, the world’s ideas are changed by power.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“Focusing on the public school system, former Secretary of Education, William Bennett explains the moral crisis in that institution by contrasting the concerns of teachers in two different eras: 'Over the years teachers have been asked to identify the top problems in America's schools. In 1940 teachers identified them as talking out of turn; chewing gum; making noise; running in the hall; cutting in line; dress code infractions; and littering. When asking the same question in 1990, teachers identified drug abuse; alcohol abuse; pregnancy; suicide; rape; robbery; and assault.'

During the thirty-year period of 1960 to 1990, 'there has been a 560 percent increase in violent crime; more than a 400 percent increase in illegitimate births; a quadrupling in divorces; a tripling of the percentage of children living in single-parent homes; more than a 200 percent increase in the teenage suicide rate; and a drop of 75 points in the average SAT scores of high-school students.'

We do not believe it is a coincidence that the increase of moral mayhem described by Bennett corresponds with an increased acceptance of moral relativism. In fact, relativism has been officially incorporated in the educational curriculum, known as values clarification.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“something to be the case. The act of faith in the biblical sense involves the whole person, emotions, intellect, will and heart, in a total commitment of trust in another.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview

“We have moral responsibilities to other people in our community because they are people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, or lot in life. According to the Christian and Jewish view of humanity, all people have inherent dignity because they are made in the image of God. And thus we should show respect to and concern for those of both genders and all races and nationalities.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“Jesus provided reasons to believe through many different means, the most dramatic of which were miracles done in public as authentication”
― Francis J. Beckwith, To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview

“We don’t invent morality; we discover it like we discover multiplication tables.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“To understand what Bloom means, consider this dialogue (based loosely on a real-life exchange) between a high-school teacher and her student Elizabeth:

Teacher: Welcome, students. This is the first day of class, and so I want to lay down some ground rules. First, since no one has the truth, you should be open-minded to the opinions of your fellow students. Second . . . Elizabeth, do you have a question?

Elizabeth: Yes, I do. If nobody has the truth, isn't that a good reason for me not to listen to my fellow students? After all, if nobody has the truth, why should I waste my time listening to other people and their opinions? What's the point? Only if somebody has the truth does it make sense to be open-minded. Don't you agree?

Teacher: No, I don't. Are you claiming to know the truth? Isn't that a bit arrogant and dogmatic?

Elizabeth: Not at all. Rather, I think it's dogmatic, as well as arrogant, to assert that no single person on earth knows the truth. After all, have you met every person in the world and quizzed them exhaustively? If not, how can you make such a claim? Also, I believe it's actually the opposite of arrogance to say that I will alter my opinions to fit the truth whenever and wherever I find it. And if I happen to think that I have good reason to believe I do know the truth and would like to share it with you, why wouldn't you listen to me? Why would you automatically discredit my opinion before it is even uttered? I thought we were supposed to listen to everyone's opinion.

Teacher: This should prove to be an interesting semester.

Another student: (blurts out) Ain't that the truth. (the students laugh)”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“When morality is reduced to personal tastes, people exchange the moral question, What is good? for the pleasure question, What feels good?”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“For abortion opponents believe that a class of persons are being killed by such methods as dismemberment, suffocation, and burning, and thus are more than perplexed to be told that they don't have to participate in the killings if they don't want to. Saying 'If you don't like abortion, don't have one.' to those opposed to abortion is similar to telling abolitionists not to own slaves if they don't like slavery.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“I believe using power to force religious compliance is not only completely fruitless (people believe as they will in their hearts) but fundamentally contrary to the Spirit of Jesus.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview

“Just as it is greater to illuminate than merely to shine, so too it is greater to give to others what one has contemplated than merely to contemplate. St. Thomas Aquinas, from Summa Theologiae”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic

“There are two kinds of oughts, and there are two ways to be wrong about something. We can be wrong by being irrational, or we can be wrong by being unethical. Morality deals with the second.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air

“The most effective apologist is not one who has the greatest academic prowess alone, but the one who has excellent intellectual preparation and reflects Christ's love in every way.”
― Francis J. Beckwith, To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview

“Most critics are not well-equipped to defend their own faith. They have rarely thought through what they believe and have relied more on generalizations and slogans than on careful reflection. To expose their error, take your cue from Columbo. Scratch your head, rub your chin, pause for a moment, then say, "Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
― Francis J. Beckwith, To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview