the lesbian den mother

Al Mohler wrote on The Case of the Lesbian Den Mother in an effort to expose flaws in moral reasoning. The post is worth reading to get all of the background but his observations are what I want to share - they are excellent.

No one is charging Jennifer Tyrrell [the lesbian den mother] with any improper action or motivation in this case, but the Scouts applied their policy and the controversy is now incredibly revealing.

One parent said this: "I teach my children to judge people on their actions . . . whether you agree with their lifestyle or not."

The only way to make sense of this is to see that this parent is trying to separate "actions" from "lifestyle" as if the lifestyle should be free from moral scrutiny. Lifestyles involve actions, but those are now to be considered beyond moral judgment.

Oddly enough, this rather bizarre form of thinking is indicative of a larger cultural pattern. Sexual relationships are off-limits for moral judgment. What is left is a far smaller sector of moral investigation. Once sexual behavior is removed from moral scrutiny, what will be declared off-limits next?

As one observer recently noted, our society is exchanging moral concern about sex for moral concern about diet. We are not sure that moral judgments should be made when it comes to sexual behaviors, but when it comes to free range chickens and excess carbohydrates, the moral categories kick in.