Scriptorium Daily
Like a lot of folk wisdom this is true, but easy to abuse if it is viewed as the “final word” on the subject.
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Since everyone lives in a glass house, nobody is going to want to “stone” anyone . . . ever.
And if stoning sinners were the only option for dealing with sin, all of us not now in the Taliban would agree that starting any rock throwing is a bad idea.
As it is often (mis-) used, the saying suggests that any criticism of a person’s morals is “stoning” them . . . as if there is no difference between public condemnation of bad morals and the death penalty.
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Assuming there are only stones and “glass houses” around . . . then it might be sensible to throw stones quickly at some neighbor who is already destroying houses before he gets to ours.
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All of us fall short of high standards. If we want to avoid any trace of “hypocrisy” as it is now defined, then we might avoid high standards altogether in any area where failure is likely.
There are areas where public moralizing is safe, but only for sins nobody much wants to commit.
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We have quietly given up on loving our neighbor. If we say that we should, then it is too easy to show areas where we do not. Better to just ignore our neighbor and hope the government will start a program to deal with what neighbors used to do.
The new “good Samaritan” is the government bureaucrat.
Americans reward ambitions, even failed ambitions, in business, but often sneer at them in morality.
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This might be a good rule if they effects on our souls or bodies did not stick around. Fat hurts our bodies, even if we get new clothes and sexual sin scars our souls even if we get the societal approval we crave.
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Being immoderate about pleasures is a sin and God hates it. It is bad for us physically and spiritually as a kind of bonus of badness. (Of course, the two problems are entirely related!).
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First, anyone tempted to public moralizing should admit it if he struggles with the sin. If he doesn’t struggle with the specific manifestation of the problem, then he should be honest about any related struggles. Gluttons should admit that their gluttony is not so different from a gamblers use of money in some ways. This admission need not be detailed, but is important.
However society will have to accept that many of us hate sin because we have personally seen the harm it can do. It is no hypocrisy for a former drug abuser to oppose drug abuse.
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Second, Christianity is a religion of love. Our goal in “public moralizing” is to uphold God’s standards, commend the reasonable life, and bring others to the truths we have found. We must avoid, when we can, “final judgments” that do not allow for healing, hope, and restoration.
We use every tool we can to help men and women avoid pain in this life and hell in the life to come.
Finally, we have to accept the fact that not everybody will agree with our standards. We have reached them through our best use of reason and experience, but others will disagree. In a free society that is their right and someone’s morality will prevail. If we prevail we should leave as much room as possible for dissent.
Public morality must be upheld, but in the least coercive manner possible. (more)
