It's The Heart Versus The Bible.

By Dennis Prager
March 16, 2004

I recently interviewed a 26-year-old Swedish student about her views on life. I asked her if she believed in God or in any religion.

"No, that's silly," she replied.

"Then how do you know what is right and wrong?" I asked.

"My heart tells me," she responded.

In a nutshell, that's the major reason for the great divide within America and between America and much of Europe. The majority of people use their heart -- stirred by their eyes -- to determine what is right and wrong. A minority uses their mind and/or the Bible to make that determination.

Pick almost any issue and these opposing ways of determining right and wrong become apparent.

Here are three examples.

Same-sex marriage: The heart favors it. You have to have a hard heart not to be moved when you see many of the loving same-sex couples who want to commit their lives to one another in marriage. The eye sees the couples; the heart is moved to redefine marriage.

Animal rights: The heart favors them. It is the rare person, for example, whose heart is not moved by the sight of an animal used for medical research. The eye sees the cuddly animal; the heart then equates animal and human life.

Abortion: How can you look at a sad 18-year-old who had unprotected sex and not be moved? What kind of heartless person is going to tell her she shouldn't have an abortion and should give birth?

The eyes and the heart form an extraordinarily powerful force. They can only be overcome when formulating policies by a mind and a value system that are stronger than the heart-eye duo.

With the decline of Judeo-Christian religions, the heart, shaped by what the eye sees (hence the power of television), has become the source of people's moral decisions.

This is a potentially fatal problem for our civilization. As beautiful as the heart might be, it is neither intellectually nor morally profound.

It is therefore frightening that hundreds of millions of people find no problem in acknowledging that their heart is the source of their values. Their heart knows better than thousands of years of accumulated wisdom; better than religions shaped by most of the finest thinkers of our civilization (and, to the believer, by God); and better than the book that has guided our society -- from the Founders of our uniquely successful society to the foes of slavery to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and most of the leaders of the struggle for racial equality.

This elevation of one's heart is well beyond self-confidence -- it is self-deification.

One of the first things you learn in Judaism and Christianity is that the eyes and heart are usually terrible guides to the good and the holy. " . . . Do not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after" (Numbers 15:39); "the heart is deceitful above all things . . . " (Jeremiah 17:9).

Supporters of same-sex marriage see the loving gay couple, and therefore do not interest themselves in the effects of changing marriage and family on the children they do not see. And since they venerate their hearts, the biblical ideal of male-female love, marriage and family is of no significance to them.

Animal rights supporters' hearts are deeply moved by the animals they see experimented on, not by the millions of people they do not see who will suffer and die if we stop such experiments.

Likewise, the hearts of the people who support PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are so moved by the plight of slaughtered chickens that the organization has a campaign titled "Holocaust on your plate," which equates our slaughtering of chickens with the Nazi slaughtering of Jews.

For 25 years I have been asking high school seniors across America if they would save their dog or a stranger first if both were drowning. The majority has nearly always voted against the person. Why? Because, they say with no self-doubt, they love their dog, not the stranger. An entire generation has been raised with no reference to any moral code above their heart's feelings. They do not know, and would not care if they did know, that the Bible teaches that human beings, not animals, are created in God's image.

So, too, those who cannot call any abortion immoral are moved by what they see -- the forlorn woman who wants an abortion, not by the human fetus they do not see. That is why abortion rights groups are so opposed to showing photos of fetuses that have been aborted -- such pictures might move the eye and the heart of viewers to judge the morality of many abortions differently.

It is undeniable that many people have used their minds and many have used the Bible in ways that have led to evil. And some of these people have been truly heartless. But not one of the great cruelties of the 20th century -- the Gulag, Auschwitz, Cambodia, North Korea, Mao's Cultural Revolution -- came from those who took their values from the Bible. And the great evil of the 21st century, though religion-based, doesn't come from the Bible either.

Meanwhile, the combination of mind, Judeo-Christian values and heart has produced over centuries the unique success known as America. Reliance on the heart will destroy this painstaking achievement in a generation.

©2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

I really wish some people would do their own work instead of just copying and pasting. Original thought will set you free.

hmmm, thought i thought i had unsubscribed from these religious forums, i must do that now!

I Dennis Prager!

Thanks for sharing PreciousLife.

I agree, alone Blind faith or Reckless compassion will fail. Only together, united responsibly, do religious standards and love or other people and things stand a chance of making something truly good.


On a personal note I have some thoughts...

On Same-sex marriage : I can't speak for God, no-one has that right, but I don't have a problem with it, what you do in the privacy of your own soul is none of my business... although I do submit that in some cases, your lifestyle may be bringing harm to yourself or others, so please just be careful.

On PETA : I've never liked PETA, besides their methods being all wrong to bring about any real change, they act like Animals are better than humans and need to be treated better. We don't owe animals anything and we can easily stop being cruel to animals without not ceasing to eat them... I eat animals, their delicious.

On Abortion : This is a very tricky subject and I think it depends on the circumstance. If the child would be forced into a life of poverty and suffering, who are we to deny a parent's right to "protect" their child by preventing the birth in the first place? Is it murder, certainly, but I think people are missing the point. I do think that attempts to talk the mother into giving the child up for adoption after the birth instead should be made, if this is not an acceptable alternative... Well, so be it.


I don't know, maybe I'm incredibly wrong by trying to combine Christian Beliefs with a powerful sense of compassion...

Peccy,

I just couldn’t say it any better then Dennis did in this phenomenal article that really gets to the heart of the issue of most of the arguments on here. I 100% agree with him. What about you?

My pleasure Spider! ;-)

No I do not. I think any religion is inane. The Bible is merely a book of parables, NOT a blueprint on how you should live your life. That's all I have to say.

I am agnostic, I do not believe in same sex marriage, or marriage at all quite frankly. It simply isn't working & the goverment & IRS need to keep out of peoples bedrooms.

I love animals & have worked for the humane society, but I do see that at times animal experments may be better than just waiting to see what the effects of certain chemicals may be. I think Peta borders on terrorism. I love my dog dearly, but would NEVER place her life above a human's.

I am pro choice, not because I think abortion is right, but because I know you can't stop it, & illegal abortions will kill both mother & child. Also, I think we have too many unwanted children already, & people would rather adopt from abroad than adopt special needs or black children here. Many of these babies that would have been aborted fit into these catagories, & will be raised in foster care. That is more cruel than abortion before they are aware that they are not loved & not wanted.
I think your religion is a fable made up to try to explain things we have no answers for, & to control people. I have better morals than most so called "christians" because most of them are hypocrites, who believe they can do anything & be forgiven. I take responsability for my own actions.

Don’t you think it’s more inane for kids today to say that they would rather save their dog then a human stranger? How do you explain to someone whose heart is telling them one thing that they need to use wisdom beyond what their eyes pull them towards?

His point is incredibly true. If you think about the underlying issue – it’s really what tugs at people’s hearts the most that causes them to believe something. The Bible teaches us that of course we must be compassionate but we must do it in an intelligent way as prescribed by the values in the Bible.

The easiest emotional thing to do is not always the right thing to do. How are folks supposed to know the difference without certain guideline and values?

Hi Peccy

Education, repect, empathy & fair government. Ignorance, desperation & greed are the cause of problems.

If in fact abortion is wrong then the notion that people will do it anyway can not be a justification. We can do things to make it easier for a pregnant woman to give the child up for adoption. Also a lot of the original concern 30 years ago doesn’t really exist today. Today you simply don’t have the stigma like 30 years ago. There are lots of teenage pregnancies and today people can deal with the notion and the vast majority wouldn’t have back alley abortions if it was illegal. Not the same stigma today.

I think if you would ask any child even in a terrible circumstance like a foster home if they would have rather been aborted – you know what the answer would have been. The issues surrounding abortion are difficult, but we can find solutions. There is an incredibly long line for adoptions – today more then ever.

But the larger point is, think about the folks from PETA. To them when they see a cute kitten that makes everyone’s heart melt – they can’t think beyond their immediate emotional tug. So they end up equating an animal’s life as equal to a humans life. That’s why the Bible warns against “following our eyes and hearts.” If we can save thousands of lives by testing on animals, we must do so.

You say abortions wrong, but what about the girl who is raped and gotten preg by her attacker? It is Gods will for her to have that? Get real and pull your head out of your @ss.

The larger point is, you live life in a fairy tale, believing that some super natural power will forgive your mistakes & give you everlasting life, & I try to do my best to be reponsable & loving with the time I have. I leaned long ago there is no reasoning with fanatics of any religion. Peace to you, good night.

So much anger and negativity. Tsk tsk. I think we need a time out. ;-)

Chill out people. Prager made some brilliant points. Be respectful and respond on the merits of the issue. No need for such negativity. Where’s the compassion? ;-)

Is your point that since bad things happen it must mean that G-d doesnt exist?

If abortion is in fact the taking of a human life, then the only possible time when it would be okay is to save the life of the mother.

This is the biggest crock of bull I ever heard in my entire life.

The Holy Spirit lives within us and guides us from within. You can never do better than trusting your own heart. That is the ultimate surrender to God.

If an ancient book written by male chauvinist pigs who had many bigoted ideas doesn’t mesh with our heart there’s probably very good reason for it.

I would always place my heart above someone else’s bigotry.

I think it’s a problem that people are following their hearts today.

I think it used to be a problem that people used to use a book written by ancient bigots to guide them instead of using their own heartfelt wisdom.

My biggest objection with the Bible in the first place is that its far too stupid and bigoted to be from a supreme being. It’s time we wised up and realized that that book did not come from any Santa Claus in the sky, but instead is a direct record of the bigotry, superstition and of prejudices of ancient men. They make out God to be a male chauvinistic egotist.

And I’m not talking about Jesus either. Everyone who knows me knows that I have posted time and time again that Jesus did a compete about-face from those ancient bigotries. Even though he claimed not to come to change the law, he preached a completely opposite philosophy of life then was taught in the Old Testament. He stopped the stoning of ‘sinners’. He taught us not to be judgmental. He never said anything against same sex relationships. He taught us to turn the other cheek instead of seeking revenge as an eye-for-and-eye and a tooth-for-a-tooth. He never ordered anyone to massacre heathens.

Unfortunately because of the way the gospels were written Jesus can’t be separated from the OT whilst simultaneously believing that the gospels are the ‘gospel truth’ so Jesus cannot be saved.

But the rest of us can be!

Thank God for giving us hearts!

In fact your argument makes the point. The emotional issue of the horrible crime of rape has nothing to do with the moral issue of taking a life. The child should be given up for adoption.