There are a number of experiences/events in Scripture apparently permitted of God that do not fit what God approves in divine grace for mankind. There is a type of spiritual (moral) bravery found, sometimes misdirected. Participants often pay a severe price for what is done. Common grace may permit some of the end justifies the means related to conflicts for mankind. This matter may be illustrated in numerous ways, and begs to be understood, as resting on carnal bases. There is a long history of the concept from Aristotle, through society and the church, especially in the writings of Aquinas continuing to our generation. It is vital to existentialism. The concept continues not only as a matter of justification of conduct, but also its place in the plans of God. A film receiving rave reviews on Lincoln and emancipation appeared in 2012. The actor (Day-Lewis) who played Lincoln received the Oscar for lead male actor in February 2013. After reading the critics, I had to see the film to judge for myself in the context in which some of the action took place in the last few weeks of Lincoln’s life. Ordinarily I do not attend movies, but have reviewed some on television. That difference may cause the viewer/listener to change of belief in factors in a film. The producer (Spielberg) insisted on perfection, even to the colors on wallpaper of the Lincoln era. Perhaps no Hollywood film has been as accurate about physical facts as this film. History may have been amended argue historians. We ought to approve moral truth over replicated wallpaper.
The film becomes, as critics pointed out, a message of some doubtful factors to achieve a desired goal. In the film Lincoln demanded that the votes be found in Congress to gain a Constitutional Amendment declaring the freedom of citizenship to all so as to put closure to the struggle for emancipation of slaves. He wanted his signature to the amendment which had to be presented as the will of Congress representing the American people. In one scene, in angry despair, Lincoln demanded to his Cabinet, with an oath of explosive demand, that the votes be found. There was no doubt in their minds how they were to be found, legally or illegally. Implied: buy members of Congress if you must, but get the vote. No excuses. Some of the Congressmen may have been bought and voted for the bill – according to the film. Lincoln got what he wanted, and one of the great acts of government was achieved. In a few weeks Lincoln was dead, and the freedom on paper waited for another century, well into my lifetime, to gain its legal applied meaning. The public, at large, is willing to forgive the chicanery because of what is perceived to have been a good and overdue result. Implication is that if your goal is good, any means to achieve it is not only acceptable but to be respected in some way. It is interesting that much of the public resists the torture of prisoners of war to gain needed information for victory, but smile at the alleged Lincoln gesture. Either Spielberg or the historians have failed us in reporting on Lincoln. Historians have faulted the film for errors.
Recent centuries have faulted the Catholic Church for inquisition, carried on with the idea that the Gospel of Christ was to be protected by any means available. In recent years the Pope, from the Vatican, apologized for that point of view that related to death judgments. The stories are tragic because the religious and secular world operated under the rule that: the end justifies the means. If the moral application of Scripture had been applied in peace, as Martin Luther King and others illustrated and argued, we may have found the unity longed for decades earlier than we did. Rosa Parks simply refused to give up her seat on the bus, not because she would not give up her seat to a feeble person, or ill, but because she would not respond to a lie – that one able-bodied person should, in pride, replace another able-bodied person already situated. Unless we learn about and are motivated from clear illustrations of morality and truth, we will fight each other with lesser ideas and conduct delaying truth. God may sigh for us in his tacit permission without his approval. (The Lincoln film noted above seeking perfection for film appeal skewed some events. It was panned by several informed historians. A number of professors would not show the film except to illustrate the historical hits and errors. The cost to favor is too high just for dramatic idealism.) *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020