Having served as a "medic" of sorts on the battlefield of war for more than 30 years, I have a lot of stories to tell. Mine are not about flesh wounds or people dying from gunshots. Rather, as a pastor I have been involved in trying to help many emotional and spiritual casualties of a nasty civil war. This war isn't over. It is still raging, leaving no one untouched. Yet its subtlety blinds many to its devastating impact!

This incessant conflict is the war on morality.

In the 1960s, after seeds of change had been sown and taken root decades before, a moral revolution burst on the scene. I remember first hearing of "the new morality" as a teenager during that time, but I doubt that anyone then comprehended how that social upheaval would forever change the world. Looking back 40 years in the rearview mirror, we can see the changes and their disturbing effects. But can we clearly see the future—where these changes will yet take us?

This issue's lead article on how we have redefined morality is a must-read. John Ross Schroeder would not consider himself a war historian, but his analysis is, in effect, a historical account of a war.

This civil war has pitted moral revolutionists against traditionalists in a philosophical clash over ethics, principles and standards. It has not been confined to mere intellectual debate, however. Predictably, revolutionary philosophies morph into revolutionary practices, and when social rebellion exploded in the '60s, the battle heated up.

Early on, traditionalists—typically those who upheld time-honored, biblically based values—were surprised to find themselves fighting what has seemed to be a losing battle. Probably very few of them accurately anticipated how ideologies such as "moral freedom," "situational ethics," "value neutrality" and "nonjudgmental tolerance" would become so ingrained in culture and thought 40 years later!

No mystery remains now, as it did in 1965, as to "what's this 'new morality'?" In reality, there was no new morality back then. It was just another phase in the cycle of human philosophies that habitually resurface in various times and societies. Yesterday's revolutionary thought eventually becomes today's tradition, only to be overthrown tomorrow in favor of another supposedly new theory.

The greater mystery is this: Why can't we settle on a workable philosophy, finding the moral compass that leads to true happiness, contentment and peace?

Our latest grand search and morality experiment has only led to a high casualty rate. Just as conventional warfare destroys, moral warfare also exacts its toll, leaving the "moral medics" to deal with the devastating effects—marriage breakups, family conflicts, fractured relationships, the weight of guilt and other untold suffering.

Not coincidentally, God's Word has been a parallel war casualty. But although dismissed by far too many, it's not dead! The good news is God foretold that, beyond our current morality crisis, another wave of redefining morality is coming! Jesus Christ is returning "with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2)—the healing that comes through learning and living by God's standards.

In the meantime, some of the past casualties of the "new morality" have already embraced His way of life, and they know it works! You, too, can be armed with His values, ethics and standards. Continue searching God's Word with us, and avoid being a casualty in this war! GN