The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) considered the Golden Rule an oppressive invention that denied man his true moral destiny. That destiny, Nietzsche argued, was not about universal morality, whathetermed herd morality, but rather a morality based upon the animal instincts ofdominationand exploitation of the weak to the benefit of the strong. Nietzsche viewed Christianity as the ultimate enemy because it emphasized humility, compassion, and equality among all people, as well as an ethic grounded in the Golden Rule.AccordingtoNietzsche,lovingthy neighbor as thyself was a sign of weakness that Christianity promoted to the detriment of the noble class. And that didn’t sit well with him because it flew in the face of his view of the supremacy of animalistic amorality.
Most of us learn the Golden Rule very early in life. It is often taught as an imperative of not only playground etiquette, but as a part of every human exchange among men. To be sure, it is the foundational principle for ethical conduct throughout the world. To the angst of Nietzsche, the Golden Rule recognizes no color or class, no culture or language; it is universal in its acceptance and its application and seeks to be a principle of mutual benefit to all who adhere to its simple instruction. Simply put, the Golden Rule states that you should treat others in the same way you want to be treated. While the GoldenRuleremainsapopularteaching tool today, its history is actually quite old and extensive.
Documented forms of the Golden Rulecanbefoundasfarbackas1800BC, where in the story of Egypt’s“Eloquent Peasant,” an early cryptic translation suggests “Do to the other to cause that he do.” Likewise, Jewish culture, as far back as the Exodus from Egypt (approximately 1456 BC), includes passages in their Bible that speak of equality and reciprocity in the treatment of foreigners in their lands, since at one time they too were foreigners in Egypt. It should come as no surprise, then, that one Jewish Bible passage goes so far as to extend the Golden Rule to include “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). A form of the Rule also appears in Homer’s Odyssey (8th Century BC) and was mentioned by the philosopher Thales (623 0 545 BC). In India, in about 500 BC, Buddha’s version taught, “There is nothing dearer to man himself, therefore, as it is the same thing that is dear to you and to others, hurt not others with what pains yourself.” Confucius (d. 479 BC) also taught a Golden Rule, and Jainism taught“A monk should treat all beings as he himself would be treated.” To be sure, the Taoists, Hindus, and almost all other religions, as well as Socrates (d. 399 BC) and Aristotle (384–322 BC), among many philosophers, taught some version of the Golden Rule.
Inmoremoderntimes,theconcepts of the Golden Rule were promoted by the Coca-Cola corporation (1925), Henry Ford (1930’s), C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity (1943), a young Martin Luther King Jr. (1944), John F. Kennedy (1963), and Goerge W. Bush (2001 – 2009) who mentioned the Golden Rule in no less than eighteen speeches. And that is just in the Western world alone.
There can be little doubt that the tenets of the Golden Rule reach both far and wide, and back to the earliest humansocieties.Andperhapsthatsays something significant about its origin. Something that is universally held in highregardacrosstheworldandacross timemuststrikeafamiliarchordamong themultitudesofgenerationswhohave tirelesslyembracedit.Itseemstomethe GoldenRuleisnotunlikeasacredfamily tradition that has been handed down over and over again, spanning a great length of time. Theistic doctrine holds that all people can trace their ancestry back to our First Parents. If that is so, and I believe that it is, maybe the ancient moral ethic taught in the Golden Rule was not only taught in the Garden, but is also, some important aspect of what it means to be human. Something innate within all people. Maybe it is an ethic that was written on the hearts of Adam and Eve. Maybe it comes all the way down to you and me from the creation of the first man, and all men since, in the very image and likeness of God (cf Gen 1:26ff ). Maybe, just maybe, it is no mystery at all. Perhaps it was the Creator God all along who wrote the Golden Rule on every heart, among all people, in all times. How else can we explain its embrace throughout every corner of the world?
Join us again next time as we continue the march to answer the ultimate question of life: Is God dead?
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore. You can contact him at: dr.kerley@isGoddead.com.