I've taken the habit of listening to sermons as I bike to work or back home.  Although I know most of you here are not religious, one particular quote struck me today "Culture does not define sin; God does".

I think this resonated so strongly within me because it reflects something that has bothered me for quite some time.  Does anyone else feel that society has achieved a culture of 'justification'?  That's probably not the best way to word it, so let me try to explain:  I think there is a dangerous habit forming across societies to avoid telling someone they are wrong.  I'm not a very social person, but I can't tell you how many conversations I've had or witnessed which irritated me to no end because someone agrees with EVERYTHING. I'm not saying that I want people to argue, but there comes a point when something needs to be said. 

Let me give a very real and very personal experience.  I have a coworker who shares office space with me and honestly..... is just absolutely awful at her job.  I know it's not just my opinion because countless middle school teachers have approached me about it. One person even hugged me tight and told me how she nearly cried in frustration when she reviewed the documents my coworker wrote for middle school teachers. She said she felt ripped off.... and I can't blame her.

I even caught my coworker plagiarizing work.  Worse, she didn't even pick decent sources to plagiarize from.  When I brought this to her attention, she of course argued with me.  My boss confronted her as well, but she made justifications and my boss simply responded something to the effect of "Well alright. I'm just telling you my opinion and telling you how I'd personally do it."  Opinion?!?!  Sometimes poor work ethic isn't just a matter of opinion.

Another example of this 'everybody is right' attitude can be found in many casual conversations.  Someone could start talking about how they wanted to marry their dog, and I feel like the conversation participants would nod their head and offer sentiments like "Well, I can understand that."  or "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."  or "Well as long as you aren't hurting anybody, it's okay."

People will justify anything!

Where are the people that will point at us and tell us we are wrong?  How do we become better people without being reprimanded when we do something wrong?  Why are we SO afraid of judging others? Sometimes, judging is good for us.  If people only tell me that I rock at what I do, then I will never believe I can get better, never strive to grow, and become quite selfish and arrogant.

I'm not a confrontational person, but neither do I believe it should be avoided at all cost.  Why do people keep jobs when they clearly can't do them well, and we never tell them the truth?  Why are we so willing to say everyone is good or okay.... or justify the actions of others when we shouldn't? When we know someone has done wrong, why are we so quick to tell them they were right because their actions were justified by this or that?  I'm sorry... but I don't care -who- hurt who's feelings... The one affront doesn't deserve stealing from the offender, destroying their livelihood, or killing them.   (Sorry, I just started listing random examples.... let's move on.)

What do you guys think of this? Am I just imagining things?

I'm going to have to agree with you somethings on there. I mean you are right. If people say opinion's about something. You should really try to take to heart of what they say. Even if it may be harsh, just for them to see you get better at it. I myself don't have the right to say this as sonicmcmuffin and leggy will agree that I too can....be that way due to how sensitive I am. But, when you think about it. It makes perfect sense. And then you will be able to mature and better yourself. If someone doesn't judge you as you say, then how can we get better as a person? somethings in life can take its toll on people. You can either roll with it or just don't try....I'm trying, its hard and I can feel it. But, then if I stop I won't be able to make better choices in the future. The best thing to do when someone says something harsh, even if it is the truth. Sit down properly and think on it before you act.

You're far from wrong. That's the current stigma in society, and it's evermore present with each passing day. From what I've witnessed, it mostly appears to be a stigma involving women. Not trying to sound like a misgynist, it's just an observation.

Since Sin is in fact, right or wrong, and various regions/faiths view different things as right or wrong, id be inclined to disagree.
When you say listen to sermons as you bike to work, do you mean you cycle while listening on an ipod or something?I might be misinterpreting something there, but if not id say thats pretty dangerous. You wouldnt hear the car coming until it hit you.

As for society justifying things, I think its swings and roundabouts. Some people get away with murder (either figuratively or literally), other people get snapped in half over the slightest thing.
Its a bit broad to generalise, in the same way that you cant say everyone is good or bad.
Iv met people who are brutally honest, iv met others who will say anything to avoid any form of confrontation.
People trying to justify themselves when wrong is nothing new. Its tempting to assume that society used to be better, but there were all kinds of scum 100 hundred years ago, same as today.
I imagine the only thing different these days is its harder to get away with.

Singelli :

This topic really hits close to home. My mother (and I, as her assistant), is teaching homeschoolers from a family various subjects. The whole lot of them are self-righteous, and pretend they are better than each other. And there are 10 of them. Mom hasn't handled this too well, and although she has kept things under control, she tends to remind them of their faults too often. Rarely do I hear a compliment or kind word from her mouth. Her excuses are that "it's just too much" and "I think I've done a pretty good job, considering it all". I want to help her, but I don't want to support the way she's treating these children. Their own mother treats them with even less respect, and is frequently yelling at them. Mom has told me to avoid getting involved in their family issues, but I don't want a paycheck if it means they will stay miserable. Every one of them is important to me, and I desire their success, but not at the cost of sorrow and blame.

I haven't prayed for them enough, and I feel that's part of the reason I've been so upset. I'm also reminded so much of my inadequacies when I'm there. But I try my best, because I want them to succeed. I love them so much! Sometimes I have felt that I don't know enough, but not anymore. I want to continue learning with them. And I will continue to try to improve their situation as much as I can, even if I offend those in charge in the process. But I will avoid offense, where possible. I don't like fighting, and have grown a bit too weak from refusal to take a stand. Mom has taken advantage of this, and exercised unrighteous dominion over my brother and others. I will fight for their rights from now on. I'm just not sure what the best way to do that is.

I believe in consequences. All of our actions and in-actions have them. Consequences are both good and bad.

Why is it my responsibility to notify any other person (other than my children) what the consequences will be without being solicited for my input? I really don't need to correct them because the outcome of their decisions will offer it's own corrections that are far more insightful than my spoken warning.

It is each of our responsibilities as intelligent beings to seek knowledge and use our time wisely. If others want to avoid that, there is a consequence for that as well.

Is everyone right? Is the guy that wants to marry his dog right? I don't think he's seeking knowledge. If he were, he would realize that a dog cannot procreate with him or reciprocate on a meaningful conversation. What are the consequences? Only he is truly able to discover what those might be. He will learn eventually if he is right or wrong, I don't think he will listen if I tell him.

While I agree with thenumberone (I keep finding myself saying that) I can certainly see where you are coming from
And yes, as he said, same scum 100 years ago as today
But one thing has to be kept in mind is that a large portion of people partake in a group mentality
And while people are generally the same, the group mentality changes with the times
What's important changes as well. For example,
priories have greatly shifted now that a large portion of communication is done via technology,
as opposed to face to face interactions. 

And yes, I do feel like that current mentality has seen a certain lack of personal responsibility
And a lack of holding others responsible
It's not everywhere, and it's nothing new, but it is prevalent at this point I think 
As it has been in previous points in history.
Group mentality does change, but it always cycles back around.

I've been criticized for being too blunt and direct, but I try to work to counter this current trend in thinking
Maybe I am too hard sometimes,
but with everyone cuddling everyone else, maybe hard is needed.
I don't attack of course. But I don't sugarcoat either. 

And though I may not identify as Christian, or any other organized religion for that matter (agnostic is closest to what I am)
I have found a lot of inspiration from various sermons
Joyce Meyer has always been an interesting one

Singelli : I think you are right on target, Singelli. Too many people just let others say or do pretty much whatever, because anymore, people think that anything is okay; and that if you beg to differ, then you're being discriminatory. You will get sued and pretty much lose the whole thing because some wussified doofus was offended. Here's an example; people actually used to think that being gay was wrong or at the very least wierd. Now, you almost cannot even say that homosexuality is a sin IN THE CHURCH! I had heard a story that some gay person got in the church, did not like what he heard and sued them. A couple decades ago, that person would have had no ground. Now...Everyone seems to think that everything to be ok because they want it to be! That's not the way it works!

Opinions are subjective. Opinions are what you think of something.
FACT is what happened and what the problem is.
Now, if something is obviously being done wrong, don't be afraid to chastise someone about it no matter how "justified" it seems. If it is clearly detrimental to a situation, then we can't just back off out of fear of what the outcome will be, because it will most likely be a large improvement to do something about it and repair the problem. If it "offends" someone to hear this, don't take their crap. They're just trying to make themselves look better after they do something stupid.

Of course, instead of just throwing someone off, we can try and help them improve so that they will take responsibility for what they did instead of constantly defending themselves over it. This is how society grows- improvement. We just need to work harder towards it, and be brutally honest when necessary.