lying, cheating and stealing = good?

From the AP as reported in USA Today (hat tip: Linda Christiansen)...

In the past year, 30% of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store and 64% have cheated on a test, according to a new, large-scale survey suggesting that Americans are too apathetic about ethical standards.

Aside from the alarming (if not surprising) numbers, it's interesting that the author acknowledges objective "ethical standards"-- from which many are deviating.

Educators reacting to the findings questioned any suggestion that today's young people are less honest than previous generations, but several agreed that intensified pressures are prompting many students to cut corners....

Greater temptations can lead to greater visible manifestations of sin. In the Christian worldview, sin in the heart is equally devastating in terms of our standing with God-- albeit often less traumatic in terms of external impact. As Paul writes in Romans, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". External sin makes this truism even more obvious.

The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured.

Michael Josephson, the institute's founder and president, said he was most dismayed by the findings about theft. The survey found that 35% of boys and 26% of girls — 30% overall — acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year. One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23% said they stole something from a parent or other relative....

Thirty-six percent said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33% in 2004....

Despite such responses, 93% of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77% affirmed that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

Satisfied? OK. That's troubling too! Better than others they know? Depends on who their friends are and the way in which they compare themselves to others. But this reminds me of the survey results that indicate most of us see ourselves as above-average drivers!

This last paragraph also reminds me of the lyrics from that Steve Camp song in a recent entry:

You've built a rotten bridge of man-made righteousness
Suspended over Hell, and endless second death
You think that you are safe, the truth is you are not
You face your doom as sinners in the hands of an angry God