The American Heritage Dictionary defines "morality" as the following: "a system of right and wrong conduct."

This system, by its nature, cannot be changed; in other words, it is absolute. And to believe that absolute right and wrong exists, a person must acknowledge the existence of a standard -- a reference to which all actions can be compared.

For Christians, this standard is the eternal God, whose Word became flesh in the man of Jesus Christ.

But today the people of this nation are abandoning any such absolute system. We wallow in self-rights, some wanting the privilege of making "love" with no restraints and having abortion as a back-up.

Some people think that their personal rights are more important that the common good: they demand, "Hurry up, find a cure for AIDS because we don't intend to be told that we can't participate in homosexual or unchecked heterosexual activity."

Indeed, our society accepts no ultimate truth; even at this campus, if a man or a woman does have a firm opinion about what is right or wrong, he or she is labeled "intolerant."

Last week at the "Celebration of Choice" event held on campus, Margaret Conway, a representative for Catholics for Choice, made it clear just how unsure she is about her own faith.

She said, as quoted in the Collegian (Jan. 26), "Morality involves circumstances, and no one can know the circumstances of every single person in the world."

It's as if when God gave to Moses the Ten Commandments, he included a postscript that read, "Use these suggestions only when you feel they apply."

I for one am tired of this society's adherence to situational ethics. It's time we face the fact that universal laws of morality do press down upon each of us. Here's what one Christian author has to say.

"Two forces are at work against . . . people in their daily attempts to make sense out of the world. The first is the increasingly relativistic nature of our society. Everything is said to be relative. There are no absolutes, no universal truths. But without a standard of right and wrong, how is one to decide? Culture relativism has taken away our framework for making decisions. Our culture says, "Do what you think is right and what will bring you pleasure. ' "

This author is Josh McDowell, and on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Eisenhower Auditorium he will speak on this and other topics in his presentation, "A Skeptic's Quest." I greatly encourage you not to miss this phenomenal speaker.