Ethical Relativism In The Poisonwood Bible

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According to our textbook Ethical-relativism holds that, “There is no universal moral truth – that each culture has its own set of rules” (p.122). In other words, what is acceptable in one culture could be not acceptable in another. Then, the novel The Poisonwood Bible, in which the Price family moved from the United States to Africa is more an ethnical-relativist approach. Certainly, Nathan Price (the father), was a missionary taking the God’s word to the Congo, The problem was he didn’t know that for Congolese’s, “People who go to church are neglecting their duties” (p.161). The story could have been very different if the Price family had taken the time to know the Congolese’s cultural and religious values and beliefs.
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