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Even if it is true that they are following the dictates of their conscience, the devastation that we have brought on Iraq should at least cause them some pause, some moment of uncertainty. And it doesn't.
This is by no means a defense of the Christian right, but very few people have moral beliefs that are free of contradiction. For example, I wonder how many people on UT are pro-choice and against capital punishment? These are in contradiction, just like being pro-death penalty and anti-abortion. The ethical principle that these issues share is the sanctity of life, but that principle is in conflict in the scenarios above.
Sadly, most people are incapable of higher-level ethical reasoning--not because of some inherent incompetence. Rather, most people are never taught the skill of ethical reasoning and those who have learned it often don't want to invest the time and effort to consider issues on a meta-ethical level. Indeed, most people are happy to make decisions based on a gut-level reaction or some aphorism learned in school, religious institution or from one's family. For people who can identify the ethical principles at stake in an issue, they often cannot order those principles consistently over diverse issues. Again, it has nothing to do with intelligence. Would that we could train everyone in ethical decisionmaking and afford everyone the time it takes to consider their ethical worldview each time they make a decision.
